The Class Meeting: Reclaiming a Forgotten (and Essential) Small Group Experience

by Kevin Watson

Another key way that Wills lifted up the value of these groups was by regularly having people who had experienced life change through their involvement in these groups testify to their transformation during worship.

if a pastor is committed to helping members become disciples, then the most gifted spiritual leaders in the church should be asked to lead a class meeting before they are asked to do anything else. This position should be seen as the most important role in the church, if the church is to accomplish its mission of helping people become disciples of Jesus Christ. This mission is far more likely to be accomplished by class leaders than by the chairs of the finance committee, staff parish relations, church council, or the trustees. It is not that these positions are unimportant, but that people have limited time and energy to give, and the most gifted and spiritually mature in the church should be asked to lead a class meeting before they are asked to do anything else.

a key to the success of the Wesley Fellowship Groups at Christ Church was that the groups were recruited by the leader.

When the class leader draws together people to form a group, the group will more likely already have some degree of chemistry, because at a minimum the members will be connected to the person who starts the group (as opposed to, for example, simply having people sign up for groups based on the time that is the most convenient for them to meet).

One significant drawback is that the groups will be much likelier to be homogenous; i.e., the leader will likely tend to recruit people who look like him or her, which can significantly undercut the potential for learning to grow not only in your love of God, but in your love of neighbor.

the process should be bathed in prayer.

It is also a good idea to emphasize that this is not a study or a Sunday school class.

Wills noted in Christ Church’s use of Wesley Fellowship Groups that they ask all new members of the church to commit to explore small groups by being in a Wesley Fellowship Group for six weeks.

One of the deep insights behind Wesley’s understanding of basic Christian practices is that one of the most important keys to growth in the Christian life is consistently putting yourself in a position where you can be renewed by God’s grace.

people in life-changing small groups take ownership of their own faith, not expecting another person to feed them or make them mature Christians. As a result, they invest in their relationships with God on a daily basis and are hungry and thirsty for God, desperate to know the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit more and more deeply and to be more faithful instruments of the Holy Spirit in the world.