I can't believe I managed to make it the entire month of May without a single post. I hope some of you are still reading, as your input is so important to me.

Part of my responsibility at Beavercreek Church of the Nazarene is to develop and maintain the small groups ministry. Kari and I have been part of an amazing community (small group) of people for the past two years in Kansas, but now I have to apply what I learned (both the good and the bad) from there to a large church with an existing Sunday School ministry, some small groups already meaning, and (probably) a general sense that not much needs to change.

So, I figured I'd open this discussion to the smartest group of people I know...you. What should a small group ministry look like? What is the purpose of small groups? Evangelism? Accountability? Bible Study? Prayer? All of the Above? What about mixed demographics? Do the senior adult couples meet with the 30-years old couples with two kids and the 34-year old single person? Do each of these demographics have their own group? What about the existing Sunday School? Should small groups be allowed to become large groups? (I think I know the answer to that one.) Should one of the goals of small groups be to multiply themselves, "planting" new small groups as time goes by? What about small group leaders? How do you train them? Are there books they should be reading, videos they should be watching, things they should be listening to? Should people meet according to where they live? How on earth do you initiate all this? Have I asked the right questions? Enough questions?

A quote from the book I'm reading: "You see, I have come to believe with all my heart that the life that Jesus brings is a shared life. The life of God in the world does not have its meaning in isolated units, but in a fellowship of those who share that life in him."

Now Reading: We Really Do Need Each Other, by Reuben Welch