LifeGroup & LifeMission Pastor Blog

At LifeChurch.tv we’ve chosen a model for our small group ministry that facilitates fast numerical growth, and it looks good on paper.  Every model looks good on paper, but as all tacticians know, no strategy survives contact with the enemy.

We’ve made great strides this fall in the small group battle and Satan wants to seize the initiative.  He will succeed if we do any of the following:

1.   Abandon our strategy (model)

2.   Become inflexible

3.   Think about ourselves

Let’s think about the first point.  As we lead our groups ministry on each campus it’s easy to see the places where the enemy exploits our weaknesses.  The two most glaring problems with our group ministry model are in the areas of leader training and the assimilation of attenders into groups.

Picture yourself in the middle of a battle.  When a strategy (model) breaks and people are becoming casualties on the battlefield we are faced with a choice:  will we respond or react? 

What’s the difference?  Reacting is throwing out the model.  Responding is taking proactive steps to shore up the weaknesses in the model.  Reacting is rash.  Responding is well-thought-out.  Reacting is desperate.  Responding is decisive.

When you’re frustrated with a ministry strategy do you tend to focus on the problems with the model, or do you tend to focus on finding solutions to the problems?  Focusing on the problems is reactive.  Responding by providing solutions is proactive.  If you find yourself focusing on the benefits of a different model and wishing to give up on the model, then it’s probable that you’re being reactive.  But if you find yourself leading through solutions that make up for the model’s weakenesses then you are being proactive.  May we always be characterized by our “proactivity” rather than our “reactivity” because the former wins the war and the latter loses it.

So now you may be thinking, “Should we NEVER change or adapt the model?”  Well hold that thought because next time I’ll talk about the danger of inflexibility and focusing on ourselves during the battle.