City W was one of the earliest cities in China to adopt the small-group pastoral care model. Recently, however, a local pastor who has been managing churches for several decades expressed that, although the small-group model had its benefits, it was a "misfit" in grassroots churches for a number of reasons. Hence, when carrying out the small-group model, grassroots churches should be cautious and not blindly follow suit.
Elder C is the director of a grassroots church in City W. The church has a congregation of more than 1,000 people, which is made up of a wide range of ages and occupations. Urbanization of the city has also caused greater physical distance, as church members are living farther apart from each other. For a grassroots church with a large congregation, the establishment of small groups allows more efficient pastoral care, management, and visitation. It also enhances the congregation's sense of belonging to the church. Yet, according to Elder C, in order for the small-group model to really take root in grassroots churches, the following issues would first need to be addressed.
Firstly, the positioning of small-group model is misaligned with the needs of grassroots churches.
Brother Z, the head of the church's literature ministry and youth ministry, pointed out that the emphasis on vision and mission of local grassroots churches was different from that of small-group churches. The small-group model that the churches in the city adopted is mostly from places like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. In these locations, the main vision of urban churches under the small-group model is the expansion of the congregation, and these churches strive to develop their small-group ministry into small-group churches. However, Brother Z stated that membership expansion was still not the emphasis of the grassroots churches. For many more local churches, small groups only needed to serve as a connecting channel and church management aid.
Elder C believed that some churches that have implemented the small-group model, as well as some members of these churches, had misunderstood the purpose of small groups and the positioning of the church. When the city’s churches started to adopt the small-group model, some believers thought that they could just attend either small groups or the church service; some even regarded small groups as more important than the church service. They felt that as the teaching in the sermon of the church service only went one way and the sharing was interactive in small groups, the latter was more in line with the needs of development in modern-day believers. But Elder C stressed that, with regards to the faith and the church, Sunday worship alone should be the key focus and that all ministries were merely aids. If one had been confused on this issue, they might get their priorities wrong.
"The church has no single solution, but only one single God." Elder C continued to share that some local churches were convinced that small groups were the only solution for the church. On the one hand, they ignored the fact that the increase in membership was, in some sense, exaggerated. There was an increase in the number of believers, but not in the overall quality of them. And on the other hand, they attributed the success of church expansion only to the small-group model and not to God.
Secondly, high-quality group leaders are to be selected and trained in grassroots churches adopting the small-group model.
Elder C pointed out that the group leaders played a very important role in the small-group model. Overseas churches were able to implement the small-group model as they could find suitable group leaders among believers more easily. Having inherited a background of faith, the overall quality of the believers was high. However, the overall quality of believers in the city’s churches was inadequate. Most believers were still at the level of folk religion. The quality and effectiveness of implementing the small-group model were therefore limited.
Also, Elder C pointed out that in grassroots churches, the systems in management and leadership might easily become imbalanced as excessive reliance might be placed on the power of individual leaders. As the congregation continued to grow in size, churches should be able to establish systems for the control of authority, especially that of the leaders. Small groups were aimed at downplaying the power of leaders. However, as the small groups grew in popularity, some of the leaders may have become self-satisfied and stopped following the church's instructions.
Furthermore, when adopting the small-group model, some churches only followed the model mechanically. They used the number of small groups as an indicator and formed more small groups in order to create more groups. These churches would only mechanically assign an equal number of congregation members to a fixed number of small groups. To manage the groups, a certain number of group leaders must then be selected, and when there are no high-quality believers, some incompetent believers might be assigned to be group leaders. This would easily cause self-inflation, impairing the group leaders' function as a communication channel between the church and believers. Moreover, small-group-based biblical teaching, management, and visitation activities would also be affected.
In this regard, he urged that grassroots churches needed to be aware of the issue of congregation quality. When creating and arranging small groups, the churches should not be number-oriented but rather aim for the suitability of group leaders. They should first seek out members who are fit to be group leaders. Then, different numbers of members could be assigned to the small groups according to the gifts of the group leaders. There might be five members or as many as 20 members in a group.
Thirdly, it is difficult to form small groups based on members’ needs and share sermon messages in grassroots churches.
Brother Z of the church commented that the key to gaining the advantage of small groups lay in the sharing session of each meeting. This not only required the leadership of high-quality group leaders but also suitability in group division.
He believed that, at present, local churches were not able to arrange the groups in a more detailed classification. Usually, groups were arranged only according to age and place of residence. Members within a group might be very different in their life stages and the lives they led. But it would be difficult if one were to further arrange the groups vertically, such as by occupation or roles, like the role of "mothers," because of the shortage of church management staff and the variance in the occupations of the congregation members.
Brother Z also said that, in order to reinforce the sermon’s message, group leaders needed to put forward questions based on the sermon’s message of the week during the meetings and lead members in the sharing and discussion.
