Five Reasons Your Community Group Might Be Tanking
Earlier this week I read a helpful article on why Community Groups fail. Now, the phrase used in the article was “spiritual family,” but the idea is any kind of discipleship structure in the local church that attempts to build community centered on the gospel. Or, a more detailed way to say it — one that’s less buzzy — is “Bible in relationship.” That is the fundamental ingredient for any kind of discipleship. There must be the Bible, and there must be people together. Our Community Groups in their most basic form are trying to do that. And, of course, more than that.
In our Community Groups we want our members to be shaped as disciples, which means being equipped as disciple-makers. Disciples become disciple-makers. So a group that only ever stays insular — one that never invites others in — is a group that has a discipleship malfunction. Even if you’re doing a Bible study, any decent Bible study will always grow. Always. Because nobody truly learns more about the message of Scripture and says, “You know, I’d like to just keep this to ourselves.” All true discipleship leads to multiplication — of believers, of groups, of churches. This has only been going on for like two thousand years. How else do you think we know about the gospel here in North America?
We want all of our Community Groups, whether your current state is Community, Hospitality, or Mission, to be on a trajectory to grow and multiply (because that is the real test of whether it’s true discipleship). And it is a trajectory, to be clear. It might be a few years down the road before you have another leader who can step out and start a new group. That’s okay. But I just want you to know that growth and multiplication is in your future … if you have the Bible in relationship.
And if you don’t, eventually your group will tank.
So back to that article I read … I’ve adapted my own cautionary list for our context. Here are five reasons your Community Groups might be tanking.
#1. The leader doesn’t disciple others or raise up future leaders.
The leader of each Community Group is the guy on the hook to make sure the group is getting in the Word together. That’s the main thing: open the Bible together. And then while the Bible is open in the room, and you’re talking about what the Bible says and inviting others to share, that’s also the best place to scout for leadership acumen. Who you could imagine leading a new iteration of the current group?
You think about a guy, and then you think about why it wouldn’t work. But then, because the name of the game is discipleship, you think about what steps are needed to get that guy from point B to L (brother to leader). And then you do it.
#2. The pastors don’t disciple leaders to disciple others.
You’re most likely not going to succeed in your work as a CG leader if you feel disconnected from the pastors. This is something that we’re really trying to work on, and it’s why every CG leader has a direct connection to one of our pastors. We’ll get to Jethro soon, but we have clarified our focus as pastors to be first and foremost directed at CG leaders. As a CG leader, you should be hearing from your pastor on a regular basis, and you are encouraged to reach out to him anytime. One of the top ways we’re tracking our effectiveness is our connection to you.
#3. The Community Group isn’t part of the larger, worshiping body.
The identity of a disciple is threefold: worshiper, servant, missionary. And worship is most fundamental. It’s the chief goal of all discipleship, which is no wonder why it’s so shaping for our souls. If you have a group that isn’t regularly joining Cities Church for worship on Sundays, the wheels are loosening. Our Sunday gathering for worship is the moment when we all remember that we are one church, born of God, and spread throughout the Twin Cities metro for the advance of the gospel. Our worship gathering is the heartbeat that pumps life into your calling throughout the week.
This doesn’t mean that every person in your group attends worship at Cities Church yet — we want our groups to be a big front door to connect with people who are far from God. But we also realize that Sundays are crucial for discipleship, and we want you to guide non-attenders into attending, and non-members into membership.
#4. The Community Group leader does everything.
We’ve dubbed our groups “shared, focused ministry networks” — and by “shared” we mean the whole group is sharing ministry together, men and women, the group leader and the group members. As the leaders, if you feel like it won’t get done unless you do it, something is wrong. The more multiple people are relied upon for certain things, the more ownership of the group those people will take, which multiples the ownership and strengthens the group. Everyone can’t all be leaders of the same thing at one time, but different members can take leadership over different pieces of the group. One of the best ways to get this started is to catalog all the different aspects that go into making the group work, such as:
Hosting
Food or snack schedule
Bible discussion leader
Prayer request leader
Email/communication leader
Outreach leader
Serve rotation leader
Each of these aspects require energy, and if one person is the point for all of them, I’d bet your group is struggling. Consider identifying different aspects of your group, and think toward inviting others to own them.
#5. Nobody ever really prays.
The last thing we want to do with Community Groups is reduce them down to a handful of practical things you must do in order to have an effective group. It doesn’t work that way. We are supernaturalists, remember! We believe that the power of the Holy Spirit changes everything. Obedience is more important than strategy, and obedience includes living like Jesus is more real than anything else. His realness — his nearness and grace — is what we are always most desperate for, and that is why we pray.
Prayer is not a tax on your meeting time, but it’s the honest realization that unless God move, unless God fulfill our every resolve for good and every work of faith (2 Thess. 1:11), it’s all for nothing. So pray. Pray like your group depends on it. Because, well, it does.
