3. Don’t Leave it to Chance
The final point from Hendricks and Wilder’s book that we will apply to small group ministry is that a “full-brained church” ensures that each person is placed on a path that seeks out constant growth in their spiritual maturity. They press their readers to have intentionality, declaring that to “leave maturity to chance is a fatal error in leadership.” Arguably, leaving small group spiritual growth up to chance is just as fatal of an error. Similar to how a church plant requires intentional effort, extensive planning, and exhaustive work, the elements of an effective small group ministry require a comparable scope of effort. In other words, any substantial transformation within a small group ministry cannot occur until the leadership is ready to couch its small group ministry within a relational-driven project plan that is fully integrated within the church’s respective mission and vision.
In previous decades, appealing to the intellectual and logical sides of our faith was a rather effective method to stimulate growth. Today, however, these same tactics are no longer as effective. Rather, we are called to pursue new strategies that stand up to (and push back against) the newest methods that the evil one has been implementing within the modern culture. Such strategies that we require now must involve the engagement of the heart, the nurture and care of the relationships within our lives, and the respectful acknowledgment of the influence that our right-brain holds over the key spiritual areas of our lives. To speak rather fittingly to this, I leave us with a quote from Leonard Ravenhill who said, “the world is not waiting for a new definition of the Gospel, but for a new demonstration of the power of the Gospel.” Let us be intentional for a relationship-driven approach to our small group ministries. Let us give thanks to the Lord and make way for the Holy Spirit to empower us to continue spreading the Gospel through a right-brained relational approach.
This article on small group ministry originally appeared here and is used by permission.