Just as Elder C said, small groups are no doubt a solution for churches today. However, most of the grassroots churches are still in the "natural group" stage. Therefore, for churches to fully realize the advantage of small groups, such as that in biblical teaching reinforcement and fellowship, much remains to be done by the churches in the management and pastoral care of small groups.
- Translated by Joyce Leung
W市是国内开展小组牧养较早的城市之一，但近期该市一拥有几十年教会管理经验的牧者表示，小组牧养有其益处，但在基层教会中也存在诸多“水土不服”之处。基层教会应慎重面对小组模式，切忌盲目跟风模仿。
C长老是W市一基层教会的堂委主任，该教会有会众1000多人，信徒年龄职业等跨度大，城市化的发展令信徒之间的居住距离也越来越远。对于人数基数大的基层教会来说，建立小组可以更高效地开展教会牧养、管理、探访等活动，增强信徒对教会的归属感。但C长老表示，小组模式在基层教会真正落地生根还需解决以下几个问题。
第一，小组定位与基层教会需求错位
该教会文字事工和青年同工负责人Z弟兄提出，小组教会和地方基层教会在使命和异象上的侧重点有所不同。该市教会所学习的小组模式多来自港台、新加坡等地，那边都是按照小组模式来管理的城市教会，倍增是其重要异象，力求从小组事工向小组教会发展。但Z弟兄直言，倍增目前仍不是基层教会的侧重点，对更多的地方教会来讲，小组只需要成为一个连接通道，成为教会管理的一个补充。
C长老认为，有些推动小组的教会和信徒误解了小组和教会的定位。在该市学习小组管理的过程中，有人认为小组聚会和教会礼拜可以二选一，甚至小组活动比教会聚会更重要。他们认为教会礼拜的教导是单向性的，而小组是双向性的分享，后者更符合当代教育的需要。但C长老表示，“对于信仰和教会来说，所有事工都是辅助性的，唯有主日敬拜才是主体。如果这个跌倒，那就是喧宾夺主。”
“教会没有唯一的出路，只有唯一的神。”C长老继续讲到，该市一些教会认定小组是教会的唯一出路。他们一方面忽视倍增数字的水分——信徒数量增加但整体素质不高，另一方面只将倍增完全归功于小组模式，而非归于上帝。
第二，小组模式需要基层教会选拔和培养高素质小组长
C长老表示，在小组模式中很重要的角色是小组长。海外施行小组的基础在于信徒整体素质高，有历史传承，有较高可能性在信徒当中找到合适的小组长，但该市教会信徒的整体素质不够，大多还处于民间信仰水平，小组管理的整理质量和效果比较受限。
C长老指出，基层教会管理很容易在制度管理和领袖治理之间失衡，过多依赖领袖个人的权威，随着教会人数增加，教会应懂得建立制度约束权力特别是领袖权力。小组建立之初有助于淡化领袖权威，但也有有些小组长因小组发展骄傲了，不再听从教会安排管理。
另一方面，有些教会在学习小组模式时只依样画葫芦，以追求建立小组为目的，将小组数量当作指标，将会堂信徒机械性地平均分配到固定的小组数量中。为完成小组管理，就必须选拔出一定数量的小组长，此时没有高素质的信徒就转而找一些还不足以承担责任的信徒做小组长。此时不仅容易导致个人主义膨胀，失去小组长传达沟通教会和信徒的功能，还会让以小组为依托的圣经牧养、管理和探访等活动都受到影响。
对此C长老提出，基层教会要认识到信徒素质的问题。在建立和划分小组时，不以小组数量为导向，而要以小组长的资格为导向，先找到适合做小组长的人。根据小组长恩赐的大小分配组员，5或者20人都可。
第三，基层教会中小组划分和分享难以垂直化
该教会Z弟兄分享，要真正实现小组模式的优势，最重要的是每次小组聚会中的分享环节。不仅需要高素质小组长的带领，也有赖于合理的小组划分。
他认为地方教会的小组分类目前做不到细化，一般多以年龄和居住地划分，小组内部成员间的生命光景、具体生活情境不尽相同。若想进一步垂直性划分比如按照职业、“母亲”等身份来划分，则组织人员有限且因信徒职业差异较大难以实现。
同时，Z弟兄指出，在小组聚会中，小组长需要根据当周主日信息分配相关问题，带领组员分享交流，旨在强化深耕证道内容。
正如C长老所说，不容否认，小组是当前教会的一条出路。但大多基层教会的小组模式仍停留在“自然小组”阶段，教会在学习细胞小组管理和牧养方面还任重道远，发挥出小组在深耕话语、联络团契等方面的优势。
小组牧养在基层教会管理中“水土不服”之处
City W was one of the earliest cities in China to adopt the small-group pastoral care model. Recently, however, a local pastor who has been managing churches for several decades expressed that, although the small-group model had its benefits, it was a "misfit" in grassroots churches for a number of reasons. Hence, when carrying out the small-group model, grassroots churches should be cautious and not blindly follow suit.
