Many churches struggle to keep their small groups interesting or even alive after a few months. Anyone involved in small groups has experience the natural ebb and flow of well meaning but time-challenged Christians attempting to regularly meet. Interestingly enough, the solution to long life and meaningful experiences for many small groups lies in the very things we are illustrating in this book — involvement in outreach projects.
I know from experience what these activities will do for small groups and other internally focused ministries of the church. The men’s ministry of one church I pastored normally met together once a week for general instruction and encouragement at the start of the meeting, then broke into small groups. That simple but effective format had served them well for some time. However, they noticed that enthusiasm was starting to wane; something was missing.
Almost by accident they discovered that the missing element was service. So they changed their approach. Each small group chose a project. Some repaired the homes of neighbors. Other groups assisted neighbors as they moved in. Some projects benefited church members and others aided non-members. There were missing members who returned and potential members who visited the church as a result of the small groups outreach activities. And perhaps the greatest benefit was that incorporating simple outreach projects into their schedules kept the small groups going strong.
