40 Days of Praying - Day 20

Becoming a Chuch of Small Groups: Pray God's wisdom on us as we expand our LifeGroup ministry to reach every member of GCR.

John 13:34-35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

1 Peter 1:22-24 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

1 John 4:11-12 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

Yesterday we prayed for God to grow our numbers. Tonight we want to pray that God will grow us to love each other so deeply in our LifeGroups that others are drawn in.

Here's the truth about LifeGroups. We can preach and teach and encourage and even urge people to be in LifeGroup. We can call them, tell them they should and make them feel guilty if they don't. We can set good examples and "raise the bar" until cows come home. But if what is happening in our groups isn't fueled by the Spirit of God then we won't see multiplying growth. We can't organize, train and motivate our way to a healthy body of Christ. If God doesn't do something powerful we will only add something more for people to do that they will do when it is convenient and miss when they feel like it. Lives won't be changed unless God is in the middle of what we do.

Do we need LifeGroups? Absolutely. If we are to grow larger we need a church that gets smaller. In other words we all need to know and be known in order to live out what it means to followers of Jesus. Can LifeGroups help that? Yes. Yes. Yes. But if God doesn't help us, we will only add something for people to do. We won't really change anything or anyone. We will just change where they meet.

I have higher dreams than that. I pray for little platoons of dynamic Jesus-following, God exalting, each other loving, world serving, kingdom minded people. May it be so.

God make us a church of small groups. Not because it is a fad or the latest church growth technique, but because we want to know you and know each other. Help us become that beautiful body that draws men to Jesus. Help us love each other. For Jesus sake, Amen.

Grace.