You Need a Small Group!

Join Dan and Scott today as they have a discussion about the importance of small groups. Everyone needs community and intimacy and that is hard to achieve in a large church. 

If you listen to the podcast and feel that you want to take part in hosting or facilitating a small group, please let Dan or Scott know. We need to grow smaller to accommodate more growth!

Thanks for listening! Have a great week!

Produced, edited and hosted by Scott Askew and Dan Daugherty

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Hey everybody, it is the Creek Cast. Welcome to the Creek Cast with Scott and Dan. It is a pleasure to be with you. It is August the 4th of 2026, and we are here today. Dan, how are you doing? Good. Good.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

We should start announcing in the year of our Lord.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

Honestly, it came across my head to go in the year of our Lord. And then I thought, I don't want to sound like I'm, you know, trying out for a Shakespearean play. So oh, it's good to be with you guys. I hope y'all are well. Um, we are uh man coming to the end of summer really quickly, getting into fall, and uh we've of course already planning events out. We haven't talked about Christmas quite yet, but um I have a feeling it's gonna come up in a meeting soon. So my um we are ready to put the suit on. Well, and I tell you, you know, I just found out my favorite album of all time is Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God, and he is coming to New Bern at Temple Church on December 13th, which is absolutely amazing. And they've not Andrew hasn't even announced it yet. Um Temple Church announced it on their Facebook page, and someone sent me the link, and I immediately went and bought tickets. So because I was going, I I didn't care where it was this year. We it's been seven years since we've seen it live, and I told Steph and the kids, I said, we're going wherever it is, and it happens to be uh by by by as the crow flies, about 3.2 miles from our house. So as the crow fly couldn't ask for much better. So uh stick a GPS to his button and let it go. That's right, that's what I do. And if he makes it back, I put a harness on and fly there. Um so uh oh me. Today we are going to talk a little bit about small groups and the importance that small groups play in the life of a good church and life of a healthy church. And Dan and I both have experiences in small groups, and we've seen all different kinds, some of them really great and some of them not as good. No, and um, so Dan actually, you're you have a degree, don't you? Or a concentration or something?

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Uh master's degree uh in discipleship and church ministry. So which discipleship encompasses small groups.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

There you go. So that's pretty cool. So that means Dan knows a lot more about it than I do. Um and so we're going we're going to uh just a piece of paper. That's how that's how most of it is. I mean, you know, I don't know. We're it's it's impressive to look at. I I know a little bit. Yeah, and and and you know, the the good thing about small groups is that if they're done, if they're done well, and to be done well, you really just have to have people who who want to show up and want to be together and want to study as best they can. We some small groups can be taught. So um Dan and I would love to teach a small group, but we're both teachers as well. Many people aren't teachers, so they're facilitators of a small group. Yeah, and that's that works too. Yeah, yeah. So we're gonna talk about our small groups, how they work. We're gonna talk about the need and the importance of small groups, how you can join one. So uh I'm gonna let Dave get started uh in on the small groups conversation and just kind of talk about how we view small groups here and the overall philosophies of small groups and and what we're looking at.

SPEAKER_01 3:36

Yeah. I I think uh small groups in general. Um small group is a biblical concept. Yep. Um Jesus had a small group. Yes. Um and I'll share with you guys some passages here uh shortly about that. Um yeah. And so uh anyway, so what we what we've seen though as as programming is concerned, small groups really have um probably the last thirty-five years have been kind of creeping into the church as a a program. Um but small groups is a very very biblical idea. Um and you know what we like to do as people is turn biblical ideas into programs. So anyway, um small groups are not in replacement of the church, um, they're an aid to the church. Yep. Um and so the way we run them here at um at Broad Creek is we have two different types of groups. Uh we have our small groups, which are um based upon the life you do together as as families that are part of that group. Um, and you study scripture together, you um pray together, you eat together, uh, you commune together uh in that way. And then there's activity groups um, or what we call, I don't know, what do we call them?

