I believe any large church needs small groups of fellowship, accountability, and prayer. One of the vital elements of the life of a large church like Woodmont Hills in Nashville is small groups. No fancy name, no big program, just small groups of people in one another’s homes. Terry Smith, mentor and friend to me, prays for and helps connect people but largely he lets groups form naturally around relationships not zip codes.
Right now my group gathers at 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm at a different house each Sunday night, and we are studying an IVP 2:7 group study series called Growing Strong in God’s Family. The study involves bringing our personal Bible study to bear on our lives together. We talk about what Scriptures we’ve been meditating on during the week and there are five key verses to memorize as well as some workbook material to go through. Some in the group have done this kind of study before and say themes develop out of the choices of Scriptures various members read from over the week. The study encourages everyone picking out passages themselves to read and meditate on. Interestingly, I’m writing a book right now on Leviticus and the study specifically mentions Leviticus and Revelation as books young Christians ought to avoid.
After two of the sessions, I’ve enjoyed the interaction and Spiritual growth and community maturity that it nurtures. I’d recommend this particular 2:7 series highly.
Amen! Ever since our first week at Highland here in Abilene, we have been welcomed by smaller, more intimate groups of people. We’ve been here for 2 years now, and we still meet people for the first time- people that have been members for 30 years or so!
Our Sunday school class of about 70 people or so functions as a smaller community, a mini-church, sort of thing. It gives us a group of people to connect with on a deeper level. We are also part of a small group of 5 families that meet for fellowship and study.
It sometimes feels like being a part of three “churches” at once, but I don’t know how else you can get 3500 people connected and involved.