Do Small Groups Grow Lutheran Congregations?
Calvary Lutheran Church, Federal Way, has done seasonal Lenten small groups for the past 9 years. We invite the whole congregation to participate in Sunday and midweek worship, Adult Forums and Sunday school, and small group study and conversation around a single Lenten theme. Together we have studied The Purpose-Driven Life, Poverty, Evangelism, 24 Hours that Changed the World, and more.
But here's the catch: We can't seem to sustain small groups with the same intensity or fervor, after the Lenten season.
Have any of you experienced success in sustaining small groups in your congregation? If so, how?
Do these small groups, in your observation, increase your church worship attendance numbers? And do they seem to cultivate greater enthusiasm for life in the body of Christ?
- Lori Cornell's blog
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Small group success
The answers to your questions are: No, I don't know, and maybe. Maybe even yes.
I've always been a member of small congregations. We've had the small groups you've described. Usually, it's the "old faithfuls" who attend, as they usually attend the congregation's various endeavors. The activities didn't draw new people. So, I don't know.
However, my daughter encountered a small group activity that brought people to the church, in her case, St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle. When she moved to Seattle and was looking for a congregation, she found St. Mark's and liked its worship and theology. One of the small group activties at St. Mark's at that time was a Sunday evening compline service. She noticed that many other young people found the compline to be very spiritual practice with a feeling much different than the traditional worship service. The young people, she said, seemed to be seeking a spiritual experience, and they found it in compline.
Do small groups grow Lutheran congregations
I have been a member of a small group at Mountain View Lutheran for about 10 years. The group itself has been going for at least 14 years. It is a men's Bible study group of between 8 and 15 participants that meets every Saturday morning at 7:30. It is completely lay-led with little active clergy involvement. We have studied nearly every book in the Bible and now are on our second year of studying the lessons, psalm and Gospel from the lectionary for the next day. I believe there are some men for whom the men's Bible study has been their primary entree into the congregation. This group has managed to sustain itself because of the dedication of a core group of men. I'm not sure it has increased church attendance, but it has increased the Biblical literacy of the members of the group. It was the Book of Faith initiative before the initiative.