I believe every church, no matter how small, has both divine purpose and potential; but my role as a district/network superintendent gives me a unique perspective. At times I think we limit opportunities to those we know best. Instead of recognizing the unique opportunities and context of each church, we expect them all to function with a similar structure and model. It would be like failing to recognize the unique purpose of a 4x4 jeep and an Indy race car. As if that were not bad enough, we take it one step further. We not only expect 4x4s to compete in the Indianapolis 500, but we also expect them to win. When they do not, we sprinkle them with shame, guilt, and insignificance. We often do the same thing with churches.
Let me explain. One of the most disappointing enlightenments I had as a new superintendent was witnessing the unnecessary waste of money, energy, and morale that takes place in churches under twenty members. Many of these small works exhaust every last resource they have just trying to pay for a church building or a rented storefront. Twenty people dump nearly every dollar they have renting a storefront they only occupy twice a week. Money that could be spent better by paying a pastor, reaching out to their community, or building ministries is dumped down the black hole we call rent, insurance, maintenance, and upkeep. It is these pastors who often struggle with weekly discouragement and the pressure of unreasonable expectations from nearly everyone they come in contact with. They are forced to compete in an arena that plays to their weaknesses rather than their strengths. Visitors enter their doors and inquire about things like worship teams, nursery, kids church, youth groups, and all the programing that was so proudly showcased at the last church they visited. When they discover these small works cannot provide these things, they move on; and over time, these small works stay small and get smaller.
Hold on, I’m going somewhere. Rhonda and I led a weekly small group for nearly ten years. The group grew and split three times but usually averaged about 25 people. We enjoyed a time of food and fellowship and then split the group for the teaching time. My coleader and I would divide the group in random halves. Ten to twelve would remain upstairs and ten to twelve would go the basement. Then we would join together again and conclude with a time of prayer. Those Thursday nights were some of the most life-giving experiences I had. When you walked up to the door, you could hear the laughter and loud voices inside. When visitors entered the house, they NEVER asked where the nursery was or even expected a worship team, stage lighting, or traditional programing. The night was a glorious mixture of joy and laughter, teaching and tears, growth and togetherness. The thought dawned on me that we might be wasting valuable resources, emotional energy, and divine opportunity by forcing small communities of believers to carry the burden of a facility.
There are several advantages to our Network’s embracing this model as a strategy for rural evangelism:
1. Microgroups can provide spiritual growth in the context of relationship. Because they are small and more relational in nature, microgroups can provide ongoing support, instruction, and mentoring of new believers in a safe and welcoming environment. They also make mentorship, modeling, and interactive discipleship more natural.
2. The microgroup can enjoy a liberating level of expectations. Many of our churches in very small communities cannot sustain the complex functions of a church. Existing as a “church” requires them to provide fully developed worship teams, nursery, children and youth programing, and more. Existing as a microgroup or home church is liberating in that it allows them to be what they already are—a slightly overgrown cell or home group. It enables them to win in the arena of inclusion, life-giving relationships, and community in a big way even though they are small.
3. Microgroups can maximize a sense of community. Within each culture, 20 seems to be the maximum number of people in a group to maintain a sense of “family.” This helps us win in smaller communities.
4. Microgroups are more persecution resistant. In looking at church history as a whole, we find that persecution, by and large, was normal while peace and tolerance was the exception. As religious liberties are slowly being taken away from established 501(c)3s, the microgroup is small enough to be considered a gathering in a home while existing off the radar of legal, size, topic, or hostile philosophical restrictions. They also have the potential to become one of the last vehicles for discipleship the closer we get to the Second Coming of Christ.
5. Microgroups are immune to organizational growth barriers. While traditional congregational models must overcome obstacles of size and scope, microgroups can continue to grow without space limitations, facility expansion, and additional pastoral staff.
6. Microgroups are more economical. Because they meet in homes, microgroups do not have expenses related to owning, renting and maintaining a physical facility, paying salaries, providing pastoral care, financing expensive programs, or paying health, property, and liability insurance as well as property tax, advertising, and other expenses.
7. Microgroups provide more spiritual accountability. Because microgroups are small, a person cannot be an invisible face in the crowd. A person’s values, lifestyle, and spiritual growth are more readily exposed to growth opportunities. Microgroups are also a more effective place to develop spiritual disciplines, life transformations, and mutual and organic accountability.
8. Microgroups can be successful without professionally trained clergy. Because they operate as a small group, use theologically sound curriculum, and are led by a mature believer who has been tested and proven, microgroups do not require a professionally trained pastor to be successful. The leader only needs be down-to-earth, mature, skilled in group interaction, and trustworthy.
9. Microgroups have the potential to transition into a small church. All throughout history, microgroups/house churches have been used by God to establish, grow, and sustain God’s Church. Every church in the New Testament started as a house church. Every microgroup that is started can easily serve as a launch team when their growth and maturity warrant their becoming a district affiliated church.
10. Microgroups are uniquely capable of advancing, sustaining, and providing an oasis of needed ministry. They can serve as a launching pad for future ministry in communities that are growing and will one day need a more traditional congregational model. The microgroup can grow, multiply, and then become a launch team. They can also be a wise alternative in declining communities whose population, economy, or prevailing demographic can no longer sustain a traditional congregational model, pastoral salary, or facility. In this case, the microgroup is able to provide life-giving ministry in a community needing a Christian presence. They can serve as a spiritual well in a community that desperately needs a Christian witness. Whether it is a Mormon-dominated community in Utah, a tourist community in Colorado, an Indian reservation, or other uniquely challenged location, microgroups can provide an oasis of Christian hope, truth, and community. There are some believers who are not comfortable in a formal church setting and prefer to be part of a smaller and less organized community of faith.
What if we added to our arsenal another category of church that met in a home? What if we launched hundreds of house churches that did what no nursery, worship team, or impressive facility could? What if we provided a life-giving community of faith that had all the relational magic and transformational discipleship this world has to offer? What if this new micro-group model was a small community of believers (between 3-20 people) that meet regularly in a home to study God’s Word, establish life-giving relationships, build a sense of community, grow in faith, reach their community, and plant other micro-groups? What if this model, born in the fires of COVID, could assist us in building a small presence in communities that will need future churches or provided a low-cost option in smaller rural communities that could never sustain a pastor’s salary and facility at the same time? What if we did small in a big way all over Colorado and Utah?