ASSEMBLIES OF GOD THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
USING SMALL GROUPS TO BUILD COMMUNITYBETHANY
CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLY, EVERETT, WASHINGTON
A PROJECT SUBMITTED TO
THE DOCTOR OF MINISTRY PROJECT COMMITTEE
IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY DEPARTMENT
BY
ROBERT JOHN CARLSON
MAY 2002
Copyright γ 2002 by Robert John Carlson
All rights reserved
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ... .. vii
ABSTRACT . ..ix
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF PROBLEM ... ..1
The Problem
The Research
Definition of Terms
The Purpose
2. BIBLICAL-THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS ... .11
Biblical-Theological Foundations for Community
Biblical-Theological Foundations for Small Groups
Biblical-Theological Foundations for Fellowship (Koinonia)
3. LITERATURE REVIEW ... .53
Introduction
Model One: The Bible Fellowship Model
Model Two: The Connecting Church Model
Model Three: The Multiple-Track Target Model
Model Four: The Closed Groups Model
Model Five: The Purpose-Driven Model
Model Six: The Meta Model
Model Seven: The Cell Church Model
Model Eight: The Groups of Twelve Model
4. ASSESSMENT AND INTEGRATION . .96
Model One: The Bible Fellowship Model
Model Two: The Connecting Church Model
Model Three: The Multiple-Track Target Model
Model Four: The Closed Groups Model
Model Five: The Purpose-Driven Model
Model Six: The Meta Model
Model Seven: The Cell Church Model
Model Eight: The Groups of Twelve Model
5.
TRANSITIONING BETHANY
CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLY
TO A SMALL GROUP MODEL ... ... .. ..130
Transitioning Strategies
The BCA Model
6. INTERVENTION DESIGN ..139
Preparation and Execution of Intervention
Results of Intervention
7. SUMMARY EVALUATION 147
Project Benefits BCA
Needed Adjustments
Recommendations for BCA
For Further Study
A. BETHANY BIBLE FELLOWSHIPS .. 153
B. MVP: MINISTRY VISION PLANNERTASK FORCE PRELIMINARY FINDINGS ..158
C.
SERMON SERIES: EVERYONE
NEEDS A PLACE TO
BELONG AND WE NEED EACH OTHER . ..162
D. EVALUATION: SMALL GROUP CONNECTION NIGHT RESULTS . ...174
E. LEADERSHIP TRAINING AND RECRUITING EVENTS: UNDERSTANDING GODS VISION FOR HIS CHURCH ..177
F. BETHANY CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLY: FIFTY COMMUNITY-BUILDING SMALL GROUPS ...184
G. FIVE COMMUNITY-BUILDING COMPONENTS ..186
H. BETHANY CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLY: MINI-CONGREGATIONS ... .188
I. VISION AND RECRUITMENT LETTER .....190
SOURCES CONSULTED . .. ... .193
I want to thank the members of the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary Doctor of Ministry Project committee for their assistance in planning and conducting this ministry project: Dr. Byron K. Klaus, President; Dr. Edgar R. Lee, Vice President of Academic Affairs; Dr. Stephen Lim, Doctor of Ministry Project Coordinator; and Dr. Earl Creps, Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program. Also, I want to thank my adviser and friend, Dr. Melvyn Ming, founding Director of the Doctor of Ministry program, for his guidance throughout the Doctor of Ministry program including the completion of this project. Thank you to each of you for challenging me to greater heights in ministry.
In addition, I am indebted to the incredible people of Bethany Christian Assembly who for the past twenty years have taught me the joys of experiencing authentic biblical community. We have partnered in ministry and worked together in advancing Gods Kingdom. The members, deacons, elders, and staff of BCA are all wonderful servants in the quest of creating community. Thank you for your passion to reach more people for Christ and involve them in caring relationships where each one is connected and can experience the joy of being a part of Christian community.
Finally, I want to thank my family for their unwavering support. I appreciate my parents, Rollin and Helen Carlson, for teaching me about family and true community. I also want to thank my boys, Reggie, Quinn, and Britt, for understanding dads desire to complete this project. And to my wife, Lisa, who has supported my ministry and educational pursuits for over seventeen years. Thank you, Lisa, for being my co-laborer in life and ministry, and for serving by my side as we cultivate community in our home and church.
