Introduction
There are two kinds of ministry in the New Testament church--the temple (large group) meetings we now celebrate on Sunday morning, and the house-to-house ministries (small groups) we now call "home groups." People want to belong to both kinds of groups.
Home groups are a focal point for:
local evangelism
leadership training
fellowship
teaching
development of personal relationships
The temple meeting serves as:
the center of unity
a place for additional evangelism
apostolic teaching
An increased number of people in the church means that fewer people are able to take an active part in the meetings. House fellowship groups help solve this problem.
Biblical examples of small group meetings:
In the gospels:
Matt. 4:23; 8:14,15; 9:23-25; 13:36-52; 17:25,26; 10:11-13; Mark 1:21, 29,31; 2:15-17; 10:10-12; Luke 4:44; 5: 29-32; 7:36-50; 8: 51-56; 10:5-7; John 6:59.
In the book of Acts:
2:2-4 "And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit was giving them utterance."
2:46-47 "And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved."
5:42 "And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ."
16:31-34 "And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household." And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household."
16:40 "And they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brethren, they encouraged them and departed."
20:17-20 "And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them, 'You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house,'"
28:30-31 "And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters, and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered."
In the epistles:
Romans 16:5 "Also greet the church that is in their house.
I Cor 16:19 "The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house."
Col. 4:15 "Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea and also Nympha and the church that is in her house."
Philemon 2 "And to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the church in your house."
Purposes of Home Groups
-Prayer. Prayer shows that we are dependent on God for power, guidance, and leadership. Prayer is more important than organization. It is prayer that breaks the power of Satan in the neighborhoods. All our counsel and study is in vain if not accompanied by fervent prayer.
-Evangelism. Home groups should have as a goal to reach out to non-Christians. We especially want to reach lost husbands and wives. The group should help motivate and prepare members to witness to unbelievers, and then to follow up with the new converts. The group should look forward to winning their neighbors and family. The method of evangelism is love and friendship. Making a disciple is a costly process, requiring the kind of personal attention only possible in a small group.
-Healing. A purpose of home groups is to remove sickness from the midst of its members. This involves praying for one another, and teaching people to get rid of sickness-producing roots of bitterness. We want to have a mantle of health upon the entire church body.
-Bible study. A home group should provide Biblical teaching that gives a solid basis on which persons can build their lives. The objective discernment of others who know us personally will help prevent disobedience to the Word and deception from creeping into our lives.
-Development of character. Home groups allow an opportunity for practical sanctification. This means we will be able to avoid shallowness in our relationships as well as empty rituals in our lives. The church is a group of believers that build up and encourage each other to mature into the image of Christ. The small group meeting will prevent people from escaping the Lordship of Jesus by hiding their sins in large church meetings.
-Spiritual growth. Growth in the Lord can come through Bible study, encouragement from other believers, and obedience to the Scriptures. Hebrews 10:24 says we should consider how to provoke one another unto love and good works. The small group can provide a good format to inspire others to develop their own daily quiet time with God, and to know Jesus in a more intimate way.
-Leadership development. Ideally, each group should have a leader and an assistant. This will allow for the development of new home group leaders. IITim. 2:2 says, "The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also."
-Moving in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Many individuals will never move in the gifts of prophecy, tongues, interpretation, healing, and miracles in the temple meeting. A small group should encourage believers to stir up their gifts and release them for the good of the whole church. The gifts should not be used to exalt an individual, but should only edify the body, and bring glory to Jesus Christ.
-Horizontal love. The home group should lovingly evangelize the unbelievers in the neighborhood. I John 4:20 says: "The one who does not love his brother who he sees cannot love God whom he has not seen." God wants us to be attached to the church in a deep, intimate way. This involves developing the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22,23) that will bless others--especially the unsaved. Fruit is meant to be eaten.
-Promotion of unity. Home groups should cultivate an experience of being part of the body of Christ. We should remind people that in His body they have a place and a function. As part of His body, we must never be a part of disunity (Phil 1:27-2:4).
-Development of a family Spirit. Members of a home group should help one another practically such as: visiting sick members in the hospital; giving needed financial counsel; providing material goods to families in need. Remember, however, that needs which are greater in scope should be referred to the Home Group overseers who will contact the deacons. Phil. 2: 1-4.
