I’ve never shared this with you all before, but, for what it’s worth, here’s what I believe is the single greatest killer of small group ministries across the nation.
It’s not a deadly virus.
It’s not a lack of enthusiasm.
It’s not an unwillingness to meet in homes.
It’s not a lack of good, qualified leaders.
It’s not even apathy.
It’s a certain mentality.
The, ‘Us Four and No More!’ Mentality.
It drives me crazy and I’m pretty sure God’s no great fan of it either.
So why do we keep doing it?
Think about it…
You get a relatively lively group together. Everything is new and fresh.
We serve one another.
We share our joy and hurts, trials and conquests. But then…
we sort of run out of things to say.
We look at each other but no longer really see each other.
Why?
Because we’ve been staring at the same group of people for 5 years!!!
We hardly recognize one another because we no longer care. We’ve heard all the stories. Shared all the hurts. Haven’t reached out or cared about anyone ‘outside’ our protected bubble for SO LONG, we are not even sure there are still ‘normal’ people out there. What’s left? You’ve walked through the good times and the bad, and, well, now it’s all getting a bit old. We finish each others sentences. Know what’s worth the effort and what’s a waste of time.
What happened?
We became information gatherers and stopped applying God’s truth. We stopped serving others and no longer have an urgent passion to reach the lost. We’ve grown emotionally, spiritually and physically old!
We’re no longer sure of who we are.
It would be funny if it weren’t so tragic.
Is it time to share the love?
Time to bring in new people?
Birth a new small group?
You know it is.
Give it a try. It might just be the jump start you’ve been waiting for!
Just a thought.