Consider this: Jesus established the pattern for Small Groups when He called His 12 Disciples. The Small Group of Disciples later transformed into thw Small Group called Apostles, which became the foundation of a global universal group called the Church. Jesus’ aspirations for this Small Group was that they become a strong group, despite their imperfections of personality, intrigue, and personal faults creating strained group dynamics. But Jesus gave these men, flawed like us, extraordinary authority and giftedness. The lessons for us are:
Small Groups Must Be Organized and Mobilized. Jesus’ disciples were organized into minitry teams of two, and sent out to the troubled and afflicted. They cast out demons and healed the sick. They were mobilized to carry out acts of compassion to people who lacked care and had no hope. The Holy Spirit is still organizing small groups for learning, mobilizing their members for serving.
Small Groups Introduce Others to Kingdom Life. Small groups can foster discipleship, sharing with others about God’s Word and Works. Small Group members grow in knowledge and understanding of Kingdom life and serviee, and become increasingly capable of being God’s Ambassadors to the hurt and the lost.
The Disciples Had to Refocus and Regroup. After Jesus’ arrest, Peter denied His Lord 3 times and the other 10 disciples abandoned Him. After His resurrection, Jesus had to restore all 11 of the remaining Disciples to their Apostolic office. Like the Disciples, many today need to refocus and regroup to perform what God wants us to do. We need to become part of a small group, to think small and grow strong to have a global impact.