Recently, nurturing believers through small groups in house churches has become a common practice. However, regarding the shift from traditional church services to small group gatherings, what is the purpose of these small groups? Recently, a pastor in central China shared his reflections on this in practical terms.
Some small groups don’t run well
Rev. Jiayao (pseudonym) pointed out that many so-called "small group" gatherings in churches nowadays are simply the division of previous churches into different smaller meeting points. Essentially, this is just a way of breaking down the larger church into smaller fragments. The pastoral care that these small groups offer compared to the previous one that the majority of churches used in the past hasn't changed significantly since splitting into smaller units. The difference lies only in the reduced number of attendees on Sundays. Previously, there might have been hundreds of people gathering on Sundays, but now there are eight or ten people listening to sermons.
The pastor pointed out that this is not truly what small groups are meant to be. He mentioned that in such cases, the number of church members might gradually decrease. He observed that in some cases where churches have broken down into small groups, "even many churches have dispersed and ceased to exist." There are also instances where they just gather a few people online and claim to be conducting small groups without any people meeting in person.
The purpose of small groups should be to focus on the precise pastoral care of believers.
Regarding the purpose of conducting small groups, Jiayao believed that the focus should be on the transformation of how pastors nurture believers. Previously, during church services, pastors found it challenging to provide detailed and caring pastoral support to believers. Most of the time, the relationship between pastors and believers was limited to the pastor delivering a sermon on Sundays, with little interaction at other times.
He believed that when pastors are conducting pastoral care through church services, it is easier to attract seekers. Even if the church did not provide precise pastoral care to believers, the situation might be that "some leave and others join." However, after transitioning to small groups, the disadvantage is that small groups are not so effective in welcoming seekers into the church. Therefore, small groups present a greater challenge to pastors in terms of providing detailed pastoral care to believers.
Both pastors and believers need to invest time and effort into learning to build a healthy small group.
Jiayao believed that churches need to invest time and effort into learning when attempting to conduct small groups. In the churches he knows of, "very few conduct small groups according to the learned curriculum." He pointed out that even those who attend the training are reluctant to "pay the price" when it comes to building a small group ministry.
This pastor shared that in the past, churches might have conducted seeker classes to nurture catechumen in groups, but now this approach is not feasible. Seekers now need to be placed within small groups, grow alongside others, and be influenced by positive examples. This places higher demands on the involvement of small group members. For instance, "if you bring a friend, then the responsibility of nurturing that person in the small group falls on you, while others assist and support you."
In Jiayao's church small groups, there is a segment resembling a "question and answer" session at the end of Sunday worship services to assess the depth of believers' understanding of the sermon. Additionally, there is a daily spiritual check-in during the week, apart from the Sunday services. This places certain demands on believers' spiritual lives.
The pastor pointed out that sometimes when churches set expectations for believers, a situation arises where believers find meeting these expectations "troublesome" and decide "not to go to church anymore." Therefore, small groups should present genuine challenges to believers in their sincere faith. These spiritual benchmarks are crucial for Christians, as well as pastors.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
近来，通过小组牧养信徒在家庭教会中已经成为一个常见的方式。但是，对于从前的做堂会到现在的做小组，小组的目的是什么，近日一位华中的牧者就此分享了他在实践中的反思。
此“小组”非彼“小组”
佳耀牧师（化名）指出，现在他看到的很多教会所谓的“小组”聚会，只是之前的堂会划分成不同的小聚会点。这实质上是把大的堂会“化整为零”的方式。化整为零之后的小组和之前的堂会牧养上没有实质的改变，区别只是牧者周日讲道时听道的人数变少了，从前的堂会可能主日有上百人聚在一起听牧者讲道，现在变成了牧者给10人8人讲道。
佳耀牧师指出，这并不是真正意义上的小组。并指出，这种情况下，教会信徒人数可能会越来越少。他看到的一些堂会化整为零做的“小组”，出现的一个情况是，“甚至现在很多教会自然就散了，自然就没有了。”也有一些牧者原先牧养的教会“只是在线上抓了几个人聚会，然后也对外宣称自己也在做小组。”
做小组的目的应当是关注信徒的精细化牧养
对于做小组的目的，佳耀牧师认为，需要关注的是牧者对信徒牧养方式的转变。原先做堂会的时候，牧者比较难做到对信徒的精细牧养和关怀。大多时候，牧者和信徒的关系只是牧者主日讲一篇道，信徒在其他时间和牧者并不会有太多交集。
