DSMN 630 Small Group Ministry: Why Lead a Group? 8/30/2026

Obviously, the most important reason is to develop disciples: developing disciples is critical in that discipleship/disciples is where people get converted to the (very) image of a suffering servant in mode of Jesus Christ that is ready to serve onto the world carrying out the Great Commission task to the fullest (Matt. 28). The discipleship does not come easily as in most cases it would take years of training, molding of a person into a minister, an evangelist, who is prepared to teach the Bible, preside over a worship service, carry out other important tasks needed to be a leader of a fully functional missionary team/group, e.g., baptizing a new convert in the name of Jesus.

Small group ministry is also essential in that in the intimacy of a small group of 2-10 individuals, it affords an opportunity where people can bond in much closer and personal ways than otherwise. That close and personal intimacy among the members and an opportunity where individuals can grow together building a mutually empowering interpersonal relationship in faith is nothing like, and the most precious thing to find. Jesus is obviously the ultimate leader and king here presiding over all involved individuals: however, the impact and influence (in very Christian-like and biblically based environment) can be so huge that had the small group ministry done the right way, it could really serve as a spark plug of a revolutionary change that could ensue. The most critical component of this whole process is having the charismatic, Christ-centered, capable, and knowledgeable strong leader, who can carry out his task in making the small group ministry stand out above the rest. The right leader, the right leadership is always in need, and in small group ministry the impact of such a leader/leadership can be even more magnified; the ripple effects of its presence/absence can be all-positive and work like a domino or the negative can set not only the small group but the whole congregation by extended period of time and depleted (hard to recover) resources, manpower and new church membership included.  

The third most important aspect of the small ministry group in my opinion is that the small group setting is actually where the newbie or the novice evangelist could get his much needed training done without much consequences to the rest of church groups or the members. We all need some type of training or preparation as we get our feet wet in preparation for whatever service God calls us unto. For some of us, it could be youth ministry, Sunday school, education/teaching related vocation, or a desk job at some mission-minded global NGO company/enterprise. Having a small group ministry experience under one’s belt then could pave the way for someone whose eyes are set on doing the large group ministry or ecclesiastical work on much bigger stage or platform. Therefore, the small group ministry exists to satisfy many different related fields in which one may eventually settle into holding down a permanent work.

My primary reason or hope for developing a small group ministry is to hone my ministry skills: that is important to me. Plus, I’d like to nurture and develop a close-knit interpersonal relationship in faith with my group of people where I can pray for them, teach them the Bible, and effective lead them under the guidance of the Holy Spirit so that they would all become a disciple of Christ, ready to take on the world as a champion for Christ fearing no one, and daring to go where no church or no group has gone before to make the gospel of Christ stick in these last days. As I conclude my thread I’d like to end it with the following verse: “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV).

** My response to someone named Daryl:

Dear Daryl, thanks for your post: I’d just like to piggyback off of what you said regarding the 12 disciples handpicked by Jesus in the church’s most infant stage/period; that was crucial period, was it not?, and in my honest opinion the Ultimate Teacher of the teachers and the Most Learned of the learned in Jesus Christ was so infinitely wise and talented so that any twelve chosen would have withstood the challenge of times and arisen to become the twelve martyrs and rock of the church the twelve from the Gospel Books indeed had: after all we are talking about the Almighty God who was personified in man of Jesus (fully human & fully God? Why not—nothing is impossible in YHWH God, Luke 1:37, “For with God nothing will be impossible”)

As the authors point out no one in the history of mankind has been a better teacher than Jesus Himself as they elaborate, “we help people to follow Jesus by showing them how to follow Jesus by our example. Albert Schweitzer says, “There are three ways to teach a child: the first is by example, the second is by example, and the third is … [you guessed it] by example.” What most people need in order to become a mature follower of Jesus is not curriculum but someone to watch and learn from. We all need to develop to the point in our Christian life where we can exhort others to follow our example,”[1] For Jesus our Lord, it was all about teaching so that they (the disciples) would be able to be delegated of their specific responsibilities to enlarge the kingdom as they evangelize onto the world.

On a closer inspection, our Lord had a different level of intimacy with His followers it seems: obviously, three disciples named James, Peter, and John, who often accompanied Jesus to some of the most amazing revelations such as the transfiguration (Matt 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8) were the closest to him, and the next closest were the group of 12 altogether. Then, there would be a group of 70, and 300. The level of intimacy revealed by the disciples and followers of Jesus can tell us about the level of trust and competency on the part of the disciples in my opinion: this means that the closer, more intimate the disciples/followers were to Jesus, they would have been able to handle greater responsibilities, missions and tasks placed upon them by their Lord and master Jesus. We all should follow this example of delegating/delegation demonstrated by Jesus and put that to a test and into our program when designing and working out a mission trip or project because it has withstood the test of time as it has proven to function as it was meant to be.  

Rod Dempsey and Dave Earley, Leading Healthy, Growing, Multiplying, Small Groups (Wordsearch, 2018), 9. **

** My response to someone named India:

Dear India,

Thanks for your post; that was an interesting good read. I’d like to just focus on the chapter three part of your thread namely Spiritual Growth entailing salvation, sanctification, servanthood, strategic servanthood, bearing fruit, and glorifying God—that is a whole bunch to do.

Well, it goes without saying that after the initial stages of becoming a believer at first, baptized as prescribed in scripture and as outlined in chapter 1 & 2, the individuals would need to grow in spirituality like everything else: if one observes a lifecycle of a person, it goes something like this in this order: a newly born neophyte infant would become a toddler, then a child, then a teenager, a young adult, then a fully grown adult (then a middle-aged person, a senior citizen, a helpless senile person, then eventually a death would visit.) A Christian would need to grow spiritually and progress toward becoming a full mature disciple in mode of Jesus Christ, the benchmark or the ultimate role model for all Christians.

Like millions of other American Christians or fellow Christians scattered all over the world, out of the Spiritual Growth process which we should be on further along and mature about et al, I must confess that I still struggle with sexual sins/transgressions part the most in my opinion (cf. 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Jude 1:18, 1 Cor. 6:18; Hebrews 13:4, etc.): generally-speaking, I think that I have a firm good control over other desires, but the sexual transgression part has been tough to handle (perhaps because I was not getting any from home?) However, that still hasn’t stopped from loving God any less (Vs. people’s arguing against it, understandably.)

As Early and Demsey write, “The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:3–4, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable,” … and verse 7 summarizes the will of God again by saying, “For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.”

Before judging me or anyone in the similar situation, from my own personal experiences, yes, the ultimate goal is to become like our Lord and Savior Jesus, or even emulate the martyr of 12 disciples who had gone before us being tested of the same desires of flesh and eyes. Nevertheless, we all should take a back seat, wait and see, and watch perhaps in wonderment how God actually works through our personal lives and what kind of grand plans He has had in store for all of us.

Rod Dempsey and Dave Earley, Leading Healthy, Growing, Multiplying, Small Groups (Wordsearch, 2018), 15. **