The purpose of this project is to intervene in Bethany Christian Assemblys minimum health factor by creating a community-building small group system for BCA that successfully involves a growing number of participants and trained leaders in holistic small groups. The Natural Church Development study by Christian Schwarz was used to determine the minimum health factor for BCA. The study revealed that BCA was deficient in the number of people involved in holistic small groups.
The author determined that practicing the five community-building components found in Acts 2:42-47 will produce holistic small groups. The project examines the biblical-theological foundations of community and small groups. The literature review produces eight models used by various churches in building community through small groups. After careful study and research of these models it is clear that a BCA model is needed in order to contextualize an effective small groups system for BCA.
The BCA model captured various principles employed by the other eight models but created a small groups system design specifically suited for BCA. The BCA model consists of six commitments: (1) the pastoral staff forming a G-12 group; (2) utilizing three-sized gatherings including large, midsize, and small groups; (3) organizing all small groups under six division pastors; (4) concentrating on involving newcomers, new members, and new converts in small groups; (5) connecting everyone to a mini-congregation and small group, either voluntarily or by assignment; (6) providing leaders regular training, prayer, and encouragement.
The results of the intervention are measured in seven distinct ways and show considerable improvement in strengthening BCAs minimum factor. A major implication of this project is that churches wishing to improve a minimum factor in holistic small groups can do so by following the steps taken by BCA.
INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
In 1995 I became senior pastor of a congregation with a long history steeped in tradition. Bethany Christian Assembly (BCA) started as a Swedish storefront mission in 1910 and relocated to its new campus in 1983. By 1995 the congregation had grown to approximately five hundred people. The leadership was determined to reinvent a ministry culture capable of reaching the unchurched for Jesus Christ. Today, much of that reengineering and transitioning has taken place including the crystallizing or creating of a new purpose, vision, values, target, strategy and multiple services featuring three service styles. Bethany Christian Assembly has now eleven hundred in attendance and has become a regional church. It is painfully obvious that with this growth of the church has come a lack of connection and community within the congregation, which is disconcerting to the church leadership since healthy churches need people connecting with one another for friendship, support, accountability, and growth.
In his book, Natural Church Development, Christian Schwarz shares the results of his extensive study into what makes churches healthy and growing.[1] His research concludes that there are eight essential qualities for church health: empowering relationships, gift-oriented ministry, passionate spirituality, functional structures, inspiring worship, holistic small groups, need-oriented evangelism, and loving relationships. After investigating more than one thousand churches in over thirty different countries, Schwarz is convinced that churches must focus on qualitative growth over quantitative growth.[2] In other words, concentrating on issues of church health and quality ministry are key to producing church growth. His research shows that when all eight characteristics hit a certain level, growth comes naturally. Says Schwarz, To my knowledge, our research provides the first worldwide scientifically verifiable answer to the question, What church growth principles are true, regardless of culture and theological persuasion? [3]
Through specifically designed surveys and tests, Schwarzs Natural Church Development church health assessment process can help a church determine its quality index.[4] A church must reach a specific qualitative level in all eight characteristics in order to be healthy and to grow. It is not enough to have seven of the eight health elements at the quality level. All eight must be there. A church cannot grow beyond the minimum factor. The minimum factor, or the health essential at the lowest quality level, must be raised in order for the church to enjoy health and growth. Just as a barrel can only hold as much water as the lowest stave will allow, so a church will experience in worship attendance only as many people as the minimum quality factor will allow.[5]
The findings of Schwarzs research clearly shows that the lack of quantitative growth in most churches indicates a qualitative problem. Above a certain qualitative level, there are no stagnant or declining churches at all.[6] The quality index that connotes that a particular characteristic is healthy or of high quality in a church is 65. Research shows that a church achieving a quality index of 65 in all eight elements would almost always be a healthy, growing church. This is called the 65 hypothesis. The 65 hypothesis simply states that whenever all eight values climb to 65, the statistical probability that the church is growing is 99.4 percent. Again, this is one of the few church growth principles for which we have yet to find a single exception anywhere in the world.