Small Groups

From Faith Pulpit, Winter 2015. Used by permission, all rights reserved.

The venerable adult Sunday School class has not been doing well recently. Most churches still have one or more adult Sunday School classes (though some churches have already abandoned them), but a new adult ministry seems to be getting the priority these days—small groups.

I believe that one reason for the popularity of small groups is that in many cases we have not done adult Sunday School well. Adult Sunday Schools in many churches have become stale and lifeless, so we have looked for a new ministry. Small groups seem like the answer to the problems of adult Sunday School classes.

How Do They Differ?

Most of us are familiar with adult Sunday School classes. Churches have had them for decades. Smaller churches may have only one class while larger churches have multiple classes. Churches that have more than one adult class may group the adults by ages (my preference) or allow adults to attend any class they want. Many churches today call the adult classes Adult Bible Fellowships (ABFs).

More on the Blessings of Small Groups

Read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

by Ryan McCammack

Previously in my articles on this topic, I have talked about the why and the how of small groups at Calvary Baptist Church in Joliet, Illinois. In this article, I will seek to address what has happened at our church as a result of this ministry. As a springboard into this topic, let’s briefly look at a passage of Scripture:

See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness (Heb. 3:12-1, NIV).

This passage teaches us, among other things, that we are prone to unbelief and rebellion against God because of the deceitfulness of our own sinful hearts. If you have been a believer for any length of time, you have no doubt seen this principle in action. Sin is consistently and actively waging its campaign of deceit in your own life.

Read Part 1 and Part 2

More on the Blessings of Small Groups

Welcome once again to the continuing saga of small-group ministry at Calvary Baptist Church (Joliet, IL). In my previous offerings on this topic, I addressed the motivating factors that led us to begin this type of ministry as well as some of the logistical issues that running this type of program brings about.

The general consensus of the feedback that I received from both articles boiled down to essentially one question—“What does it look like?” Certainly, I do not claim to be an expert on all things small groups; however, the Lord has used this ministry in our local assembly, and if our experience can in any way serve other members of the body of Christ, then I will gladly relate what we have learned. So without any further ado, let me explain what you would see on a typical Wednesday evening at Calvary. (Isn’t this exciting? All two of you who are reading this post can stop holding your breath now)

Before I get into specifics, however, let me lay out a couple of foundational principles that I try to consistently emphasize to those in our church who participate in small groups.