Grow churches up, down, Warren says

The key to church health is that a church must grow larger and smaller at the same time, said Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, Calif., and author of “The Purpose Driven Church” during SuperConference 2003.
   
“Larger through worship and smaller through small groups,” the California pastor said during the Oct. 5–8 gathering of 13,000 people at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.
   
Warren cited a 750,000-member South Korean church, Yoido Full Gospel Church, in which each member is in a group of only 10.
   
The small groups allow the church body to minister to the needs of everyone in the congregation, Warren said.
   
In the case of Yoido Full Gospel Church, when one member of a small group is sick, everyone in his small group brings him an apple. This simple custom helps create a spirit of support, in which each person is known intimately and is carried by the group through difficult times. It keeps members from falling through the cracks.
   
Lance Witt, Saddleback Church’s discipleship pastor, said a critical element to the success of small groups involves the affinity of the members.
   
“Something must cause them [the group members] to say, ‘We want to meet with them’ [other group members],” Witt said, adding that having things in common naturally draws people toward one another, helping build satisfying relationships.
   
Churches should stress the many benefits of being in a small group, said Witt, including the feeling of being part of a church family, gaining better understanding of God’s Word and maintaining accountability for one’s Christian walk.
   
“Where in church can people be totally real?” Witt asked, noting that it is in the small group setting where members can share their struggles and their hurts in a way not possible across the larger congregation. They’re able to feel at ease with their difficulties, he said, because of the care within their small group.
   
“Small groups offer the greatest pastoral care ever,” Witt said. (BP)