Elder C is the director of a grassroots church in City W. The church has a congregation of more than 1,000 people, which is made up of a wide range of ages and occupations. Urbanization of the city has also caused greater physical distance, as church members are living farther apart from each other. For a grassroots church with a large congregation, the establishment of small groups allows more efficient pastoral care, management, and visitation. It also enhances the congregation's sense of belonging to the church. Yet, according to Elder C, in order for the small-group model to really take root in grassroots churches, the following issues would first need to be addressed.
Firstly, the positioning of small-group model is misaligned with the needs of grassroots churches.
Brother Z, the head of the church's literature ministry and youth ministry, pointed out that the emphasis on vision and mission of local grassroots churches was different from that of small-group churches. The small-group model that the churches in the city adopted is mostly from places like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. In these locations, the main vision of urban churches under the small-group model is the expansion of the congregation, and these churches strive to develop their small-group ministry into small-group churches. However, Brother Z stated that membership expansion was still not the emphasis of the grassroots churches. For many more local churches, small groups only needed to serve as a connecting channel and church management aid.
Elder C believed that some churches that have implemented the small-group model, as well as some members of these churches, had misunderstood the purpose of small groups and the positioning of the church. When the city’s churches started to adopt the small-group model, some believers thought that they could just attend either small groups or the church service; some even regarded small groups as more important than the church service. They felt that as the teaching in the sermon of the church service only went one way and the sharing was interactive in small groups, the latter was more in line with the needs of development in modern-day believers. But Elder C stressed that, with regards to the faith and the church, Sunday worship alone should be the key focus and that all ministries were merely aids. If one had been confused on this issue, they might get their priorities wrong.
"The church has no single solution, but only one single God." Elder C continued to share that some local churches were convinced that small groups were the only solution for the church. On the one hand, they ignored the fact that the increase in membership was, in some sense, exaggerated. There was an increase in the number of believers, but not in the overall quality of them. And on the other hand, they attributed the success of church expansion only to the small-group model and not to God.
Secondly, high-quality group leaders are to be selected and trained in grassroots churches adopting the small-group model.
Elder C pointed out that the group leaders played a very important role in the small-group model. Overseas churches were able to implement the small-group model as they could find suitable group leaders among believers more easily. Having inherited a background of faith, the overall quality of the believers was high. However, the overall quality of believers in the city’s churches was inadequate. Most believers were still at the level of folk religion. The quality and effectiveness of implementing the small-group model were therefore limited.
Also, Elder C pointed out that in grassroots churches, the systems in management and leadership might easily become imbalanced as excessive reliance might be placed on the power of individual leaders. As the congregation continued to grow in size, churches should be able to establish systems for the control of authority, especially that of the leaders. Small groups were aimed at downplaying the power of leaders. However, as the small groups grew in popularity, some of the leaders may have become self-satisfied and stopped following the church's instructions.
Furthermore, when adopting the small-group model, some churches only followed the model mechanically. They used the number of small groups as an indicator and formed more small groups in order to create more groups. These churches would only mechanically assign an equal number of congregation members to a fixed number of small groups. To manage the groups, a certain number of group leaders must then be selected, and when there are no high-quality believers, some incompetent believers might be assigned to be group leaders. This would easily cause self-inflation, impairing the group leaders' function as a communication channel between the church and believers. Moreover, small-group-based biblical teaching, management, and visitation activities would also be affected.
In this regard, he urged that grassroots churches needed to be aware of the issue of congregation quality. When creating and arranging small groups, the churches should not be number-oriented but rather aim for the suitability of group leaders. They should first seek out members who are fit to be group leaders. Then, different numbers of members could be assigned to the small groups according to the gifts of the group leaders. There might be five members or as many as 20 members in a group.
Thirdly, it is difficult to form small groups based on members’ needs and share sermon messages in grassroots churches.
Brother Z of the church commented that the key to gaining the advantage of small groups lay in the sharing session of each meeting. This not only required the leadership of high-quality group leaders but also suitability in group division.
He believed that, at present, local churches were not able to arrange the groups in a more detailed classification. Usually, groups were arranged only according to age and place of residence. Members within a group might be very different in their life stages and the lives they led. But it would be difficult if one were to further arrange the groups vertically, such as by occupation or roles, like the role of "mothers," because of the shortage of church management staff and the variance in the occupations of the congregation members.
Brother Z also said that, in order to reinforce the sermon’s message, group leaders needed to put forward questions based on the sermon’s message of the week during the meetings and lead members in the sharing and discussion.
Just as Elder C said, small groups are no doubt a solution for churches today. However, most of the grassroots churches are still in the "natural group" stage. Therefore, for churches to fully realize the advantage of small groups, such as that in biblical teaching reinforcement and fellowship, much remains to be done by the churches in the management and pastoral care of small groups.
- Translated by Joyce Leung
Why Small Group Ministry a Misfit in Grassroots Churches
