Church Growth Groups
Contents
- Church Growth Groups - the vision
- What is a Church Growth Group?
- The purpose of the Church Growth Group
- Discussion notes
- Example study
- How can the Evangelical Working Alliance help?
ImageVision
The Evangelical Working Alliance wishes to make a contribution towards the building up and spiritual renewal of the local church. Because small groups fulfil a key role in this, the Evangelical Working Alliance wishes to offer its help in starting and coaching a network of cell groups within the local church.
What is a Church Growth Group?
In Jesus' teaching ministry we can discover three groups of people around Him. Jesus spoke to large groups, e.g. by the feeding of the 5000. He spoke to individuals, e.g. the Samaritan woman. Besides this Jesus had a small group of people with Him, the disciples. With these He spoke of the things He received from His Father.
In our spiritual life we can also find these three groups. On Sunday we meet together as the 'whole church', gathering for worship and to hear the Word. We also have our own private times of personal prayer and Bible reading. But we also need something between the personal and the large crowd: the small group. Or, to make it clearer, a small group ( consisting of a minimum of 7 and a maximum of 15 people) who regularly meet together to read God's Word and share their personal faith and the everyday things of life.
The purpose of the church growth group
The church growth group is one way of building up the church and consists of fellowship groups who meet together once a fortnight so that through:
- listening to God's Word;
- talking about life and faith;
- praying & seeking together
- they will grow together in faith.
We are called to encourage each other and build each other up, to teach each other and spur each other on to good works.
See 1Tess.5:11 and Heb. 10:24:
Col 3:16 says, 'Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.'
- they will grow together in fellowship.
We are called to love each other and to serve each other with our spiritual gifts.
See John 13: 34, 35:
1 Peter 4: 10: 'Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.'
- they will grow together in number.
We are called to spread the gospel in word and deed
see Rom. 15: 18.
Mat. 28:19 teaches us, 'Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.'
Discussion Notes
The notes for discussion will be specially developed by the Evangelical Working Alliance for the Church Growth Groups. These discussion notes are just meant as a guide. They consist of one A4 containing questions for discussion. The design of the A4 is such that three main points keep recurring:
- what do you think about the subject?
- What does the Bible say about it?
- What can we do about it in practice?
It seems that these discussion notes really catch on well because they are relevant to the culture in which we live. The main concern is not coming up with the right answer but sharing what you think and believe. After that you look at what the Bible says. As far as possible we want the Bible to speak for itself. The central question is, 'What do you think the Bible says and what does it mean for us today?'
Example study
- Stress or Peace
- Meeting together
- What things stress you out?
- Prayer
- Your thoughts
Busy, busy, busy is an expression that is frequently heard when you ask people how they are. Do we experience more stress these days than we used to? Why?
Reflections from the Bible
Read: Isaiah 30: 15 - 21
We are busy with all sorts of things and usually they are things that interest us as well. There is nothing wrong with being busy, but it is dangerous if you expect too much from yourself and your busyness. Especially if we spend our lives feeling stressed. Isaiah 30 speaks about 'swift horses' which we expect to help us. This is also relevant to our day where swiftness is so important. Fast communication, always available via your GSM; wanting to move quickly from one place to another. The question is, 'where do we expect help from?' and 'do we still experience peace in our lives?'
- What do you understand by 'in repentance and rest is you salvation'? And what about 'in quietness and trust is your strength' ?
- Why do we have a tendency to rely more on 'swift horses'?
- How could we learn to look for strength in 'quietness and trust'?
- What does God promise us in verses 18-21 if we will wait for Him? What effect would that have on our experience of stress or peace?
For further study personally or in the group
- When the Lord Jesus sees the people n Matthew 9:36 he sees that they look 'stressed'. What does He see as the cause and what do you think of that?
- In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus gives advice to weary and burdened people. Give His advice again in your own words.
Practical questions
- Do you ever ask yourself what makes you stressed and what you could do to change that?
- How important is what you do? When do you think of yourself as indispensable?
- How could you put it into practice to 'come to Jesus and learn from Him'?
- How can you take His yoke upon you?
Thanks and Prayer
Write on a piece of paper what causes you to worry and what makes you feel burdened. If you have a cross, place the folded pieces of paper under it and tell Jesus in prayer that you want to leave these worries and cares with Him. Then throw the pieces of paper away
How can the Evangelical Working Alliance help?
- The EWA is a Dutch organisation based in the Netherlands. All study materials are at present only available in the Dutch language.
- The EWV will help the church leadership to set up 8 training evenings for their own church. If the leadership is unable to do this the EWV will find, in consultation, another possibility for training either in another church or at a regional training evening.
- Two national training days per year for (new) group leaders in order to keep the vision sharp, to give opportunity for exchanging views, deepening of faith and practical equipping.
- The Church Growth Group material.
For further information you can contact us.
telephone 00 31 + 342 4600 10
mail >click here<
adress
Eendrachstraat 33
3784 KA Terschuur
The Netherlands
