Big Churches, Small Groups

Mega churches concentrate efforts on developing small group leadership skills to keep their members engaged on a personal level.  Perhaps secular nonprofits need to pay attention. 

An article in Christianity Today caught my eye.  Fix My Small Groups! by Keri Wyatt Kent listed some common problems that arise when churches use small groups as a part of their ministry.  While the article quoted pastors from some smaller churches, I was struck by the number of 10,000-plus-member congregations that have taken a serious interest in the dynamics of small groups:

• Mars Hill Bible Church (EIN 38-3442884, church, no Form 990) in Grandville, Michigan has a network of geographically based small groups as a part of its program.
• Willow Creek Community Church (EIN 51-0164942) (South Barrington, Illinois) is adopting the regional small group approach, and the article opens with an anecdote about group dynamics from Willow Creek
• Of course, the article mentions Rick Warren of Saddleback Church (EIN 95-3689195), whose 40 Days of Purpose curriculum has launched a great many small group programs. 
• While the connection is not mentioned in the articles, one of the resources listed is a web page (smallgroupresources.org), sponsored by McLean Bible Church (EIN 54-0763526) of Vienna, Virginia (which was the subject of my earlier posting Mega Churches Left in the Dust about the rise of 10,000-plus congregations in the US). 

It is not clear how successful these organization have been in finding a formula for making small groups effective.  But the article lays out the difficulties that these groups face, which has more general applicability to other charitable organizations interested in outreach and maintaining volunteer networks:

• A single annoying group member has the ability to poison group fellowship unless the other group members can find a way to get past it.
• Lack of group structure:  churches are finding that small groups have to be organized around another unifying affinity factor, which can be as simple as geography or age groups.
• Need for leadership:  explicit training for leadership seems to help, rather than just recruiting.
• Lack of commitment:  with everyone so busy in suburbia, it's difficult to get people to commit to regular group meetings.  Some deal with it by having limited-term commitments (for ten weeks, say) and by having the pastor participate in a small group and regularly mentioning it to provide an example.
• Inbred, exclusive groups (cliques): other than reminding the groups of the need for outreach, there seems to be no sure-fire solution to the tendency of groups to become self-focused.  Some groups like to reach out, others don't. 
• Attracting newcomers:  related to the previous point, it's difficult to get new members involved in a group structure.  One suggestion is to base group discussions around sermon topics, so that new participants are less intimidated about having something to contribute, having just heard a whole sermon on a topic.

Leadership, commitment, outreach: all of these necessities are relevant to non-church charities, and their scarceness explains the ineffectiveness of most grassroots charity efforts.  So the great paradox for all charities is the fact that effective small groups are best fostered as a component of a much larger group. 

Another paradox is illustrated here: the fact that Christianity Today, and the main on-line resource (which it sponsors) are for-profit ventures.  There are also several software products for managing small groups, including ChurchTeams, Logos Management Software, and Group Meister.  The relationship between charity, making a living, and living a good life is complex. 

Comments

[Sam Davis]

SGI-USA, the Nichiren Buddhist lay association of which I am a member, pioneered this concept more than half a century ago. Almost all our meetings and other activities are held in small groups of 10-20 individuals. We do have nearly 70 centers throughout the country, which have weekly meetings of various types, but the vast majority of activities are community or neighborhood in scope.

The "life to life" nature of our daily practice is the basis for the small group activities orientation of SGI-USA. Fundraising is not a consideration for our using this format.

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[バーバリーマフラー]

死者·行方不明者約１００人に上った台風１２号による紀伊半島豪雨から２カ月が経過した。その間、死者·行方不明者や孤立集落が集中した奈良県十津川村や五條市大塔（おおとう）町は注目が集まり、復旧·復興に多くの支援も寄せられた。一方で、被害の深刻さや復旧の姿が伝わらず、風評被害に苦しみながら復興に向かっている被災地もある。
同県中部に位置する川上村は、県内で発生した約１８００カ所の土砂崩れの中でも、人家に隣接した崩落としては最大規模で、土砂崩壊量が概算で東京ドーム１杯分に相当する大規模な土砂災害に見舞われた。土砂崩れの発生は９月４日午後５時半ごろ。役場の電灯が突然消え、近くの国道１６９号を大量の土砂が埋め尽くした。

[ティンバーランド]

ティンバーランド堺市北区の象印マホービン元副社長、尾崎宗秀さん（８４）が自宅で襲われ殺害された事件で、尾崎さんが発見される約２時間前、自宅周辺を黒の原付きバイクで往復する不審な男が目撃されていたことが、捜査関係者への取材で分かった。数日前から近所の複数の住民らも目撃しており、大阪府警はこの男が尾崎さん殺害に関与したとみている。

　ティンバーランド捜査関係者によると、尾崎さんは１日午前１０時２０分ごろ、自宅２階の納戸で顔を粘着テープなどで巻かれ、両手足を結束バンドで縛られた状態で発見された。目撃情報は午前８時前後で、通行人が尾崎さん方の周りを走る不審なバイクの男を見ていた。男は黒っぽい服装で、ヘルメットをかぶっていたという。