Churches have been running small group ministries for a very long time. During the pandemic, when traditional church events faced obstacles, many churches attempted to transition ministry teams into small groups.
A church in City S has embraced a small group model for nearly five years. In 2018, the church underwent a reform, initiating a comprehensive implementation of the small group ministry. Pastor Qiu (pseudonym) explained that before adopting small groups, the church's emphasis was mainly on fellowship. During this period, they encountered practical challenges such as limited pastoral personnel and repetitive tasks. Eventually, the pastors became extremely busy, unable to cater to all believers. Some fellowship groups even saw a decline in attendance.
Faced with these challenges, Qiu departed from the traditional fellowship group model and initiated the implementation of refined cell groups. The congregation was divided into five groups: youth, adults, middle-aged, strong adults, and seniors, encompassing nearly all believers. This was done in line with the principle of "caring first, then nurturing."
Comparatively, Pastor Qiu dedicated more years to studying and mastering the small group model than to small groups themselves. According to him, leading small groups requires leaders to have a clear understanding of the vision and a firm determination. Additionally, mature concepts are crucial. Blindly adopting others' models during the initial stages will lead to failure. He underscored the significance of small groups' mission and vision, which should be deeply ingrained in believers' lives. Moreover, he mentioned the necessity for tailored training in areas such as marriage and family, work, and parenting to edify believers based on each small group's characteristics.
He emphasized that cell groups should be active. At least three events of different sizes are held each year for the entire church, pastoral areas, and small groups. These activities foster emotional connections among believers, hence their commitment to the church, and resist heretical teachings.
Some pastors worry that the church will split if small groups grow. Pastor Qiu shared a past incident where prayer groups were established in different regions. Some groups, with an increase in the number of believers, detach themselves from the church due to resisting splitting. Learning from this experience, they now stipulate that each small group cannot exceed 15 members, and the group should split if it expands. If a group leader decides to leave, they must hand over the leadership.
Although Pastor Qiu's church has been implementing the small group ministry for five years, a few believers still dissociate themselves from the church. Qiu mentioned that pastoral staff are organizing visits for them with comfort and care and advising them to join a suitable group.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
小组事工很早之前就有教会在开展。疫情期间，当传统教会活动开展受阻时，很多教会尝试转型做小组。
S市一间教会做小组已近五年的时间了，2018年教会进行改革，开始全面推行小组聚会模式。秋牧师（化名）介绍，他们没做小组之前，教会主要以团契为主。这期间他们遇到很多现实的问题，如教牧人员不足，传道人忙得不可开交，信徒也没能全部顾及到，甚至有的团契小组人还越做越少。
基于以上情况，秋牧师打破了教会传统团契小组模式，开始做精细化细胞小组。堂会分了青年、成年、中年、壮年、乐龄五个小组，几乎将所有信徒覆盖在内，贯穿“先关怀再牧养”的理念。
相较于做小组的时间，秋牧师花费了更多年的时间去研究小组，学习小组模式。秋牧师说，做小组首先带领者要有对其异象的理解，且有坚定的意志；其次，要有成熟的理念，特别是教会初期尝试做小组的时候，只是照搬别人的模式不一定能做下去；再者，他还提到小组的使命异象，要常常提出来，烙印在信徒的心中；最后，针对各小组特点开展相应学习，在婚姻家庭、工作育儿方面开展培训，让信徒生命得建造。
他强调细胞小组就是要活跃。他们每年针对教会整体，单独牧区，和各个小组至少举行三次大中小型活动。小组活动促进了信徒之间情感的连接，促进了信仰的稳定性，同时抵制异端邪教。
对于做小组，很多教会有一个担忧点：分裂，秋牧师分享了他们之前的一个案例。教会以前在各个区域成立了祷告小组，有的区的小组人数多了，不愿意裂变，就成了一个聚会点，慢慢地就脱离教会了。基于此次经历，他们规定每个小组不允许超过15人，壮大了必须要分，不是自己的组员不要放在群里。并且假如有一天带领者要走了，必须把小组交出来。
秋牧师所在堂虽然开设小组已经五年了，但少部分信徒不在小组里。秋牧师说，牧者同工会组织探访没纳入小组的信徒，进行关怀，帮助他们进入合适的小组。
经验之谈|教会转型做小组需注意什么？
Churches have been running small group ministries for a very long time. During the pandemic, when traditional church events faced obstacles, many churches attempted to transition ministry teams into small groups.
A church in City S has embraced a small group model for nearly five years. In 2018, the church underwent a reform, initiating a comprehensive implementation of the small group ministry. Pastor Qiu (pseudonym) explained that before adopting small groups, the church's emphasis was mainly on fellowship. During this period, they encountered practical challenges such as limited pastoral personnel and repetitive tasks. Eventually, the pastors became extremely busy, unable to cater to all believers. Some fellowship groups even saw a decline in attendance.
Faced with these challenges, Qiu departed from the traditional fellowship group model and initiated the implementation of refined cell groups. The congregation was divided into five groups: youth, adults, middle-aged, strong adults, and seniors, encompassing nearly all believers. This was done in line with the principle of "caring first, then nurturing."
Comparatively, Pastor Qiu dedicated more years to studying and mastering the small group model than to small groups themselves. According to him, leading small groups requires leaders to have a clear understanding of the vision and a firm determination. Additionally, mature concepts are crucial. Blindly adopting others' models during the initial stages will lead to failure. He underscored the significance of small groups' mission and vision, which should be deeply ingrained in believers' lives. Moreover, he mentioned the necessity for tailored training in areas such as marriage and family, work, and parenting to edify believers based on each small group's characteristics.
He emphasized that cell groups should be active. At least three events of different sizes are held each year for the entire church, pastoral areas, and small groups. These activities foster emotional connections among believers, hence their commitment to the church, and resist heretical teachings.
Some pastors worry that the church will split if small groups grow. Pastor Qiu shared a past incident where prayer groups were established in different regions. Some groups, with an increase in the number of believers, detach themselves from the church due to resisting splitting. Learning from this experience, they now stipulate that each small group cannot exceed 15 members, and the group should split if it expands. If a group leader decides to leave, they must hand over the leadership.
Although Pastor Qiu's church has been implementing the small group ministry for five years, a few believers still dissociate themselves from the church. Qiu mentioned that pastoral staff are organizing visits for them with comfort and care and advising them to join a suitable group.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Transformative Fellowship: A Pastor's Journey into Small Group Ministry
