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Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

We live in a culture that is always plugged in. Smart phones, iPads, email, Twitter and Facebook are ways more and more of our culture is connecting with others. Discipleship, the process of becoming a believer and growing and maturing as a believer, is becoming harder and harder in a wired world. That is because discipleship is relational. Disciples grow when they study, share, challenge, account for their faithfulnes, and support one another. This occurs best in small groups.

In the last 100 years, the church moved away from discipleship and toward membership. Church membership became like joining an organization. Members participate in the activities of the organization and expect services in return. Discipleship is a continual process of learning, growing and perfecting our walk with Christ.

John Wesley started the Methodist movement based on discipleship through small groups or, as they were called in his day, class meetings. People met weekly in one another’s homes to study the Scriptures, pray, share how they were living their faith, commit to individual and group mission projects, and support one another. Not only did the church grow through this activity, but disciples grew.

Are you growing as a disciple?

Today, I wonder how being wired (connected virtually) hurts and helps our growth as disciples. For instance, we can give short responses or artificial solutions online. This is communication, not growth. But, being wired can also help people gather in groups in new and innovative ways.

The key is to be in conversation with other disciples weekly over the wire or in person. For instance, I know a group of fathers who, after coming home from work and spending time with their families, Skype (online video conferencing) with one another as fellow disciples. They share challenges, pray, read Scripture and support each other as fathers.

Another group of disciples gathers at a Starbucks and over coffee does the same type of sharing weekly. And other groups gather in homes or at their church to be in a small group to grow their discipleship.

The Call to Action lifts up small groups as one of the signs of a vital congregation. It says that vital churches offer more small groups for all ages, including children and youth.

In the BWC we are setting a goal to work with our churches to increase the number of small groups. We will do this by training small group leaders and assisting congregations with material to promote small groups through our Immersion series.

An Immersion series is a whole church series that engages the congregation in worship, mission, inviting people to church and small groups. We have a library of Immersion series and resources, located at www.bwcumc.org/immersion.

This spring, we will be launching two new Immersion resources for you to consider in helping to build your small groups. This month, we will launch Sacred Encounters, a six-week Immersion series focused on deepening our relationship with the Living God as we walk with Christ and one another. The booklets and DVDs are available for purchase on the BWC web site, or at the annual conference session. In May, we will also launch a free web-based Immersion resource that specifically focuses on creating and strengthening small groups. The resource will help to answer questions about small groups through a series of videos, book reviews and resources that can provide insight and point you toward the path of success.

Additionally, we will be offering a pre-conference workshop that builds on this free web resource. The workshop, “How to Create Life-Changing Small Groups,” will be taught by Rev. Mary Dennis, conference Director for Discipleship. It will allow laity and clergy to explore more about the benefits of developing or growing small group ministry and practical ways to convert small gatherings of parishioners into life-changing small groups. The topics covered will include essential habits of life-changing small groups, strategies, roadblocks and life-cycles of small group ministry. I encourage you to attend this workshop if you are in need of leadership and best practice ideas for starting and maintaining healthy small group ministries.

As you can see, there are many resources available to you when it comes to strengthening your small group ministries and incorporating those ministries into the life of your congregation. My prayer for each of our local churches is that through these resources, small groups will flourish and help to breathe vitality into all you do in your ministry.

Keep the faith!