A Great Church Example

From a missional perspective, I do not know of a more effective church in the United States than North Coast Church in Vista, California. They think big but it is not their weekend attendance (over 6,000) that gets my attention. There are many larger and even faster growing churches. What I find nothing less than astounding is their competency in getting newcomers into small groups, i.e. acting small. 80% of adults are actively engaged in weekly small groups. I am not talking about a church that redefines every serving group as a small group to inflate its numbers. These are people who are actively doing weekly homework and meeting in homes for fellowship and spiritual growth. How do they do it? Before we discuss this, let’s review the concepts of thinking big and acting small.

REVIEW

The slogan, “Think Big – Act Small” is one that works for both the very large church and the very small church. Large churches naturally think big, which plays to their advantage. Small churches naturally act small, which plays to their greatest strength. The trick is for the large church to act small and the small church to think big. This is the single greatest common denominator for church growth, in any sized church.

Big and Small

“Thinking Big” means that there is a vision for growth. The eyes of a critical mass of the church are looking expectantly outward. The church is anticipating, planning for and working towards expansion. The corporate intention is directed towards meeting the needs of more and more people and expediting the changes that come along with it.

“Acting Small” means that the church is focused on the needs of the individual. A high priority is placed on providing excellent customer service and customer care, for both visitors and regular attendees. A strategy is consistently executed that provide opportunities for people to develop relationships and create opportunities for belonging. Success is defined in terms of the quality of the experience for the individual as they interact with every aspect of the church. In the small church this happens on a more organic level as outsiders are more readily identified and responded to by congregants. In a large church this requires sustained intentional effort.

Small Groups that Work

I would highly recommend that every pastor and church leader read Dr. Larry Osborne’s latest book, Sticky Church. Better yet, send a team to a life changing Sticky Church conference, www.stickychurch.com. The book describes the theory and practice of Sermon based Small Groups. The premise is inarguable. Why should all of the spiritual work and preparation for a weekend message be limited to a one shot wonder! If it is a message from God to the church, it makes sense that the church be given an opportunity to ponder the message and study the biblical passages and concepts that support and enhance the message. In the typical church, everyone hears the wonderful words of the speaker and an hour later they have lost the spiritual impact of the message. James describes this spiritual phenomena, “…once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.” James 1.23

For spiritual transformation, the Bible prescribes more than a single exposure, no matter how compelling the message or gifted the speaker. Prolonged engagement with the Word is required. James calls it intentional examination. “But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.” James 1.24 Sermon based small groups provide the opportunities and settings for prolonged exposure to a weekend message. The only additional work is developing a study guide for weekend distribution. This means that pastors will have to be dutiful enough to complete sermon preparation in time to develop or have someone develop the weekly small group guide. A close friend of mine, who works for a major online sermon preparation site, recently told me alarming fact. By far, the greatest numbers of pastors are logged in to work on their messages on Saturday nights. I don’t get it! Message preparation is a sacred trust. For me it is like giving birth to a baby every week. This requires adequate incubation in the heart and mind of the speaker. One wonders if this is the cause behind much of the ineffective preaching and still-born messages heard today.

Small Group Ministry Tools

“Thinking Big,” when it comes to small group ministry, requires cutting edge ministry tools that facilitate a big vision. ConnectionPower offers unparalleled web based church software tools that empower people to find the right small group, through the church’s website or lobby kiosks, and get engaged without the bottleneck of approvals through a centralized church office. PowerWeb gives every small group their own web page where they can share prayer needs, communicate and if it is a service group, see their upcoming scheduled assignments. Small group leaders can enter attendance, pull reports, communicate needs of individuals under their care and report on care interventions. Providentially, the Internet has given us the capability to touch people in personal ways that could not have been conceived of a few years ago. This is imperative in this geographically and socially disbursed modern era. Web tools enable us to think big and act small in the mission of helping people to find a home in our church. Click for a demo, if you would like to see what the latest in technology tools can do to fire up your small group ministries.

Read "Thing Big Act Small - Part 1"