Here Are 4 Reasons Small Groups Are A Vital Component Of Discipleship

Jesus was the greatest disciple maker in history. After just three years spent with 12 men – he commissioned them (and us) to go out and make disciples, and from that beginning the Good News was spread throughout the world. We have a record of those three years in the 4 gospels and the book of Acts. Jesus left us a model for discipleship, a recipe if you will, that we call relational discipleship.

Jesus gave us an example of time spent together with others in a small group. The twelve disciples and Jesus ate together, traveled together, attended weddings and experienced funerals. When you live alongside a group of people like that, you can form a connection and bond that goes deep. Jesus taught the disciples lessons about God and life, not only by words, but by example.

Flash forward 2000 years or so – now discipleship is often thought of as a transfer of information, and much focus is put on the amount of Biblical knowledge a person is able to take in. We put weight on what and how much we think people need to know. But perhaps what we should be considering, is who they need to spend time with.

We put weight on what and how much we think people need to know. But perhaps what we should be considering, is who they need to spend time with. #discipleship Share on X

If we get the relational part right, surround ourselves with others who are on the same discipleship pathway, the information will generally follow. Connecting people into small groups can make a huge difference in their Spiritual growth and direction. Putting a baby believer alongside someone who is further along in the faith gives them a chance to see the Bible lived out, to see the fruit of the Spirit in context in the midst of relationships.

I am not saying a small group is the ultimate destination, but it is the vehicle in which we travel there. Our final destination should be making mature disciples who make disciples. A small group program does not create disciples in and of itself – but the program opens up a pathway for community and relationship to occur, and that is where discipleship happens.

Here are 4 reasons Small Groups are vital to Discipleship:

They can initiate self-discovery

The things we learn by discovery tend to go deeper and stay with us longer than things we are told. For instance, a child can be told many times that a stove is hot and ignore the warning. However, a burned finger from testing the theory will literally burn the reminder into their brain. Talking through struggles with a small group and having the members point out areas they see God working in you can give God’s promises in scripture a personal application you might not have seen before. In the same way, praying for others in the group and seeing God working in their life can also help cement your faith. Dealing with relationships in the group, working through conflict, forgiveness, compassion – will all cement those attributes of Christ more firmly than reading about them ever could. The old adage is very true that ‘more is caught than taught’.

Dealing with relationships in a small group, working through conflict, forgiveness, compassion - will all cement the attributes of Christ more firmly than reading about them ever could. #discipleship Share on X

Living life alongside others in a Small Group gives the Holy Spirit a place to exhibit and test the things we need to grow in. It gives us a chance to try and fail, and try again. There is nothing more exciting than watching God work in someones life as they discover His truth!

They invite transparency and accountability

One of the key components of a small group designed for the purpose of discipleship is transparency. Relationships cannot go very deep without it. Transparency gives us the ability to confess our shortcomings and struggles to one another. To get struggles into the open and out of the dark where Satan wants them to stay. (I do want to make the point that I am talking about appropriate transparency within a mixed group – if deeper things need to be discussed that should happen in gender break out groups.) Being open and transparent allows for accountability to take place. When the group is praying for and looking out for each other, it is harder for a member to go into isolation. When we confess we have a bad attitude about something and the group is praying for us, we are more likely to recognize when the Holy Sprit makes a change, and are excited to share it with the group.

They enable strong relationships

I always say relationships are the ropes that hold us to something when things go awry in our lives. Building strong relationships with other believers helps us get through struggles. It helps us stay connected to the body of Christ. Just knowing someone will notice if we miss weekend services can sometimes be enough to get us there on our bad days. Knowing that we will be asked every week at group how we are doing reminds us that people really care, and we come to care how they are doing too. Being connected in a group allows us all to be the hands and feet of Jesus, which helps us be more unified and strong as a church. It also makes people on the outside look in and want to find out what we have.

Being connected in a group allows us to be the hands and feet of Jesus, which helps us be more unified and strong as a church. It also makes people on the outside look in and want to find out what we have. #discipleship Share on X

They allow opportunities to observe and demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit

As the disciples walked alongside Jesus for those 3 years, they were able to see him live out and model all of the characteristics and attributes of Spiritual Maturity. They saw his compassion for the hungry, his love for the sick and marginalized, his peace in the storm, his joy in the children. He demonstrated both the fruit of the Spirit, and the heart of the Father.

When you spend time with people in all of the spheres of life, you have the opportunity to observe their reactions and responses to what life throws at them. And you also are displaying your reactions and responses to them. Doing life together with a small group opens up many opportunities to put Jesus’s characteristics on display. The book of Galatians shows us what we can expect to see in someone who is following Jesus – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

If you think about most of these attributes, or fruit, you must realize they don’t take place in a vacuum. For instance: Love for who? Kindness toward whom? Gentleness with… you get the idea. It is within relationships that this fruit, or lack of it, comes out. It may not come up in surface relationship where you see each other for 15 minutes on Sunday – but in a long term relationships situations will arise that will test your Spiritual fruit. Relationships are both the place this Spiritual fruit is displayed, and also the way the Spirit uses to grow us in these Spiritual attributes. Think about Jesus’ disciples arguing with each other along the road about who was the greatest – Jesus took an opportunity to address that and demonstrate the humility they we laking by washing their feet. He modeled the characteristics he wanted them to move towards.

The same thing can happen when you are spending time with others who are on the journey of discipleship. We can help point each other to the model and example of Christ as we work together to become more like him.

It is within relationships that this fruit, or lack of it, comes out. It may not come up when you see each other for 15 minutes on Sunday - but in a long term relationships situations will arise that will test your Spiritual fruit. #discipleship Share on X