Training Small Groups to Reach Out

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An interview with small-groups author and pastor Jeff Arnold

Jeff Arnold | posted 5/21/2008

Topics:	Evangelism, Great Commission, Outreach, Service, Witnessing
Filters:	Group Leader, Seekers, Service groups, Train
Purpose:	Evangelism
References:	Mark 2:13-17
Date Added:	May 21, 2008

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I'm more interested in people's passions. I try not to limit evangelism, but instead pry open the lid and say, "What kind of passion do you have in your group? Where are people interested?" For example, we have a man in one of our small groups who is Chinese, and we found out that he was getting in touch with his homeland—he had even gone back and visited the village where his family was from. So we're building on that. He's going to take some people over to China, and they will become a small group. When they get back, they're passion for evangelism might kind of have a Chinese flare. They might go down to Pittsburgh and bring meals to Chinese national students, for example.

How does your church approach the connection between small groups and evangelism as a whole?

We start off by defining and building open groups. All of our groups are inviting; all of our groups grow; and all of our groups are multiplying. A lot of churches don't like the idea of multiplying groups—it feels more like division to them, I think—but we've found a gentler way of multiplying that has really worked for us. First, we wait for the summer. And then, when a group gets to be a certain size, we approach the members in a non-confrontational way and pull the apprentice leader out to start something new.

Second, every group is strongly encouraged to participate in regular service projects. Personally, I love servant evangelism.

How do you approach evangelism as a leader in your own small group?

Well, I've always thought the best way to grow a group is through the biblical oikos principle—who do you know? I've done the routine many times where our group identifies potential new members and then prays for them each week, although I do add a little twist. I make a rule that our members are not allowed to say anything to those potential members about God while we're praying for them. That way, they can see that it's clearly God who's doing the work.

And it's important that all of your church's groups are open to new members all of the time?

Well, that is the best way for groups to grow. But I think there are times—and it really does make people feel good when you acknowledge this—there are times when we encourage groups to close themselves in for a season. If they're in the middle of a study, for example, and people want to get deeply engaged. A group can build on that time together without any added pressure to evangelize. And then on the other side, when there's a bit of a lull, we encourage the group to open things up again.

What are some of the biggest obstacles that get in the way of evangelism, both for individuals and for groups?

The old saying is true: an object at rest tends to stay at rest; an object in motion tends to stay in motion. So getting that outreach push started in the very first place is really hard. Also, in the analysis of today's small-group movement done by Robert Wood and Alice Dennis, they astutely point out that Americans today are incredibly self-centered. We walk into churches as consumers—or in the latest words, we walk in as pro-sumers. We want to shape that which is going to fulfill us.

So people who walk into our churches today—more and more pastors are discovering this, I think—are coming in with increasing upfront demands. They want control. They're used to having it on their computer. They're used to having it in the world. And this individual self-centeredness creates self-centered small groups. It's just easier to become ingrown and self-sustaining than it is to grow and multiply and do the painful steps of loss.

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May 28, 2009 10:26 AM

Amy Jackson (Registered User)

This article is wonderful! Our church is beginning a small group campaign this fall, and one of the three main components of our small groups is missional living. This article hits what we're trying to achieve on the head. I think in many ways small groups are the perfect place for evangelism to our postmodern society. When our groups are authentic and intentional - both with growing spiritually and in reaching out - people can catch a glimpse of God's love and mission, and they want to be a part of that. So many small group resources I run across make small groups solely about growing relationally or solely about evangelism and multiplying the church. I believe the best model is somewhere in the middle. It is so encouraging to read about another church doing this. Thanks!