By: Joe Dotson

The “front door” is how people become a part of your church, how they discover it, their first experience. The front door to many churches is the literal front door. Here I will contend that there is a better door. Some churches put an emphasis on having a small group ministry and some don’t.  Many of us know that small groups are an effective way of ministering to the community.  Then again, some may be wondering what all the hype is about. Hopefully I will be able to shed some light on the importance of small group ministry and how your church could benefit from it. Or, if you do have a small group ministry what are some of the pitfalls to avoid. 

One of the most threatening things for a non-believer to do is walk through the front door of a church.  In fact walking through the front door of a new or different church can invoke anxiety among even the most devout follower of Christ. Here lies reason number one to have a small group ministry. A small group, if done well, will be a less threatening front door to your church.

I am a small group leader in my church. This year we have multiplied our groups from two to four. Our groups, called “Missional Communities,” are families of missionaries sent out to make disciples. According to Mathew 28:18-20 (esv) 

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  

We are all called to be on mission together to go and make disciples of all nations. This is the primary mission of each small group. Our groups are not gender based, or age based, they are mission based. For example, the small group I lead focuses on A NEW HOPE PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTER. By supporting a group that is already established there is less stress on the group leader because the organization can help develop the missions. This is a lesson I learned the first year of leading a group in which we were not on mission very much because I was not good at coming up with things for us to do. So our group’s secondary mission is to support A New Hope. We do this in various ways, such as having work days, in which we go and do physical labor to help maintain their facility. We support them through prayer, or by simply bringing awareness to the organization by word of mouth. There are a number of other ways we help them but I think you get the picture. By having this secondary goal our group can develop different Missions in support of A New Hope. By planning these missions we can then enlist the help of our friends and neighbors (non-believers) to join in a great cause. In turn our service alongside them providesthe opportunity to share the gospel and to show God’s love. We are intentional about building relationships with those we partner with and since these groups are comprised of single adults, married couples, children, teenagers, elderly and all types, we become a “family”. This family environment is less threatening and can foster great relationships.  So to clarify, We do not have a “men’s over 40 who like to golf on Wednesday’s but only if it’s not too hot” , or a “women’s you are only allowed in if you know how to sew and can contribute to the quilt group” or whatever else qualifier that can be thought of to make a group exclusive.  Our groups are always open and are always looking to multiply. 

Our third goal is to get new folks committed to the group. Once committed they join us during the non-mission weeks. It’s during this time that we grow spiritually as a group. The activities during these weeks include in depth study of the Bible and the main sermon series, potluck dinner, guys or girls night out, (girls go out for coffee or shopping etc. while the guys keep the kids and study, or vice versa) game nights or other fun stuff. We begin to bear one another’s burdens, lift one another up, and a transparency develops that reveals our sinful nature. When non-believers see that we openly embrace our sinful nature and we work together as a group to eradicate it from our lives they will be comforted, and will be able to recognize the sin in their life. Soon thereafter they can begin the healing in their own lives through acceptance of Christ as their Lord and Savior. And this is how we get them to walk through the front door of our church. This may be a long process, but it is sustainable, and fruitful.

A few of the logistical challenges with small groups are, who is going to lead them?, where are they going to meet?, and what do you do with the children while the adults are trying to talk? There may be others, but these are some of the challenges we face within our groups. 

Developing Leaders – Finding a small group leader can prove to be difficult for any size church. In a small church or a start-up church all too often the task of small group leader is another duty assigned to the already overloaded head pastor. In a Large church this duty may land on one of the associate pastors whom are being held accountable for a completely different ministry. Within church leadership we tend to delegate this responsibility to someone with a theological degree, rather than looking within the lay leadership, or within the congregation. The challenge with the latter is oftentimes folks are reluctant to step forward and lead because they feel they are not qualified. Such was the case when I was asked to lead my first group. I recall being asked if I would lead a small group. My first knee jerk reaction was “heck no”. I was intimidated, what if someone in the group was stronger than me theologically, and what if they challenged my leadership? I wanted no part of that. I felt as though I was not “qualified” to lead. And then through consultation with one of our pastors Iwas reminded of the twelve that Jesus called to his ministry. Were they “qualified” before they were called?  No, in Mark 6:7-13 we see that he sent them out with nothing, forcing them to rely on their faith to sustain them. So that is what I did. To address this we began a training program to help prepare those considering leading a small group. The leader of each existing group is tasked with finding a potential leader, and mentoring them. We also partnered with another church that has a successful small group ministry and held a training class for all potential group leaders. This process has made it feasible to multiply our groups.   

Where to meet?  For larger churches this may seem like a non-issue, but remember the anxiety of a non-believer walking through the front door? Meeting in a meeting hall, someone’s house, or other non-threatening environment reduces the anxiety that might deter new people. This poses a challenge and could be costly. We began our groups in homes which is a great place to start. This lead to our next challenge, what to do with the children? While we strive to include them in all that we do, it is often times necessary to have them separated while the adults learn, plan, socialize etc.  I suggest finding someone with a home that has separate areas (such as a basement) and can host your group, or contact the organization that you’re supporting and see ifthey have a location that could accommodate your group, also budget for a dedicated childcare worker or two. When we first started we had a rotation of people within the group take care of the children, what we found is, when you have a small group, if part of them are missing the meeting to provide child care it is counterproductive and it really throws things off if that person does not show up. We now have dedicated personnel. 

Small Groups really can be the new front door to your church, but like anything else they must be Christ centered, relationship driven, and purposefully planned. I hope this helps in the planning or revitalization of your small group ministry. I am always available so please contact me if you would like to discuss this in more detail. 

Joe Dotson is a Senior Sales Representative for HMC Service Company, a pastor at Mercy Hill Baptist Church and a retired US Marine. He and his wife Susan have been together for 20 years and have four children: Caisey, Bradley, Addison and Damian. He and his family have resided in Mt. Washington for four years and enjoy Uk Basketball, home improvement projects, and youth sports.