Empowering Congregants...Renewing the Congregation

"Can God work to renew an entire congregation through the spiritual growth of individuals who belong to a small group?"

As a consultant to many churches of various denominations, I enter into a relationship with these congregations by asking about the nature of their fellowship. One of the first questions I ask is, "How many small prayer and study groups do you have going in your church?" Although my methodology is not very scientific, I can conclude (based upon the scores of churches with which I have consulted) that there is, indeed, a direct correlation between a congregation's overall spiritual vitality and the number of its members involved in small prayer and study groups. If individuals within these small groups are experiencing spiritual growth in their own lives, then this seems to have a "spill-over" effect into the entire congregation.

Behind the truth of this conclusion are these theological presuppositions:

Our God is a God of transformation, and, in the words of Christ, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them" (Matthew 18:20 NRSV). In small group fellowship, lives can be transformed. Elton Trueblood calls this the "incendiary fellowship," where each loving heart sets another heart on fire. Such spiritual vitality is intrinsically a part of any small group where finite souls seek relationship with the Infinite, and expect to find it! If we truly believe that Christ is a presence of transformation, then lives can be changed. And when lives change and exhibit movement toward spiritual maturity, this cannot be kept by the individual because he or she will be interacting with people who will also be affected. What we prize we share, and if one "prizes" the spiritual growth occurring in his or her life, it will be shared with others. Such excitement and vitality becomes contagious.

Our God is a God of renewal and revitalization. "Can God work to renew an entire congregation through the spiritual growth of individual congregants who belong to a small study group?" Yes. How it is done will vary somewhat from congregation to congregation, depending upon the temperament of the individual congregants and the leadership positions they hold within the congregation. The truth that runs through all temperaments and positions and congregations, however, is this: transformed church members and attenders renew and revitalize congregations. The Holy Spirit will not be squelched, even in the most deadening of religious institutions. The "spill over" of new life will affect everyone with whom the transformed person interacts. As we provide the means for personal spiritual renewal, people are empowered spiritually. That also energizes the entire congregation in its ministry and mission abilities.