Small group members/leaders

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Howdy

Well-known member
Feb 14, 2025
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How do you reach out to those in your community.
Do you invite them to join you?
Are you selective about who you invite or do you invite all?
What do you do if you outgrow your meeting place?
 
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Howdy said:
How do you reach out to those in your community.
Do you invite them to join you?
Are you selective about who you invite or do you invite all?
What do you do if you outgrow your meeting place?
Click to expand...
We invited people that showed interest to meet the leadership first. Our main outreach was via the IRC (if anyone here remembers that). Quite a few came to visit, including a couple who came 4,000 km. They could not stay, but they went home rejoicing. Others did not respond so well.

A few stayed, even moving from interstate. The pastor passed away and most of those who joined us went their separate ways.

The ideal maximum for a home based fellowship is 30. It gets really hard to help everyone when it gets over that number. My wife and I have spent many hours with one woman who has deep issues to deal with. If the fellowship exceeds 30, its time to divide. I suppose that's why they are called cell groups. Some would say that it's more like the leaders want to put you in prison.

The pyramid structure of the modern church is a hangover from Roman Catholicism. Structure has value, but the church is a body, not a one band. So we should endeavour to follow the Biblical pattern, "What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a psalm or a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. All of these must be done to build up the church." (1 Corinthians 14:26)

If you want to know why the church is so weak and insipid, you have your answer.

My apologies for the rant. It's not exactly on topic. Hopefully it helps.
 
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Gideon300 said:
We invited people that showed interest to meet the leadership first. Our main outreach was via the IRC (if anyone here remembers that). Quite a few came to visit, including a couple who came 4,000 km. They could not stay, but they went home rejoicing. Others did not respond so well.

A few stayed, even moving from interstate. The pastor passed away and most of those who joined us went their separate ways.

The ideal maximum for a home based fellowship is 30. It gets really hard to help everyone when it gets over that number. My wife and I have spent many hours with one woman who has deep issues to deal with. If the fellowship exceeds 30, its time to divide. I suppose that's why they are called cell groups. Some would say that it's more like the leaders want to put you in prison.

The pyramid structure of the modern church is a hangover from Roman Catholicism. Structure has value, but the church is a body, not a one band. So we should endeavour to follow the Biblical pattern, "What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a psalm or a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. All of these must be done to build up the church." (1 Corinthians 14:26)

If you want to know why the church is so weak and insipid, you have your answer.

My apologies for the rant. It's not exactly on topic. Hopefully it helps.
Click to expand...
When you split, what if you do not have a qualified person to lead that group?
What if no one wants to leave the first group?
If you have 30, that seems very crowded in a home.
Do you rent space?
 
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Howdy said:
So define it for me.
Click to expand...
You're the one raising the issue in your comments asking "what if you do not have a qualified person to lead that group? "

If you have no definition for who would be qualified to lead then why are you asking the question?
 
JayWalker said:
You're the one raising the issue in your comments asking "what if you do not have a qualified person to lead that group? "

If you have no definition for who would be qualified to lead then why are you asking the question?
Click to expand...
A qualified person has several qualifications.
First he must be saved.
Second he must have a good knowledge and understanding of the Scripture.
Third he must be led by the Holy Spirit to take the responsibility of leading.
Fourth he must be able to lead people, people trusting him and willing to follow.
Fifth he must be able to teach those who need teaching.
 
I am not apposed to small groups. But I have seem many that begin small and stay small for various reasons.
The do not go into the community and seek the lost. They do not have a program where children can be taught at their own level. Some i have dwelt with do not want any outsiders.
The church I am a part of began in a home with 8 adults. We were active in going into the community and preaching the gospel. With in 3 months we had 19 adults and 6 children. We did not have room for them all so we rented a building
A year later we had 50 adults and 22 children. We ran out of room for the children. 22 in a 12 x 20 room and 50 adults in a 20 x 30 room was too much. Only one bathroom.
Everyone wanted to stay one body. No one wanted to leave.
When we looked for a larger place, there was none to be had in a town of 1200.
We made the commitment to build a building.
We had a person donated 5 ac of land at the edge of town.
One member had an excavation business and he donated his time, equipment, and men to prepare the foundation and parking lot with the men of the church helping.
We had enough money to have the foundation poured.
We had a bank loan us $200,000 with the members co-signing the note.
We had a group of retired builders come and help us build the exterior walls and the roof building in 2 weeks.
After a year we had a building that will seat 200 and 6 Sunday school rooms to teach the children
By this time we had grown to over 100 with us having to have 2 meeting every Sunday in the rented space.
With the offerings of our members and other churches, after 3 years the loan is paid in full and we have over 160 members and usually have 30 to 40 from our community visit every Sunday.
No member received a single cent for their work. It was all done in Love for the Lord and the salvation of this town of 1300.
We did not split because we are a family and no one wanted to leave the family.
God has blessed us greatly.
 
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