Last week at our Round Table: Disciple-Making Discussions, we dove into the topic of evangelism. Our plea to small group leaders was to be exemplary in the way they live on mission and the way they lead their small groups to be on mission.
There is one incredibly important truth that all of us in the “church-saturated-south” need to be reminded of: disciple-making is not simply taking a group of believers and growing them deeper in their faith in Christ. Disciple-making also includes calling those who are unbelievers to place their faith in Christ, and our hope is that our Disciple-Making Small Groups reflect this truth.
We are not against weekly Bible studies, but biblical community involves so much more!
Over the past 15-20 years, small group ministry has exploded onto the scene in many evangelical circles. Many churches and campus ministries have embraced this method of discipleship. For most, small groups are about getting a handful of believers together on a weekly basis to read through some Christian literature, study through a book of the Bible, or, simply, foster Christ-honoring relationships.
Now, let me say, we are not against any of the above.
We love studying the Bible weekly. Heck, we even recommend doing that daily.
We even value Christ-honoring relationships. This is especially true in larger churches where relationships are not formed as easily. In these situations, there needs to be structure to help foster relationships, hence the need for small groups.
However, at Brook Hills, we call our faith family to connect to Disciple-Making Small Groups. There is an emphasis on disciple-making that is deeply rooted in our small group ministry.
Simply said, whatever disciple-making is, our small groups should be about, and, just to go ahead and put all the cards on the table in full view, disciple-making is distinctively evangelistic!
When Jesus commanded his followers to “go make disciples,” he was not calling them to get together for an hour or two a week and enjoy a little fellowship and some Bible study. He was giving the marching orders by which the nations would come to know and worship him! He was not calling for another program in the church, but unveiling a method by which his followers would see those in rebellious unbelief delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of his beloved Son. (Colossians 1:13). Can I get an amen!?!?
The distinction we often draw in the College Ministry at Brook Hills is between a typical small group here in Birmingham and what we have heard from church planters in Central Asia.
Here in America, small groups of believers get together weekly to read through a book, study a passage of Scripture and/or dig into a topical study. Often times, it is very inward focused. For most, the win is gaining more information regarding the faith instead of obeying the commands God has set forth for us in Scripture.
In Central Asia, however, we’ve heard of a much different picture. There is one particular story of several college-aged Muslims who had come to faith in Christ. The first step in discipleship in Central Asia was to ensure they were grounded in the gospel, making sure they had a proper understanding of that which is the “power of God to salvation” (Romans 1:16). Then, the next step, which is crucial for us to understand here in Birmingham, was not to pick a popular Christian author and do a “book study.” It was not even to clobber Grudem’s Systematic Theology.
The next step in their early development as Christ-followers was to call them to advance the gospel to their family, neighbors, co-workers, friends, etc.
Now that is an interesting approach…
One story we have heard was of a church planter who asked new believers to write down 100 names on a sheet of paper: family members, friends, fellow students, co-workers, etc. Then, when they were finished, they were to circle ten of those names who were least likely to kill them if they went to share with them that they had ceased trusting in being a good Muslim to save them and were now trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. All in the midst of persecution, hardship and turmoil, these new believers went (along with those who were discipling them) to take the good news to the ten circled names.
That is a drastically different picture than what we see as typical small group ministry in America. Our tendency in small group ministry is to isolate believers into “holy huddles” for years before we even begin to discuss God’s call on their lives to advance this good news to those whom he has placed them around.
The reality is in Central Asia, where less than 1% follow Christ, there is no time for isolated “holy huddles.” The urgency of the mission of Christ demands that they immediately take the good news, which has reconciled them to a holy God, to their family, friends and neighbors.
However, that same urgency marks our lives here in Birmingham, AL. That same urgency marks the mission for a college student at UAB or a Christ-follower in a sorority/fraternity or a student athlete at Samford.
For too long, we have led “disciple-making” small groups that are nothing less than “holy huddles” where we isolate ourselves from the lost world we are intended to engage with the greatest news ever to be told. We are praying this would no longer be the case in our college ministry at Brook Hills. Our hope is to raise up more Central Asian style small groups. Just to clarify, the call is not to stop going deeper in the Word, just to go outward as you are going deeper!
So, how is your small group doing? Are you isolated, studying a book weekly, while neglecting urgent need all around? Or is your group highly engaged in the greatest mission ever given under the power and authority of King Jesus, namely “making disciples of all nations?”
