Chuck Bridges Blog

I recently read somewhere that when a new person starts attending your church, if they are not Connected to a “relationship” or a “responsibility” quickly, within eight to ten weeks they have already started leaving. This highlights how important it is for us to build relationships with every person who attends our worship services more than one time.

The best way to do this is through our “Connecting Points” (Small adult/youth discipleship groups meeting in homes). The group that I belong to is experiencing real Christian Community on a scale that I have not witnessed in many years. People are getting to know each other (I mean really getting to know each other) and finding out that we are all going through the same stuff! What an encouragement this has been. I have seen people who did not know each other at all a couple of months ago become close on a level that is not enjoyed by the masses of people who just go to church.

And, do you want to hear something even more exciting? I am also seeing these people grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Just about everyone in our group has volunteered to facilitate our study (which is DVD driven). This is proving to be a great training ground for developing our future teachers, small group leaders, children’s leaders, youth staff, etc. EXCITING STUFF!

We call these Home Groups “Connecting Points” because that is what they exist to do — Help people CONNECT on a deeper level than what is possible by just going to the church building together once or twice a week. We have an opportunity each week to see God do some incredible things in people’s lives. The Home setting is much more intimate, allowing people to “feel” more relaxed and open to share. Then, as a Pastor, I have watched with a great sense of satisfaction when I see people from our “Connecting Point” sitting together or just standing around talking together before or after a worship service.

As God continues to send more people our way who desperately need this “Smaller” environment we will need more and more people to be Host homes for a Connecting Point. Please be in prayer about using your home one day. If you are in a group, keep reminding your fellow “Connectors” of the importance to think growth. It is our desire for all of our groups to “birth” new groups continually to protect the “small” dynamic as we grow larger (i.e. reaching more people).

Finally, let me just say one thing about those groups where children are involved. This is a great place for children to build relationships with other children. In our summer term we had two families who did not know each other previously to become close friends. While the parents were growing in their relationship, their children were “connecting” outside. As a result, when one of the children moved from the children’s department to the youth on Wednesday nights, the transition was much smoother because this relationship had already been established. THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!!!

Trust me, we have to do a thorough job of getting smaller if we want to get larger! The health and future growth of any church depends on the health and growth of the small groups. Jesus demonstrated this when He chose 12 initial disciples and then spent more intimate time with 3 of them. This is the model given to us by Christ and it is the model we enthusiastically embrace at Washington Avenue!