Three expectations of small groups

At Community Christian Church, we have three expectations of anyone who chooses to follow Jesus. We expect every person to celebrate, connect, and contribute weekly:

• When we celebrate, we focus primarily on our relationship with God. We can consistently celebrate the goodness of God through worship, Bible reading, prayer, meditation, and journaling.
  
• When we connect, we focus primarily on our relationship with God’s family, the church. Our small groups are the best place for people to live out Jesus’ Big Idea to love both God and others.
  
• When we contribute, we focus primarily on our relationship with the world. We can contribute weekly to God’s work using our unique talents, passions, and resources.
  

At CCC, we launched small groups before we ever had a weekend celebration service. Experiencing biblical community through small groups is our antidote to Information Isolation. Small groups provide not only an environment where all three of these experiences can occur but also the encouragement and accountability any Christ follower needs to be what we call a growing “3C Christ follower.”

Our small groups are the environment in which people experience the most dramatic life transformation. Here’s one example:

Experiencing biblical community through small groups is our antidote to Information Isolation.

Patty was the first to recognize a need for something more; she identified it as a spiritual issue. Her husband, Ralph, says that he just felt that life was very superficial — that too often, nothing really seemed to matter.

About that time a friend invited them to a weekend service at CCC. They admit it was different for them. They had some of the same questions many people have when they first come to CCC: “Where are the candles? Stained glass? Robes? Kneelers?” However, they experienced something unique in the service: energy, excitement, enthusiasm, a real celebration where people were actually happy to be there.

It wasn’t long before they realized they wanted something more. They heard over and over again that a small group is a great place to connect with other people who are trying to get closer to God, but they were reluctant to give it a try. They could only imagine a bunch of “holy rollers.” What they found was something quite different: friendship, encouragement, support, and a real connection. They met people they could count on, pray with, and have fun with. Ralph says, “My fears subsided when I learned I wouldn’t have to stick my hand into a basket of snakes or sing ‘Kum Ba Yah.’ ” After several months in the group, Ralph and Patty “went public” — they were baptized by their small group leader, John.

After that, Ralph and Patty say their spiritual journey kicked into high gear. They attended a LifeMap course, in which they began to understand the way God had uniquely created them to make a difference in the world. And for the first time they realized that God had given them gifts and passions that could be used to contribute to the cause of helping people find their way back to God. After working alongside his small group leader for a while, Ralph stepped up to lead a small group himself, and soon Patty began serving in Kids’ City, the children’s ministry at CCC.

Celebrate, connect, contribute. It’s no accident that Ralph and Patty have experienced significant life transformation. They are experiencing God’s dream for every one of us. In Community 101, Gilbert Bilezikian writes, “It is in small groups that people can get close enough to know each other, to care and share, to challenge and support, to confide and confess, to forgive and be forgiven, to laugh and weep together, to be accountable to each other, to watch over each other, and to grow together. Personal growth does not happen in isolation. It is the result of interactive relationships. Small groups are God’s gift to foster change in character and spiritual growth.”We have found that using the Big Idea in our small groups greatly increases the likelihood that our groups will become transforming communities.

Celebrate, connect, contribute. It’s no accident that Ralph and Patty have experienced significant life transformation. They are experiencing God’s dream for every one of us.

Ferguson, D., Ferguson, J., & Bramlett, E. (2009). The big idea: focus the message---multiply the impact. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

If you need help with custom lessons for your church, please contact me. josh@joshhunt.com 575.650.4564

-- Josh Hunt