Does Our Church Really Need Small Groups?

Creating or rebooting a small group ministry in your church may feel like a chore. You may wonder why there’s so much emphasis on small groups within churches. After all, your church’s calendar is packed with activities and events. Isn’t there already enough for people to do?

Your church may offer multiple opportunities each week for people to attend large events. It could be a worship night or a guest speaker. Many of them are probably simply showing up and leaving without engaging in any real fellowship with other believers.

The best vehicle for true fellowship for people in your church is a vibrant small group ministry. Regardless of the size of your congregation or the number of events offered each week, your church needs to establish a ministry that is solely devoted to creating small groups. Where people can know others and be known.

A Small Group Ministry Reflects the Nature of God Himself

God, Himself exists in perfect unity — as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He created humans to be in community with one another, too. In Genesis 2, He declares that it’s not good that Adam is alone and makes Eve as a companion for him. From the beginning, even as Adam was in perfect communion with God, God chose to give humanity the gift of relationship and community.

It’s biblical, then, that churches create and nurture their members through small group communities. As we participate in a small group ministry, we become more like Jesus.

Carolyn Taketa writes for smallgroups.com in “Why Small Groups?” :

“Small groups exist as a way for people to engage in a biblical community that helps them become more like Jesus in every area of their lives. … God never intended for us to live the Christian life alone. … God calls us to love, not in an abstract or superficial way, but in a deep, face to face, life-on-life, transformative way. …

In our modern culture, small groups are viewed merely as a program or a fellowship ministry within the church. But for the New Testament church, it was a way of life, encompassing every area of their lives. Their relationships with one another were critical to their pursuit of Jesus, their growth in Christ, and their witness to the Good News. It would be impossible to experience biblical community apart from spiritually significant, intentional relationships with other believers. Relational structures like small groups, therefore, are an integral part of “being” the church and not just “doing” church.

Ultimately, small groups are a way of living out our purpose, both as individuals and as a collective group of believers—to be the church. We share a common foundation of faith and God has called us to live out the implications of that faith in a relational community, in the context that we call a small group.”

Practically Speaking…

Organizing and implementing a small group ministry may feel like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. Realm can help with all administrative tasks related to small group oversight and help the members themselves feel even more connected to the group to which they belong.

Church staffers can use Realm to set up small groups for every area in your church. These can be based on ministry areas, such as children’s ministry, youth ministry, adult ministry, or the worship team. You can also create small groups according to communities, interests, or roles: Oakdale Neighborhood, young professionals, women’s leadership. Whatever the delineator, you can create a small group in Realm for it.

Once the groups are established, you can add people to the groups effortlessly. You’ll also be able to update each group with profiles, meetings, rosters, and resources, and then delegate group management to its leader.

Realm’s attendance dashboard gives you immediate insight into attendance patterns. You have the ability to pivot on date ranges, campuses, ministry areas, demographic attributes, and much more. This information can be helpful as you plan future programming and evaluate how to engage more people in the life of the church.

Communication with group members is also easy through Realm. You can quickly get the word out about immediate needs, prayer requests, or announcements, while group members are notified via email, in-app notifications, and even texts, allowing them to stay in contact with their groups.

Group members are automatically fully engaged in the group. The Realm Connect app allows them to check group resources, register for events, create conversations, and post pictures.

And if someone is looking to get more involved? Use Realm’s group search to find a group that fits their interests, needs, or ministry affinity, and get involved. Realm’s public group directory extends that reach even further.

Need a Great Solution?

Realm is the only tool you need to set up, organize, and manage small groups for your church. Through its dynamic platform and multi-purpose components, Realm can help members become fully integrated with advancing the kingdom through this important ministry.

Find out more about Realm and how it can work for your church!