Quotes About Small groups

Smaller groups of people can establish trusting relationships.

The democratic process will always favor small, well-organized groups at the expense of large, diffuse groups. It's not just how many people care one way or the other; it's how much they care. Two percent who care deeply about something

The first question I ask is, "Who are you trying to reach?" By that I mean, "Specifically who do you imagine being in your small groups? Who is likely to opt out? Who are you willing to leave out?

The final question to ask before launching a new or revamped small group ministry is, "Who already does what we want to do well—and does it in a church we would go to if we lived in the area?

The only exception I've found to this principle is in the recovery movement, where small groups seem to be an effective evangelistic side door into the church all across the nation. I think it's because, having hit bottom, these folks have an openness to try anything, including a small group. The concerns that give pause to the average American are overcome by their desperation and desire for sobriety. And once they find sobriety, they often end up finding the Lord as well.

First, it strongly emphasizes evangelism. Every group is required to have an empty chair that is supposed to be filled with a new Christian before the year is out. Second, it's based on the idea that the most effective way to bring new Christians into the larger church is to first reach them through a small group.

In particular we'll look in depth at sermon-based small groups, a lecture-lab model for studying the weekend sermon in-depth during the week. We'll see how they work. We'll explain why they have the power to make your church especially sticky. And we'll discover why so many of the traditional small group models we've tried in the past sound great but don't work all that well in real life.

Yet the reality is that in the American church, very few people come to Christ through a small group. It's much more likely that their first exposure to the gospel will come through a conversation with a friend, followed by a visit to a church's special program or a worship service.

Without question, the setting where I have experienced the most accelerated transformation in the lives of believers has been in triads, or small reproducible discipleship groups.

At Stanford, we teach 'design thinking' - that is, we put together small, interdisciplinary groups to figure out what the true needs are and then to apply the art of engineering to serve them.

The democratic process will always favor small, well-organized groups at the expense of large, diffuse groups.

She had never liked those kinds of parties, or truthfully, any parties at all. She was much better on a one-on-one basis, or with small groups of people she knew well and felt comfortable with. Much

In 2000, Gladwell wrote a brilliant book called The Tipping Point, which examined the forces that cause social phenomena to "tip," or make the leap from small groups to big groups

There are many connections between anarchist theory and gift exchange as an economy – both assume that man is generous, or at least cooperative, 'in nature'; both shun centralized power; both are best fitted to small groups and loose federations; both rely on contracts of the heart over codified contract, and so on. But

It's not in the mainstream media, but across towns, it is amazing how there are small groups of people getting together and forming artistic collectives - they may not be being overtly political, but I'd say by channelling their energy into community projects, that's a valid political statement.

When you scale up your business there will invariably be small groups of vested interests unwilling to see the new ground reality.

Keep in mind that teaching in tribal societies is generally performed by biologically related, caring, and deeply invested elders, one on one or in small groups. In these naturally occurring, attachment-based apprenticeships, learning is interwoven with the behaviors and biochemistry of bonding.

In a number of workshops, I have asked people whether they have had one or more experiences that they would identify as an experience of God and, if so, to share them in small groups. On average, 80 percent of the participants identify one or more and are eager to talk about them. They also frequently report that they had never before been asked that question in a church setting or given an opportunity to talk about it.

So while many churches say, "We do discipleship in our small groups," the fact of the matter is that their small groups are missing one of the main ingredients of a discipling culture: Challenge.

For many churches, as they seek to create comfortable environments in the form of worship services or small groups, have lost their ability to challenge people in meaningful ways. Challenge may be given from the pulpit or stage on Sunday mornings, but challenge is always given best in the context of personal relationships. We

The church is at its best in two's or three's-not in two or three hundreds or two or three thousands. "Where two or three are gathered together, there am I in the midst of them.

A conspiracy, in short, is based on small groups with inherently competing interests. At some point in the evolution of the competition between two or more groups (and in some cases, within subversive groups), there are rumors or allegations made of sinister behavior or a secretive plot developed by the members or the leadership of the groups. Occasionally, the groups will have diametrically opposed goals and this leads to further subversion.