-Restoration of marriages, families, and family order. The leader should be sensitive to hurting families, and support them with prayer. Teachings in the group should include training on how to be better parents, husbands, and wives.
-Communication. Home group leaders will help transmit information and teaching from the pastors and elders to the small group. The leaders should also provide a channel of feedback from the congregation to the church staff.
-Fellowship. Fellowship should be a by-product of a home group rather than its purpose. The home group helps develop personal contact between members of the church so that people are not lost in the crowd. A beautiful New Testament word, Koinonia, (which means fellowship, communion, partaking), describes the intimate and warm sharing of our lives that we should experience in a home group (see Acts 2:42; Phil 2:1).
-Restoration. The small group should make an effort to restore Christians who are going astray. Jude 22, 23 says, "Have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh."
-Correction. Home groups should provide warning and correction when necessary. I Thess. 5:14 says, "We urge you, brethren to admonish the unruly." Needed correction is part of God's dealing with us to mature us. The home group leader should always act in a kind manner, and be patient with those in the wrong. Correction should not, however, normally occur in a group meeting. Private correction should usually be the rule. Ps. 141:5 says, "Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me; it is oil upon the head; do not let my head refuse it." See also Matt. 18: 15-17.
-Worship. As the group exalts and worships God in spirit and truth, demonic forces are defeated, and God's work is strengthened. Worship should be an integral part of the ministry of a home group. Col. 3:16 teaches us that we should instruct one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
-Community involvement. Home groups should be interested in their community, in moral issues, and even in candidates that support clear moral positions. However, the groups must never promote any party or individual running for an office.
-To be a house church. The small groups should be a kind of mini-church that operate within the local church. While the home group is really a house church, it should not seek an independent identity of its own. Prov. 18: 1 says, "He who separates himself seeks his own desire, he quarrels against all sound wisdom." The leader of the house church is an "under-shepherd," under the authority of the pastors and elders of Full Faith. The home group leader should stay in touch with the church leadership and attend the monthly leadership training on Sunday mornings.
-To be under authority. Each home group is under the direction of the Elder board of Full Faith Church of Love. Each small group leader is responsible to the home group overseers, who are responsible to the home group pastor, who is responsible to Pastor Ernie, the other pastors, and the elder board. The principle of authority is delegated authority. It is the principle of the New Testament that anyone who efficiently exercises authority must himself also be under authority. It is also important to note that Jesus Himself acted solely under the authority of His Father. (John 5: 19, 30; 8:38; 12: 49).
-To minister to children. Home groups should endeavor to minister to the entire family. We should allow the children to come to Jesus and help them feel that they are a part of the spiritual family. The home group ministry provides training, curriculum, and ideas for those interested in establishing a children's ministry program. See Mark 9: 33-37; 10: 13-16.
-To equip believers for ministry. Small groups fill an important need in the church by training and developing believers for their upward calling and ministry in the Lord. A home group is the place for people to begin go discover their spiritual ministry and gifts. The leader should encourage people to develop and should provide opportunities for them to exercise their gifts. Rom. 12: 1-8; Eph. 4: 11, 12, 16.
-Practicing hospitality and developing community. In Acts 2: 44, 46 the Scriptures state, "All those who had believed were together, and had all things in common, breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart." Home groups should encourage saints to gather together, eat together, and share their lives with one another. We should let people know that we accept them and that they belong.
-Pastoral care. The home group leader should be accepted as a godly leader by the believers in the group. The people in the group should also pray for one another and care for one another. Group leaders are under-shepherds who are called to assist the pastors and elders in tending the flock of God. I Cor. 16: 15, 16; I Peter 5: 1-5; Acts 20:28; John 21: 15-22.
-Missionary support. Full-time home groups should consider establishing a relationship with one or more of the church missionaries. This can provide a blessing to both the group and the missionary.
A home group is . . .
to be like a house church with godly leaders responsible to the broader leadership of the church. Men who lead are to function in all the ways of the church, with particular emphasis upon ministering to the Lord, one another, and the lost within the setting of the small group. The leader(s) of a home group should care for the people in the group as under-shepherds in submission to the pastors and elders of Full Faith Church of Love. The most important factor in establishing a home group is having good leaders. The leaders must have their calling confirmed in their own hearts, and by other brothers and sisters. They should be dedicated to spreading the good news of Jesus' love to the world under the leadership of godly men.
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