I’m concerned with developing small groups of people who covenant to a shared life together as they grow in Christlikeness and join God’s mission together.  That leaves me with this question. How do we establish counter-cultural groups in a culturally relevant way?

We would love to form a neighborhood small group where everyone on our block knows each other well, joins in spiritual conversations, prays for one another, and finds ways to serve in our community together. It’s a wonderful dream that we talk about often. The problem is, we don’t know our neighbors!

Relationships began to be built and conversations were broadened. Because these strangers were included, they began to feel a sense of belonging and experienced a bit of “the communion of the saints.” 

An interview with Alan Hirsch about his book The Forgotten Ways. 

After years of struggling to revive small group ministries at our church, Sermon-Based Small groups have provided a spark of new life!

Small Group Ministries are like gardens, they need a “gardener” to provide on-going care and attention. The Small Group Leadership Teams acts as “gardener” by filling the following essential roles.