Planting Space

Posted by Doug Foltz

I recently saw a report on the news on India and how quickly they are developing as a nation. One of the by-products of their economic growth is an increased demand in art. Local artists have reaped huge benefits of this demand for their creations. However, there are not enough artists to meet the demand. The result is a pressure on the art community to “manufacture” art. Artists are responding negatively saying that art cannot be mass produced or it ceases to be art.

This analogy applies well to small groups. The goal of small groups is to develop relationships and community. As much as we would like to try, you cannot force people into community; you can’t manufacture relationships. What we can do is provide the environment to foster relationships and community. When developing a small groups model for the new church ask yourself if you are creating a fixed system that forces people to connect in a prescribed way, or if you are creating an environment to foster relationship and community.

A fixed system says you must experience small groups according to a prescribed set of rules. An environment for small groups encourages creativity and allows groups to form and develop along the lines of the unique people that make up the group. Small Groups ministry is much more of an art than it is an exact science.

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