Lifeway Research found that 94% of American Protestant churches have continuing Bible study groups for adults, though the nomenclature and strategies differ widely.
Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, was joined by Ken Braddy, Sunday School director for Lifeway, for an Oct. 17 webinar titled “Unpacking the State of Groups.”
“We’ve studied this for two decades and find two things are always true,” McConnell said. “First, adult Bible study groups are the primary means of discipleship in our churches and second, groups are transformational. Those in groups are more active, more evangelistic, do more acts of service, practice personal spiritual disciplines, give more and have more relationships in the church.”
Braddy noted that “good, old-fashioned Sunday School” ranked near the top in titles for church group ministries at 56% but was edged out by “adult Bible studies” at 72%.
“I was with a church recently that called them ‘connect groups,’ and this was their mission statement — seeking to connect members with one another and with those outside the church,” he said.
Purpose
In explaining the purpose of group ministry, Braddy referred to an acrostic using the word “life” that he uses in “Break-Through: Creating a New Scorecard for Group Ministry Success,” published in 2022.
- “L” represents “learning and obeying God’s Word.”
- “I” stands for “inviting others to become disciples.”
- “F” is for “forming deeper relationships.”
- “E” represents “engaging in acts of service.”
“Relationships are key to group success,” Braddy said. “I call them ‘2 a.m. friends,’ and these are developed in weekly group Bible study.”
Braddy noted also that groups can “self-direct” and often do ministry without the pastor needing to announce churchwide service projects. He said this is a mark of health.
Concerning frequency of meeting, the Lifeway study found that except for a few holidays, 73% of church groups meet year-round and 19% take summers off.
‘Consistency is important’
“I think year-round is much better for most,” Braddy said. “Consistency is important. My colleague David Francis said, ‘Discipleship should not take a week off’ and I agree with him. “Plus, continuing studies require less promotion by church staff since we’re not starting something new but continuing what we’re doing.”
McConnell agreed and noted the study found two major reasons adults drop out of their groups. First is a “change in life circumstance,” but the second is because the group ended.
The study found that in Protestant churches, 44% of adult worship service attendees are involved in small groups, but that number is around 60% in Southern Baptist churches.
Braddy noted that group membership really matters in the long term.
“Groups are ‘sticky,’” he said. “Thom Rainer found years ago that of 100 new members, 16 will remain after five years, but 83 will remain who are in small Bible study groups.”
The research also found that 90% of churches don’t limit group size.
“I was in a group of 40 in one church — and this is a minichurch,” Braddy said. “A group like this could sponsor two new groups. The formula I use is that a group should be 12, plus or minus four. One church I visited specifically limited the space in their rooms in order to encourage new groups.”
Inward or outward
The study found that 34% of churches started at least one new adult Bible group in 2024.
Established groups tend to focus inward after two years when friendships are formed, Braddy noted.
“New groups are more outward-focused,” he said, “and a new adult group can add 10 attendees on Sunday morning, including the children adults bring with them.”
In response to viewer questions, Braddy said off-campus groups continue to struggle with child care.
“We must decide if we want to manage the chaos with children in another room or disciple them,” he said.
“Today we have legal concerns too and cannot let children be unsupervised or improperly supervised. Some churches provide trained child care workers for home groups, and some groups partner with one another and provide child care while the other is meeting.”
Braddy responded to a second question about leader training, saying he thinks most churches should provide monthly or quarterly worker training.
“Leader training doesn’t always mean that we learn something new but that we’re reminded about important things,” McConnell said.
The full Lifeway Research report can be found at lifeway.research.com/2024/09/12.
Braddy publishes his “Exploring Group Ministry Today” blog at kenbraddy.com.
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