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(article featured in Missionary Memo)

BY ANNA WOOFENDEN

The mission of the Sunrise Chapel in Tucson, Arizona is to help people experience heavenly joy. Over three days in early April, 38 people basked in the heavenly joy that the people at Sunrise Chapel had to offer. The seminar consisted of members of the Tucson congregation and people from other New Church congregations who gathered to discuss small groups and how to implement them into our church congregations. We gathered to discuss how to make small groups integral parts of our congregations.

First, we looked at the elements of small groups and how they are useful. A small group is composed of 8-12 people that meet at least once a month, and up to once a week, to support each other, study together, and get to know one another. Small groups are made up of people who have a similar focus or live in the same geographic region. The small group can continue to meet indefinitely, and the hope is that it will grow and divide into two groups over time.

Small groups provide places for people to feel cared for and build friendships. Small groups are a vital part of assimilating someone who is new into the church. They help to provide more pastoral care to individuals than is possible by one pastor. As churches grow, they inevitably lose the sense of small community that they are used to. Small groups are a way to provide that sense of community and caring for each other.

Small groups are an effective way to help newcomers assimilate into a congregation, as well as being a great tool for all church members to grow. The Lord tells us in Matthew 18:20, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them." Small groups bring people together so that the Lord can work through them. The seminar itself was modeled around the small group concept. Each seminar participant was part of a small group that met five times during the seminar. The group meetings consisted of a check in to see how each person was doing, a sharing question, a study of a passage from the Word and a task of some sort. It was wonderful to experience the power of the small group model. In three short days I felt like I had developed close friendships with the members of my group. It was very useful to experience what it actually feels like to be in a small group alongside the workshops and lectures on the theories and applications of small groups.

We heard informative and inspiring workshops from five people as well as a final panel discussion. Some of the ideas that stuck with me from the workshops were:

• What is the difference between a small group and the existing groups in a church?
1. Trained leaders
2. The groups are ongoing
3. Groups are meant to grow and multiply
• Leaders' groups, in which the leaders continue to be trained and supported, are key to the success of the program.
• Life change can happen in groups because you are being lovingly held by other people. Other shoulders help you to hold your burdens.
• In many churches there are groups of people who do most of the work. Not only do these people get burnt out, the people not in that group feel left out.
• Small group programs are a way for everyone to feel a part of things.
• Shared responsibility equals increased joy.
• Why do many newcomers go out the back door? Lack of personal connection.
• It's community that builds churches-not just faith. You have to have the faith and the teachings, but without community it is a church based on faith alone.
• If you want to grow big, you must grow small.
• If people really knew what small groups are like they would probably like them!
• Every group will be different due to individual needs, interests, etc.
• Have groups for mothers, old, young, teens, those wanting to do community service, those wanting to study the Word, etc.
• No longer use random acts of integration, instead implement purposeful assimilation.

The Sunrise Chapel has already launched the first stage of its small group program. It was inspiring to have the seminar there and see the plan being put into action. The New Church of Boulder Valley will be launching the first stage of its program this summer and is excited to tie the start of the program into the opening of their new building. Other groups, including Glenview, the Korean church of Philadelphia, Phoenix and Connecticut, that were represented looked at how the components of the small group model could be offered to their congregations under the current structure of their churches.

I personally feel strongly that implementing small groups into our church congregations can profoundly affect the spiritual life and growth of individuals and church communities. I see them as a way for every person to feel that they belong in our communities and can actively contribute. I see small groups as a way to reach out and bring new people into the life of the church. They provide the community that is essential in connection with the teachings. I see small groups giving an opportunity for people to find meaningful connections with other people and with the Lord. This seminar provided a glimpse of some of the blessings that we receive when we are involved in a small group program. And we also received the support and impetus to begin to implement programs in our own congregations. Many thanks to Sunrise Chapel and all its members and staff for hosting such a heavenly event.