Small Groups, Cell or Core Groups, or Bible Studies

This post was last updated on February 7th, 2024 at 01:01 pm.

What do all these names have in common?

They serve the same function, in that they are to bring the community together on a more personal level and increase our spiritual growth within the church.  They are also to help bring new people into the church and get them involved in the church’s mission. Imagine if the church could mobilize their entire congregation to donate at least one hour a week towards a group function. How many things could get done in that time to help the church fulfill its mission? Groups  are especially important in the larger churches where on any given Sunday you may not know the person’s name next to you.

Every church has a different name for these groups such as bible study group, men’s or women’s bible studies, youth groups, core groups, reach groups, home groups, connection groups, and the list goes on and on…

One thing remains the same when you have groups like these in the church. Somehow the church has to track and maintain the groups information and be able to communicate effectively with them. Some examples are the following:

• Why didn’t Jimmy Smith show up today for youth group?
• When was the last time Sally Smith attended the women’s ministry?
• Trevor, the group leader, needs to send out an email with the upcoming events for the group. How can he do that quickly?
• Gene, the group leader, needs to cancel the meeting tonight because of bad weather, but it is too late to send an email. He wants to text everyone’s cell phone instead. How?

There are many other reasons to ensure that you can stay on top of the group interaction, attendance, communication, etc. All of these can be addressed through IconCMO instead of several other specialized programs for emailing, text messaging, and group attendance. When groups are organized the church will see a greater involvement within the group and those members will encourage each other and stand firm in their beliefs.

Another reason to communicate to groups is to mobilize them quickly in case there is an emergency or when a family needs help (IE: moving).  For example, in our area this year we are expecting a flood. The church could react to news about this flood very quickly and inform their members of anything that they feel is crucial. They could send a call out for volunteers to help other families that are in immediate danger of having their homes flooded or some other need.

Would the church want to know who did not attend a group event that is held weekly? Group leaders can contact absentees via a post card, email, text message or forward the person’s name to the pastor for them to contact, etc. Growing groups and keeping them interested comes down to tracking attendance and doing a follow up with the ones that did not attend. People want to know they are important enough that the church stays in communication with them. This is true in the other cases where sporadic attendance may be a sign of discouragement. Contacting them can be the difference in having an active happy congregant versus one that leaves. They want to know their church cares enough about them to send a note every once and awhile to show they care. How would you know what kind of communication to send if the church does not take attendance?

President

Bill Gifford

Icon Systems, Inc.

 

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