Ministry News

Small Groups a Plus But Not a Cure-All for Megachurches

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Tuesday, 01 March 2011 16:17

Establishing small fellowship groups within a megachurch as a way to connect members of a burgeoning congregation is “good medicine” but not a cure-all, according to a national study by sociologists at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

“Simply having a small group program in a church is no guarantee of success,” said Kevin Dougherty, an assistant professor in Baylor’s department of sociology and co-author of the article “A Place to Belong: Small Group Involvement in Religious Congregations,” published this month in the journal Sociology of Religion.

What matters, said Dougherty, who conducted the study with Baylor graduate student Andrew Whitehead, is that:

• the groups meet regularly
• the members trust one another enough to divulge matters they would not to a stranger
• the groups tackle tough issues in the members’ lives.

A growing number of Americans attend large congregations. Nearly a third of worshippers attend congregations with a weekly attendance of 1,000 or more, although less than 3 percent of the country’s congregations are that size. Past research by Dougherty and others shows that people in large congregations typically attend less, give less financially and have less of a sense of belonging than people in smaller congregations.

Members of small groups, on the other hand—whether in small churches or “megachurches” with 2,000 or more members—are more likely to attend worship, tithe and volunteer, Dougherty said. “Highly committed members make a church strong, whether big or small,” he said.

Dougherty and Whitehead tested the effectiveness of small groups at raising levels of participation and belonging. They studied the role of Bible study and prayer groups, using national data obtained from the 2001 U.S. Congregational Life Survey, with 78,474 respondents in 401 congregations, as well as data from a survey of 1,014 participants within an unidentified megachurch referred to in the study as Central Texas Megachurch. The church began in 1999 with an emphasis on “cell” groups. Today the church has more than 100 cell groups and attracts more than 3,000 worshippers weekly.

Study findings support the importance of small groups.

“Any type of small group will benefit a church, whether it’s a Sunday school, a service group or a basketball league, because of the belonging and commitment they foster,” Dougherty said. “But small Bible study and prayer groups are better at promoting discipleship and spiritual growth.”

Almost 90 percent of the nondenominational Central Texas church’s participants are in a small group, with groups typically consisting of eight to 15 members, usually in the same life stage. They gather in homes to sing, discuss, pray and receive instruction. “Small groups are the center of the church — not just one of many programs,” Dougherty said.

Frequency of attendance is more important for successful small groups than is length of attendance, he said, and “small size and regular interaction help foster trust. When people trust one another, they open themselves to deeper inspection and reflection. Great possibilities for change result.” —Source: Newswise