In the early church, it used to be a lot simpler. You’d meet in the temple courts for corporate worship and house to house for small groups (Acts 2:46). Two ministries done with excellence that fueled their mission-minded emphasis as they scattered into their spheres of influence to proclaim the excellencies of him who called them out of darkness and into his marvelous light (1 Pet 2:9). Nowadays, we have a different name for every different version of small group anyone could ever imagine. We have missional communities and life groups and cell groups and home groups and community groups and the list could go on and on. Harvest Bible Chapel was a breath of fresh air. Enough with reinventing small groups. Let’s make small group ministry about what it’s always been about: discipleship. After all that is the mission of the church. It was so simple and clear. It isn’t the name that makes Harvest small groups compelling but the purpose they serve and the ministry they accomplish. Here are 5 aspects of that ministry:

Applying God’s Word

Some small groups are simply Bible studies. Harvest small groups are much more than that. We don’t discuss the word of God simply for information but for transformation. The conversation in small groups is pointed and designed to get to personal application of a properly understood Biblical text. We look to sever the root of sin in the heart rather than just plucking the weeds of our behavior. Weed plucking may fix the symptom but not the problem. God’s word, when properly applied, exposes the symptom and fixes the heart.

Genuinely caring for one another

Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” ‘Burdens’ in this context refers to difficulties in your life that you have trouble carrying on your own. In other words, you weren’t meant to carry the weight of what life throws your way without community. Harvest small groups take that into account and seek to provide the springboard for intentional and organic care through ongoing life on life relationships.

Authentic accountability

I’ve never been in a small group that has had even close to the emphasis on accountability that Harvest small groups have. Those who have been around Christianity long enough know how to play the game and say the right things. Harvest small groups make that type of ‘fake it to make it’ approach difficult to uphold. When you join a small group, you’re entering an environment of graciously intrusive and transparent relationships where you are mutually honest and open about your heart and life and struggles. While the flesh craves isolation, we know the soul needs this authentic community where we “exhort one another as long as it is called today, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb 3:13).

Praying boldly

In the small groups I’ve historically been involved in, most prayer time never held a primary place of importance. Prayer requests were quickly solicited at the end and pets got more prayers than people. At Harvest, prayer is not a peripheral matter. It’s a priority. We don’t merely pray for requests but ask for the Lord to work the truth of His word into our hearts and lives. There is a richness that comes when we grow close enough in relationship to bear our hearts in prayer to the Lord and to one another and call out to Him to do what only He can do.

Serving one another intentionally

What makes small groups different from belonging to a gym or a country club is that you don’t come together merely to satisfy your own desires but to serve one another. It’s within small groups that you commit to shouldering weekly kingdom responsibilities by serving one another throughout the week and within specific ministries in the church.

Given the comprehensive and compelling scope of ministry, it’s no wonder we continue to need more small groups. Thankfully, our multiplication process happens from within as leaders are raised up regularly, so we can further glorify God through the fulfillment of the Great Commission in the spirit of the Great Commandment.