05.24.10
Four Reasons to Cancel Small Groups this Summer
Deciding whether or not to cancel groups in the summer is a hard call to make. Some will be concerned if you do, others if you don’t. Maybe the considerations below will help your church decide.
Your setting, demographic, location, and/or church type may help in this determination.
Setting…- If you are in a very small town where people have little to do and are not involved in long commutes to and from work, etc... breaking may not be necessary. But if your people have long, long days on an ongoing basis, a break will probably be very important.
Demographics... If your church is made up mostly of young families with children involved in summer sports a summer break will be important. The problem here is that a group will often find itself with less than half of her participants in attendance. This is a definite momentum crusher for both the leader and those in the group. Better to not meet than to have meetings that suck the life out of a group.
Location… If you are located way north where nine or so months of the year it's too cold to do outside stuff, a break will almost be a necessity as the people in your church will most likely want to be outside with family the few weeks this is possible. They cherish their summers and need the outside time to build memories for their children and grandchildren.
Church with Small Groups… If your church is a church with many, many programs and small groups are just another option, I would definitely give groups the opportunity to break. Those who are deeply involved in church life are probably involved in church ministries at least two nights and Sundays each week. A break from small group meetings will reinvigorate them allowing them to continue in the ministries they are currently involved in and will make them thankful that the small group ministry realizes their lifestyles and is sensitive to their busy schedules.
Keep this in mind… It is not a sin to set aside group for a season. But if you do this encourage your group members to be at worship weekly, spend time with God alone daily, and be certain their families are involving themselves in spiritual growth expressions (as they should be year round). I would also suggest the group use this time to get to know unbelievers not yet involved in group life. Have couple of cookouts and invite those not yet followers of Christ into the circle of relationship. Go to drive in movie together, pop your own popcorn, park your cars next to one another putting your lawn chairs out together and invite someone who doesn’t yet have a relationship with Jesus. You get the idea. A break from group life may be the key to reinvigorating a tired group and become the opportunity the group has been looking for to meet and influence pre-Christians.
We've been wrestling with this very concept in our church. The first three reasons are key to why we lighten up throughout the summer. However, the fourth for us doesn't apply since we are a church of small groups. While some in our church consider it a sin to stop a group, we began changing our verbiage regarding the summer months. Instead of "canceling" or "ending" or "taking a break," we encourage groups to be "flexible" and "creative." No groups are allowed to stop meeting. We do require at least three group gatherings throughout the summer and regular contact through phone/emails. We have three services and some group leaders could easily go three months without ever seeing a member of their group. It goes back to one of the main reasons we believe growth happens best in small groups... relationships!