Creating Community, Revised & Updated Edition: Five Keys to Building a Thriving Small Group Culture

by Andy Stanley

“Create Community. Make a difference in someone’s day.”

“When you work at Starbucks, you can make a

difference in someone’s day by creating an environment where neighbors and friends can get together and reconnect while enjoying a great coffee experience.”

Starbucks sees itself in the business of doing more than selling a p...

According to the Starbucks website, what they are selling is the “Starbucks experience.”

We are a culture craving relationship.

In the midst of our crowded existence, many of us are living lonely lives.

“Our relationship with each other is the criterion the world uses to judge whether our message is truthful—Christian community is the final apologetic.”

In this first section, we have emphasized the fact that people need community.

We were created by a relational God with relational needs for significant connection.

And when we don’t connect well, bad things follow.

The development of meaningful relationships where every member carries a significant sense of belonging is central to what it means to be the church. This is a God-ordained gathering of people that is so strong that even “the gates of hell will not overcome it.”18

That is what God has called the church to be about: creating environments where authentic community can take place. Building relational, transforming communities where people are experiencing oneness with God and oneness with one another. Communities that are so satisfying, so unique, and so compelling that they create thirst in a watching world.

What is the point of your church?

extra time together as a leadership team, time most staffs never have the opportunity to enjoy.

The first question we set out to answer was, What do we want people to become?

The Bible-Knowledge Church

Their core purpose is to help people become biblically literate.

Many times churches with this view assume that the books of the Bible are equally important.

equally inspired, but they are not equally applicable.

Jesus’ parting words in Matthew 28 made it very clear:

Jesus made it clear that our mission is to make disciples.

We want people at North Point to be growing in their relationship with Jesus Christ.

We’re not concerned if people are not at the same place on their

spiritual journeys. We simply want to influence people in such a way that they keep making progress on their journeys.

Our mission is to lead people into a growing relationship...

But the real question is what do you want the people in y...