5-page paper synthesizing the 3-5 ideas from the readings that made the greatest impact on you, and how those ideas apply to yo

Assimilation through Small Groups

Groups of twelve to fifteen people provide the type of fellowship intrinsically needed for quenching the human need for community. The Early Church met regularly in homes for several centuries. Although the church cannot return to the era of the Early Church, it illustrates the importance of carving out time and creating opportunities for people to meet together in small groups. McIntosh and Martin indicate that “church growth studies have found that for a church to assimilate new people effectively it must have an average of seven small groups for every one hundred adult members.”⁰ Furthermore, they identify four essential ingredients that add to the assimilation mix: (1) sharing, (2) study, (3) support, and (4) service.⁰

Sharing

Charles H. Spurgeon observed: “A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you, and were helped by you, will remember you when forget-me-nots are withered. Carve you name on hearts, and not on marble.”⁰ A small group must create an environment where people can share on an intimate level. Whether an individual is facing difficult life circumstances or celebrating life’s victories, a small group offers the community in which to express these situations. McIntosh and Martin comment: “We were created in God’s image with a yearning to commune with God, and with other relational beings. We long to know and to be known on levels transcending the superficial plane.”⁰ When people communicate on an intimate level, it enables believers to more easily fulfill the Scriptures’ admonition to carry one another’s burdens and, in this way, fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). When a person shares the details of his or her life with a Christian friend, it not only serves as a catharsis for the person sharing, but also encourages the listener to intercede for the friend’s needs.

Study

As people study the Bible together, they become better followers of Christ. Dwight D. Eisenhower observed: “To read the Bible is to take a trip to a fair land where the spirit is strengthened and faith renewed.”⁰ Towns, Stetzer, and Bird believe “discipleship best happens in community.”⁰ When believers study God’s Word together, they not only renew their minds, but also permit the Spirit to challenge them for duties of service. As a result of Bible study, people experience changes in every area of their lives. Their work ethic improves; their minds are transformed. Consequently, the Spirit of God directs every part of their day. The daily renewal through the Word of God creates excitement and individuals in the group are encouraged to a life of excellence through their corporate efforts.

Support

Providing support for a friend in need could require sacrificial giving. On other occasions, sharing valuable life experiences can help a friend realize they are not alone in life. William Feather comments: “Nothing happens to you that hasn’t happened to someone else.”⁰ As people become better acquainted, they more readily share experiences that help create a new filter for life. People long for genuine and loyal friends who will readily help during the difficult times of life. Christians, above all, should make sure their actions match their words, as that will lead to an abundance of friends.

Service

Genuine believers should exemplify the quality of service by meeting the needs of other people. As a small group, believers can accomplish extraordinary things for God. God himself makes an incredible promise to people who care for the less fortunate: “Mercy to the needy is a loan to God, and God pays back those loans in full” (Prov. 19:17, The Message). John Wesley says: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can and as long as you can.”⁰ New opportunities will present themselves as small group participants seek God’s direction regarding service to other people in need.

Assimilation through Spiritual Growth

Spiritual growth, like all growth, generally comes gradually over time. Individuals can encourage spiritual growth by purposely developing a Bible reading plan, participating in regular Bible study, and being in close association with people in a small group who also desire to grow spiritually. At the age of seventy-five, someone asked Henry Wadsworth Longfellow how he continued to write so well. He pointed to an apple tree full of blooms and said, “That is a very old apple tree, but the blossoms this year seem more beautiful than ever before. That old tree grows a little new wood each year, and I suppose it is out of the new wood that these blossoms come. Like the apple tree, I try to grow a little new wood each year.”⁰

God desires that every believer reach full maturity in Christ. If a believer stops growing spiritually, it indicates a separation from the source of life. Jesus expresses this relationship: “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me” (John 15:4, The Message). Therefore, full maturity occurs as both the church and its individual members live in close connection to the Lord. Jesus’ goal is to assimilate new members to the body of Christ and into the fellowship of a local church. Inside this protective setting, God’s people receive encouragement, nourishment, and blessing.

Conclusion

Initially, a plateaued or declining church must desire growth and willingly change its non-growth habits so as to encourage growth. The next step involves education regarding church growth. This could include self-education along with the use of a church growth consultant who can help the church assess the barriers that inhibit current growth and apply basic formulas or principles that will encourage growth. Areas for review should include adequate parking, size of auditorium, and proportionate classroom space.

Growing leaders lead growing churches. Therefore, church leaders must make assessments to identify personal weaknesses that inhibit church growth. Growing leaders engage in continual self-education and receive mentoring by other qualified leaders. As church leaders grow, they discover blind spots that reduce the effectiveness of church growth and become aware of basic vision limiters. Church leaders must always keep their eyes on the goal by developing strategies to bring people into the church as well as creating policies that help assimilate these new people into the life of the church.

One of the most important goals for church leaders includes reaching first-time guests. First time-guests should receive VIP treatment such as a special parking place, an appropriate gift, refreshments, and, most of all, a warm greeting and introduction to other people. Retention of first-time guests requires an aggressive follow-up plan so as to contact the first-time guest up to four times during the first week after their initial visit. Churches that display high expectations and persistence in this area usually have a high retention of first-time guests.

The ultimate goal of the church is to assimilate new attendees into the body of Christ and into the local church. The assimilation process requires the development of friendships within the church, personal involvement in the ministries of the church, participation in small group ministries where individuals can share, study, support, and serve, and spiritual growth through an on-going connection with Christ.

Chapter 4: DESCRIPTION OF FIELD PROJECT

Chapter 2 provides a theological basis for using business strategies to stimulate church growth. Chapter 3 underscores the necessity of examining the successes gleaned by other church leaders from their own endeavors to promote church growth. This chapter provides description of the field project in terms of its preparation, implementation, and assessment. Ministry leaders can implement the details and procedures of this pilot project in order to facilitate meaningful ad Christ-like growth in their own congregations.