INTRODUCTION

If put into practice, the priesthood of every believer would be like a key   used on the right keyhole. Then, the door of exciting opportunities for service is opened for God’s people. Every pastor desires for church growth, but church growth requires a bigger workforce. Then comes the question of how to support these workers? This situation is very real in the Philippines, where many pastors are living on a survival level income, and is even worse when the status of the church is pioneering. This stems from the traditional idea that the ministry is only for the Bible-school-trained and credential holder full-time workers. So, the doctrine of the priesthood of every believer remains a doctrine strongly believed in, but weakly applied in our local churches. All the while, an army of God, washed by the blood of the Lamb, and empowered by the Holy Spirit is lying idle.

Mobilization of the ordinary church members is further hindered by the issue of when should a believer start getting involved in the ministry. We have imposed a lot of requirements to a believer who wants to serve God. A second look at the passage in Eph 4:10-16 should enlighten us.

10       He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
11       It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
12       to prepare God's people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up
13       until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14       Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
15       Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
16       From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Observe the following:

1.        The primary function of pastors and other church leaders is not to do the ministry by themselves, but to prepare God’s people for works of service. Pastors should return the ministry to God’s people.

2.        God’s people – all of God’s people, should be prepared for works of service. What will accomplish our church growth goals is not to give our people more classroom learning, but opportunities for actual service. Our equipping programs should be designed just enough to prepare them to start doing what they are called to do. Jesus did not hold three-year term training for his disciples before sending them out.

3.        Growth, being built up, and maturity of the body (God’s people) is the result of their active participation in doing works of service. That sounds different from the idea that a person must be `mature’ first before we involve him in the ministry. Could it be that many members in our churches stay immature for lack of involvement?

An S.O.S. team after three weeks of field work turn over to the pioneering pastor a congregated body of believers. Immediately, he is faced with the responsibility of caring, maturing and increasing his new church. But he will not do it alone. He is also left with a substantial number of enlisted and initially trained leaders from among the new converts. This manual is the textbook for this brief training conducted by the pioneer pastor himself or other teaching leaders in the S.O.S. team. The training is conducted during the last week of the fieldwork. These leaders, new they may be, but are amply taught what to do to help the pioneer pastor conserve the results of the S.O.S. effort.

Biblical Basis for Small Groups

THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH MODEL

The NT church was built on a Cell-Celebration model. The believers met both in the home (cells) and in the temple (celebrations). These two types of gatherings are essential for a strong, healthy church. The Biblical church life therefore involves not just gathering all the believers once a week for a corporate celebration but at the same time organizing the whole body into small growing groups.

THE CHURCH CONCEPT: A BODY

The verses below tell us that that all who accepted the message were added to – not to an organization nor to a building – but to the body of believers. This tells us the New Testament concept of the church:

A people, not a place
A body, not a building
A body with many parts, each part is functional, and all parts are relating to one another.

The church AS A BODY makes it very clear that the church is people in relationship to God and to one another. This truth should make us understand the necessity for believers to meet in small group setting where they are able to build one another up in love.

DISCIPLESHIP NEEDS THE SMALL GROUP SETTING

GOD WANTS DISCIPLES, NOT JUST CHURCH MEMBERS. The characteristic of disciples is obedience to the His teachings. The small group setting is the most practical setting where Christianity can be put to practice and whereby believers can grow as true disciples.