佳耀牧师认为，牧者通过堂会牧养时，堂会的一个优势是更容易吸引慕道友，即便教会不精细化牧养信徒，教会可能出现的情况是“走几个，再来几个”。做小组之后，劣势是小组不像堂会那么容易让慕道友进入教会，因此小组更加挑战牧者对信徒的精细化牧养问题。
做小组需要牧者和信徒都投入时间和精力学习
佳耀牧师认为，教会在尝试做小组时，需要投入时间和精力学习。在他认识的教会中，“小组真的按照学习过的课程在做的更少。”他指出，能参加培训的人不多，即便是参加了培训也是，大家在做小组上“不愿意付代价”。
佳耀牧师分享说，以前的堂会有可能做慕道班，成批的牧养慕道友，但是现在不能这么做了，慕道友需要放在小组里，跟着别人一起成长，并且在生活上看到好的榜样而被影响。这对小组成员的参与度要求也是更高的，比如“你带来了一个朋友，那么小组就把这个人交给你牧养。同时在旁协助和帮助你。”
佳耀牧师的教会小组，礼拜天的聚会结束要做类似“问答”的环节，检测信徒接受讲道信息的程度，小组每天还有灵修的打卡，除了周日聚会之外，小组在周间也有一次聚会。这对信徒的生活是有要求的。
佳耀牧师指出，有的教会对信徒提出要求的时候会出现一个情况就是，信徒觉得有要求是一件“麻烦”的事情，“我不去教会了”。因此，小组应当是对信徒真诚信仰带来挑战的。包括牧者在内，这些灵修的基准对基督徒来说，都是很重要的。
Recently, nurturing believers through small groups in house churches has become a common practice. However, regarding the shift from traditional church services to small group gatherings, what is the purpose of these small groups? Recently, a pastor in central China shared his reflections on this in practical terms.
Some small groups don’t run well
Rev. Jiayao (pseudonym) pointed out that many so-called "small group" gatherings in churches nowadays are simply the division of previous churches into different smaller meeting points. Essentially, this is just a way of breaking down the larger church into smaller fragments. The pastoral care that these small groups offer compared to the previous one that the majority of churches used in the past hasn't changed significantly since splitting into smaller units. The difference lies only in the reduced number of attendees on Sundays. Previously, there might have been hundreds of people gathering on Sundays, but now there are eight or ten people listening to sermons.
The pastor pointed out that this is not truly what small groups are meant to be. He mentioned that in such cases, the number of church members might gradually decrease. He observed that in some cases where churches have broken down into small groups, "even many churches have dispersed and ceased to exist." There are also instances where they just gather a few people online and claim to be conducting small groups without any people meeting in person.
The purpose of small groups should be to focus on the precise pastoral care of believers.
Regarding the purpose of conducting small groups, Jiayao believed that the focus should be on the transformation of how pastors nurture believers. Previously, during church services, pastors found it challenging to provide detailed and caring pastoral support to believers. Most of the time, the relationship between pastors and believers was limited to the pastor delivering a sermon on Sundays, with little interaction at other times.
He believed that when pastors are conducting pastoral care through church services, it is easier to attract seekers. Even if the church did not provide precise pastoral care to believers, the situation might be that "some leave and others join." However, after transitioning to small groups, the disadvantage is that small groups are not so effective in welcoming seekers into the church. Therefore, small groups present a greater challenge to pastors in terms of providing detailed pastoral care to believers.
Both pastors and believers need to invest time and effort into learning to build a healthy small group.
Jiayao believed that churches need to invest time and effort into learning when attempting to conduct small groups. In the churches he knows of, "very few conduct small groups according to the learned curriculum." He pointed out that even those who attend the training are reluctant to "pay the price" when it comes to building a small group ministry.
This pastor shared that in the past, churches might have conducted seeker classes to nurture catechumen in groups, but now this approach is not feasible. Seekers now need to be placed within small groups, grow alongside others, and be influenced by positive examples. This places higher demands on the involvement of small group members. For instance, "if you bring a friend, then the responsibility of nurturing that person in the small group falls on you, while others assist and support you."
In Jiayao's church small groups, there is a segment resembling a "question and answer" session at the end of Sunday worship services to assess the depth of believers' understanding of the sermon. Additionally, there is a daily spiritual check-in during the week, apart from the Sunday services. This places certain demands on believers' spiritual lives.
The pastor pointed out that sometimes when churches set expectations for believers, a situation arises where believers find meeting these expectations "troublesome" and decide "not to go to church anymore." Therefore, small groups should present genuine challenges to believers in their sincere faith. These spiritual benchmarks are crucial for Christians, as well as pastors.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
