Small Groups

Small Group

Can Small Groups Really Make A Difference?

The obvious answer is yes... but the why... and the how are not so obvious or so easily done.

The why is very simple; to create and maintain community with our heavenly Father and to create and maintain community with our neighbors. We do it because it is commanded by Jesus in Matthew 22 as follows:

Matthew 22:36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

At SPC, we use our mission statement to state it this way:

“To know Jesus and to make Him known”. How is that done? At SPC we use all forms of our Christian Education Program but more specifically we rely heavily on small groups. All forms of Christian Education are needed to create and maintain community with our heavenly Father, just as Jesus intended in His first commandment. Community with our neighbors is different in that it is best accomplished within the intimacy of a small group.

Once a small group of believers experience and survive a genuine emotional crisis by one of more of the members, community starts and we can truly begin to love at least some of our neighbors. When intimacy is accepted as an inherent attribute of small groups, an interpersonal chemistry develops and it becomes second nature to share other things about our past and present. Even things we are reluctant to share with family, and we certainly would not easily share with the entire church congregation. From there it is a series of small steps to build community with the rest of the congregation, and after that the community at large, just as Jesus intended with His second commandment. Intimate, open, and up front honesty by all group members makes the difference at SPC or any other church with small groups. But at SPC, we think we do it as well as anyone because we are blessed with a simple, straight forward mission statement that lays the foundation for true community... “To know Jesus and to make Him known”.

That is how small groups at SPC make a difference.