Have you joined a small group for the upcoming semester? Before you answer, go ahead and eliminate these responses “I could,” “I might,” “I can,” “I should,” and jump right to “I will.” In Thom Rainers little book “I Will: Nine Traits of the Outward focused Christian” he challenges Christians to make nine strong commitments to better their faith and their church. Coming in at number 3 on his list is “I will get involved in a group or a class so that I might grow spiritually together with others, and so that I might be accountable to them.” Small groups are one of the most powerful ministries in the church. In fact almost all of the ministry of the church can be done in a healthy small group. These groups are so powerful at building relationships and accountability that Thom Rainers research shows that 83% of those that join a church and participate in small groups are active in their church 5 years later. Only 16% of those who attended the worship service only were around after 5 years.
Let’s go back for a moment 2,000 years to Acts 2:46. ”So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house.” If we look closely we see two different contexts in which the early believers met. They met in larger gatherings in the temple courts and then again they met in smaller groups house to house. The health of the church and of believers was and is tied to these two gatherings. Without a healthy worship time on Sunday’s and a healthy groups ministry we do not have a healthy church or healthy believers. Rainer says “we cannot grow effectively as a believer in isolation.” That is what makes this time so critical for the health of our church and of us as individual believers. How are we to remain healthy or grow healthy during this time of isolation? Enter video small groups. We are launching 15 all new small groups the week of April 19th. We have groups on different days at different times for different people. Why so many groups? We literally wanted to have a group for every single Choice family member, friend and guest. That’s how critical we believe these groups are to you and to the church as a whole. We wanted to take away every possible hindrance by offering them at different times, different days with different leaders. While of course video groups are not perfect and they do pose some challenges. These groups still offer a way for us to avoid emotional, mental and spiritual isolation while still remaining physically isolated.
So what is holding you back? You can join a group right now by visiting us online or texting “groups” to 62488. In fact after you sign up for a group we would love to give you a free copy of the book “I Will.” Simply text “I Will” to 62488 and we will get a copy to you! We look forward to seeing you in groups soon!
