Building Christian Community Small Group Ministry in Today’s Seventh-Day Adventist Church

1. Small groups: part of God’s kingdom plan 2. Life-changing small groups: some definitions 3. Small group values: the key to growth 4. Small group meetings and small group life 5. The goal of small groups: holiness and harvest 6. Small group leadership 7. Developing a small group network

Building Christian Community SESSION ONE SMALL GROUPS: PART OF GOD’S KINGDOM PLAN

Created for Community “Let US make man in our image… (Genesis 1:24) “I pray that they may all be one, Father!…just as You and I are one.” (John 17:21,22)

The Universal Human Need “The silent churning at the core of our beings is the … need to know and be known, to understand and to be under-stood, to possess and to be possessed, to belong un-conditionally and forever without fear of loss, betrayal, or rejection…It is the search …for the freedom to be who we really are.” Gilbert Bilezikian

Moses God Moses’ Method... The Multitude

The Jethro Principle... Moses GOD Leaders of 1000 Leaders of 100 Leaders of 50 Leaders of 10 The Multitude

12 group members “Inner” group of Peter, James and John Jesus’ Model

Heart to Heart “Your success will not depend so much upon your knowledge and accomplishments, as upon your ability to find your way to the heart. By being social and coming close to the people, you may turn the current of their thoughts more readily than by the most able discourse.” Gospel Workers, p193

The New Testament Church: A House-Based Church “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the Good News that Jesus is the Christ.” (Acts 5:42) “Greet also the church that meets at their house.” (Romans 16:5 etc.)

New Testament Church Acts 1: Acts 2: Acts 4:4 10,000+ Acts 5:14+++ Explosive Growth

Martin Luther “But those who seriously want to be Christians and to confess the Gospel in deed and word would have to register their names and gather themselves somewhere in a house alone…” “…Here one could also conduct baptism and communion in a brief and fine manner, and direct everything to the word, prayer and mutual love…”

John Wesley’s Class System “According to the judge- ment of our Lord and the writings of His apostles, it is only when we are knit together, that we have nourishment from Him, and increase with the increase of God.”

John Wesley’s Class System Whitefield to John Pool: “My Brother Wesley acted wisely…the souls that were awakened under his ministry he joined in class, and thus preserved the fruits of his labor. This I neglected, and my people are a rope of sand...Wesley has been wiser than me because he penned his sheep.”

1. Empowering leadership 2. Gift-oriented lay ministry 3. Passionate spirituality 4. Functional structures 5. Inspiring worship service 6. Holistic small groups 7. Need-oriented evangelism 8. Loving relationships Eight Characteristics of Growing Churches

Most Important Growth Principle... “If we were to identify any one principle (in growing churches) as the most important - even though our research shows that the interplay of all basic elements is important - then, without a doubt, it would be the multiplication of small groups.” Natural Church Development, p 33

It’s a Fact... “Small group evangelism and dynamic church growth are two sides of the same coin. They are one.” Joel Comiskey

Preparing for the Second Advent “The formation of small companies as a basis of Christian effort is a plan that has been presented to me by One who cannot err.” (Evangelism 115 )

Small Groups: Part of God’s Kingdom Plan Made “in His image” The Jethro principle Jesus modeled the ideal small group New Testament church Times of renewal Preparing for the Second Advent

What Small Groups Will Do for You and Your Church: They will help you and your fellow believers grow as disciples of Jesus They will build deep relationships between believers and a strong sense of community in the church They will help believers develop their spiritual gifts, releasing the ministry potential of the church, and freeing pastors for the specific work they have been called to do They will help more people come to faith in Christ

Building Christian Community Small Group Ministry in Today’s Seventh-Day Adventist Church

Preparing for a Second Pentecost... “ “The great outpouring of the Spirit of God, which lightens the whole earth with His glory, will not come until we have an enlightened people who know by experience what it means to be laborers together with God…but this will not be while the largest portion of the church are not laborers together with God.” Evangelism 699 “ “The great outpouring of the Spirit of God, which lightens the whole earth with His glory, will not come until we have an enlightened people who know by experience what it means to be laborers together with God…but this will not be while the largest portion of the church are not laborers together with God.” Evangelism 699

The Ever-Popular Pub! “The bar flourishes not because people are alcoholics, but because God has put into the human heart the desire to know and be known, to love and be loved.” Charles Swindoll

Christ’s Method “Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, ‘Follow Me.’” (Ministry of Healing 143)