SmallGroups.com

After five years of championing small groups at Willow Creek Community Church, Brett Eastman shuttled his family westward to Orange County, California. He was hired at Saddleback Church and figured he would pick up where he left off at Willow.

But Saddleback was not Willow. In this interview, Brett Eastman, founder and CEO of Lifetogether, talks about the difference between the churches and what he ...

Topics:	Affinity groups, Guidance, Management, Planning, Publicity, Resources
Filters:	Affinity groups, Director, Organize, Pastor
Purpose:	Fellowship
References:	Colossians 3:11-17
Date Added:	January 04, 2005

When our church took a health assessment, we made an interesting discovery: People who were not in small groups rated themselves just as highly in fellowship/connectedness as people who were in small groups.

We used to view our church as hundreds of disconnected souls in desperate need of community. But we learned everyone in our church is connected to someone: a family member, co-workers, customers, ...

Topics:	Empowering, Models, Organization, Publicity, Recruiting leaders, Strategy
Filters:	Affinity groups, Director, Pastor, Start
Purpose:	Fellowship
References:	Matthew 18:20
Date Added:	March 14, 2005

In small-group ministry, a variety of groups can be formed. The most common are heterogeneous groups, which aim for diversity among the group members, and homogeneous groups, which bring together people with similar backgrounds and characteristics.

The concept of homogeneous groups is simple: college people are more likely to get along with college people, singles with singles, and homebuilders with ...

Topics:	Administration, Affinity groups, Assessment, Connecting, Fellowship, Joining groups, Leadership
Filters:	Affinity groups, Connect, Director, Pastor
Purpose:	Fellowship
References:	1 Corinthians 9:19-23
Date Added:	May 23, 2006

People bond over projects. Doing something with our hands loosens our mouths to talk about things we wouldn't say to someone who was looking us in the eye. Some people do it while working on cars. Some people do it while washing dishes. Even going for a walk side-by-side makes talking about our deep places a lot easier than a face-to-face conversation with no buffer of activity.

Creating a group that ...

Topics:	Affinity groups, Connecting, Fellowship, Hospitality
Filters:	Facilitator, Group Leader, Host, Lead
Purpose:	Fellowship
References:	Nehemiah 2:17-18
Date Added:	December 06, 2007

"Have we forgotten how it felt to be lost?"

...

We have had small groups of some kind or another in our church for 30 years. We have always valued community. However, in the last year we have taken our ministry up a notch. In fact, we nearly doubled our number of groups in less than a year. We moved from our fairly stagnate number of 52 groups to 100 groups!

How did we do it? Besides becoming radically ...

Topics:	Affinity groups, Evangelism, Friendship, Outreach, Study
Filters:	Coach, Director, Group Leader, Start
Purpose:	Evangelism
References:	Psalm 119:105, Psalm 119:130, Hebrews 4:12
Date Added:	June 12, 2003

This is a great question we all need to ask ourselves repeatedly. We want an ever-growing number of people involved in our church's small-group ministry because that means more people will experience Jesus' presence and power working in their lives.

You can approach this question both philosophically and practically. I will focus on the latter, but sum up philosophy with these suggestions: 1) Expand ...

Topics:	Affinity groups, Attendance, Growth, numerical, Multiplication, Visitors
Filters:	Coach, Group Leader, New leader, Train
Purpose:	Discipleship
References:	Acts 2:42-47, Hebrews 10:25
Date Added:	June 29, 2009

Note: Click Bringing Christian Community into Subcultures to see a free article from this resource.

There's no question that people in our culture enjoy gathering together around a common passion or activity. Softball, books, knitting, service projects—all of these are legitimate sparks for a successful affinity small group.

Of course, the trick with affinity groups is moving beyond whatever ...

Topics:	Affinity groups, Connecting, Fellowship, Group format, Launching, Models, New groups, Starting groups
Filters:	Affinity groups, Coach, Director, Group Leader, New leader, Train
Purpose:	Discipleship
References:	Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 3:14, John 1:35-50, Acts 6:1-6, 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, James 1:22
Date Added:	January 19, 2009

People group. And affinity plays a role in how we connect. But in recent years the "affinity group" has come under attack and its viability questioned. Do such groups promote shared ignorance or exclusivity, tearing apart the fabric of biblical community? Do they promote true fellowship? Should they be replaced by diverse gatherings of men, women and children of all ages, races, languages and incomes? ...

Topics:	Affinity groups, Community, Connecting, Friendship, Interaction, Meeting, Relationships
Filters:	Affinity groups, Coach, Director, Group Leader, Start
Purpose:	Ministry
References:	Mark 3:14, Acts 20:20
Date Added:	July 12, 2004

People are drawn together by a shared sense of identity. That identity can be based in almost anything—a science-fiction TV show, a nationality, a shared crises, a hobby, a love of Starbucks, or a desire to save the whales.

For my small group, it was tea. Being greeted with a kettle of hot water and several flavors from which to choose was welcoming and soothing to our somewhat harried souls. ...

Topics:	Affinity groups, Connecting, Fellowship, Hospitality
Filters:	Facilitator, Group Leader, Host, Lead
Purpose:	Fellowship
References:	Acts 2:42
Date Added:	November 06, 2007