Teaching Sunday school is always a learning experience for
me. Whether I am the designated teacher
or one of the participants, I find it beneficial to hear another’s
understanding of the text. Each of us
brings our own life experience and needs to the text. I am
becoming more committed to the idea that the study of Scripture is incomplete
unless it takes place in community.
Sunday school classes are called various things now, but whatever
they are called, they are small groups of people who learn and grow together. Small
groups have been important to the life of the church for years, finding
expression in various forms--the “holy clubs” of John Wesley, the modern Sunday
school movement, home Bible studies, and recovery support groups among other
examples. Even in the age of the
megachurch, small groups are an important strategy for growth and discipleship.
Scott Thumma and Warren Bird’s study for Leadership Network of 25,000 megachurch
attenders showed that “large churches are very intentional about helping people
find their identity in some kind of group or team.” Some sixty percent of those surveyed indicated
that they are involved in one or more groups and this is a growing
percentage. Over almost a decade, the
number of mega churches saying that small groups were central to their approach
to Christian nurture and spiritual formation grew from fifty percent to
eighty-six percent.
Although small groups vary in their leadership style,
purpose, content, commitment and process, they are places where individuals can
practice self-discovery while learning from the experiences of others. Small groups may have been part of the church
for generations, but they still continue to be on the “growing edge” for
Christian formation and discipleship.
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