Remember when Dorothy and her three friends met with the Wizard of Oz? They gained an audience with what appeared to be just the awesome head of the wizard, sputtering and pontificating and generally asserting his control over their universe. The public figure of the wizard seemed as if he had it all together; he was the all-knowing, all-giving head of all the residents of Oz. Of course, when Toto pulled back the curtain, Dorothy and company realized there was more to the "head" — there was a whole person — but he still didn't have ultimate sway over the affairs of Munchkinland.

Now take a brief mental inventory of the existing groups in your church — the small and not-so-small groups, such as the choir, the ministry groups, the administrative groups, the various task groups, the fellowship groups, the age-level groups, and so on. (There are probably a few groups you don't know about, too.) Of what small groups are you a member? How many of those groups operate somewhat like the wizard — as autonomous "heads" doing what they are charged to do all on their own? (Please don't push the analogy too hard!) Typically, the many groups in the church do act mostly on their own, and may be quite effective at what they do. How much more might they be and do if the members of those groups had a broader view of their connection with each other.

Working Together
To return briefly to the community at Oz, recall that Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Woodsman, and the Lion joined forces to gain what each one thought he or she needed from the Wizard. We know from "fast-forwarding" through the story that they all already had what they thought they lacked, but before that discovery, they worked together through numerous dangers and obstacles to get to Oz. Had they not joined forces, they would never have made it alone. Once in Oz, the wizard offered tangible signs of the Scarecrow's brain and the Woodman's heart and the Lion's courage, but his main contribution was to point out the pre-existence of those gifts. Using a theological image, we know that we join as individual members of the church who are also united in God's community. None of us have everything needed for the community, but together we have all the gifts we need to build up the whole church (1 Corinthians 12:4-31). When we work together intentionally to understand and combine those gifts, the amount of good we do for the work of God can be staggering. When we act alone or in separate small clusters, we lose (or never realize) our collective energy and vision.

Ozgood and St. Paul's
To illustrate, let's look at two hypothetical congregations: Ozgood and St. Paul's United Methodist Churches. Both congregations are about the same size. They each have the required administrative groups: church council, trustees, finance, pastor-parish relations, and so on. They have a Christian education program and various age-level ministries. They have a few limited-term study or devotional groups, such as DISCIPLE Bible study, Witness, or Companions in Christ. In addition, they have weekly worship aided by the choir. Each congregation has a commitment to evangelism and outreach. They also see to the social and personal needs of their members through a handful of support, nurture, and fellowship groups. In short, they seem remarkably alike, and they are. But then again, they aren't.

Life at Ozgood
Ozgood UMC is justifiably proud that they have a stable Sunday school with participants in each age level, worship that the congregation enjoys and attends, complete payment of apportionments, full subscription to their missionaries, and regular volunteers at their soup kitchen. They meet their budget. People like each other. However, a long-term visitor who is considering joining asked one of the church leaders what Ozgood's mission statement is, and he couldn't say, because the church council has never actually discussed or articulated it. In asking around, this visitor received good opinions about what the church ought to be, but those responses were inconsistent and varied widely. The chair of the mission committee asked the youth group leader why she didn't ask for help or do any joint planning when the youth signed on to do a build with Habitat for Humanity. The youth director said it didn't occur to her since it was an activity for the young people, not the adults. Ozgood is doing some great things, but too many of them are done in isolation.

Life at St. Paul's
St. Paul's UMC has the same kinds of small groups working on various ministry, nurture, task, and social areas. Those groups do distinct things, but all the leaders share some common understandings and responsibilities.

• First, the leaders, church council, and church staff know, and widely publicize through the whole church, that their primary mission is faith formation and disciple-making. No matter what the stated ministry or task of any one group, they all keep this primary mission in view.


• Second, the leaders and the church council consider the whole church as a system or connection of the various small groups, work groups, fellowship groups, and ministry groups. Ultimately the whole church fulfills its ministry (or not) as a result of what happens in the various groups.


• Third, the leaders of those groups know what the focus of their own group is, as do the Ozgood leaders, but they also recognize that each group has a distinct contribution to make to the whole, so it can be whole.


• Fourth, the group leaders and participants pay attention to the biblical and theological reasons for what they do. Everything, from fundraising to mission work to task groups to recreational events, is grounded biblically and theologically or they don't do it as a church activity. It is easy enough to find these roots; all they had to do was look.


• Fifth, each of the small group leaders understands that he or she is also a spiritual leader. The group, whatever its function, models at least some part of the godly life. They practice the means of grace, which means that in some way (prayer, Scripture reading, devotions, or Christian conversation, for example) they turn their attention to their relationship with God. Group members are encouraged to see in their participation the hand of God at work so that their faith is formed and so that they can grow as Christian disciples.


• Sixth, the leaders are aware of the things they do that intersect with what other groups do. They consistently look for ways to connect (as vital, living tissue would) with other parts of the body — the local church, the community, and the denomination — for the purpose of fulfilling their mission for faith formation and growth as active disciples.


• Seventh, things rarely happen by accident, and the left hand usually knows what the right is doing. Through regular communication in the church newsletter, coordination of the church calendar, open sharing in the council meetings, and a responsible use of e-mail, leaders share their ideas and plans. When they discover that they have similar intentions, such as the Ozgood youth mission/Habitat work, they do the joint planning and thinking, even if, for example, the trip is only for the youth.

  Even groups that seem to have no ministry or task connections share in that alignment. The Wednesday afternoon quilting group, for example, is mainly social. The participants are all women past retirement age, and they gather to chat, nibble, and sew. But their leader keeps up with the activities of the ministry groups, and every Wednesday afternoon the women pray for each of those ministries. When they complete a quilt, it is auctioned for the benefit of those ministries. One supports the soup kitchen, another the vacation Bible school program, and so on. The quilting group leader is not part of the church council (and doesn't need to be), but she and the council chair keep track of where the quilt revenue goes. The different ministries in turn have a share and report back to the ladies on the impact their gift has.

The result at St. Paul's is that the groups and ministry areas are aligned with each other and with their ultimate goal and vision as a church. They don't trip over each other or unnecessarily encumber anyone's work, but they do have the synergy that comes with their intentional and common vision. The group members have a wonderful sense of community and belonging, they understand the biblical reasons for what they do and who they are, and they know how they are being the church. Ozgood is doing good things; St. Paul's is doing great things.

There's No Place Like Home
Turn your attention again to your own church and ask yourself these questions.

• Are you more like Ozgood or St. Paul's UMC? In what ways?


• How many groups and group members feel as if they don't need to know what the other groups do or what they are supposed to do or that they even exist? Conversely, how many work for alignment and synergy with the other groups?


• How many groups and leaders yearn for a greater sense of meaning and effectiveness in what they do and who they are within the group? How many of them welcome looking beyond their own group to find a response to that yearning?


• How many leaders welcome and embrace the idea and practice of being spiritual leaders? How many of them know what that means and what the results could be?


• How many groups and leaders create a sense of Christian community that includes faith formation and disciple-making with whatever their stated identity is?


• How many groups and leaders can articulate the biblical-theological reasons for what their own group is and does? How many see a purpose in being able to do so?

If, after doing the "homework" you need to do to answer these questions, you find opportunity for further work in enhancing your small groups and small group ministries, check into whether a small group ministries seminar would be right for you.

Thank you for visiting our website and giving us the opportunity to serve you. You may direct comments or questions to Diana L. Hynson at dhynson@gbod.org.

Diana L. Hynson is the Director of Learning and Teaching Ministries in the Congregation for the General Board of Discipleship.

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