SPEAKER_00 5:04

We call them life groups, which seems counterproductive to how we describe small groups, but but I I think activity groups, life groups.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

Yeah, and so what those are are those are our um specialized groups. Yes. So if you like to play disc golf, that's a an activity group or a life group. Um if you like to do crafts, that's a specified group. Um uh we did for a while, and I think we're gonna hopefully try to try to bring it back, but we did Friday night volleyball nights. Yeah. Um, that is a specific life group. The men's golf is a life group. That's right. Um, and so small groups study life groups is just doing life activity together. That's right. Um, and so uh so those are the type of two groups that we have at our church. Bible studies are not generally classified as a small group. Right. So if you're in a Bible study, like say say if you're in, you know, win Wednesday in the morning Bible study with Scott and you say, Well, that's my small group. No, that's not it's not a small group, it's a Bible study.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

Yeah, because I because we have people in it who call it a small group, and I allow it because um but it it technically it doesn't fit our small group model, right?

SPEAKER_01 6:11

Yeah, and our small group model is meant to uh spur growth and multiplication. That's right. Uh Bible studies generally don't go through that division. Right. Um and what I mean by division is you reach a point where you have to you get too big and so you have to branch off into another group. And so that's that's usually what and and there's uh there was a time where small groups uh were widely called cell groups. Right. Because what do cells do? They multiply, right? And so anyway, so that's kind of our model here at the church is uh uh we want you to be part of a small group um and and Bible studies. Um but your small group is meant to um be more intimate than what a Bible study would be. So just for example, in our small group, um, I I lead our small group and Taryn and Bo host it. And uh there's times, uh most time we get our lesson, uh, we get a lesson in and stuff, but we always start with dinner. Um and it's uh it's uh usually a themed night that the week before Taryn will send out a sign up for the food type thing, a sign up genius thing. And then uh we'll all come together, we start, we pray and we start eating at six, and about six thirty, six forty-five, uh, we get into our lesson time. And so um, and then we have our lesson and then we go into um prayer time, and that's how we end our night. Uh sometimes all we do is pray right because there's a lot going on in people's lives. Right. Uh there's sometimes where uh we get one question into the lesson and we've spent an entire hour on that question. Right. Uh there's there's times where we just get together just to get together.

SPEAKER_02 7:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

Um sometimes we get together outside of that scheduled time um and just be a small group at a, you know, we're a family, right? Is what it is. Right. Which is why it's so difficult to, when it's time, to separate. To separate. Um, and so the way we kind of do around here is um is I've asked every leader to have uh identify a person in their small group that they could be a uh that they can mentor into being a small group leader. Um and so um so I have mine uh and he's ready to take the group whenever it's time for us to split, which uh, you know, our ours isn't our problem isn't needing a leader, it's needing a host. Right. And so um, so uh then that's when we take half the group and we'd split it because it opens up more space for new people to join that group. That's right. So that's that's traditionally what a small group should be doing. Yeah, um, and it works, yeah, it works really well. Um the problem is is Broad Creek, if you're a part of our church, you know that we're not a typical church, right? Um, and we know this. We've been in ministry a long time. Um Broad Creek is a very different DNA of a church, yeah. Um, and so which is good. Um, and so we have to become uh very, very uh what do you call that, flexible uh in in that and I'm talking to me because I'm I'm pretty I'm pretty stuck in my ways. I wasn't gonna say that. I I am too.

SPEAKER_00 9:18

I mean we all are.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

Yeah, yeah. But I I'm I'm one of those guys that like I spent the money for the degree, I know what I'm doing. Uh we we have to do it this way. And so what I've had to learn over the last five almost five years is that yeah, that's that works for 95% of the churches, but for a church like ours, it doesn't always work that way. So I've learned how to be I've had to learn how to be flexible and and move and and go with the flow with different things, which is difficult. So uh but but typically speaking, uh that's that's the model that we have as a church and what we want to see happen. Um we're up to eight small groups as a church, um, which is good. Um uh well, seven. For some reason, our the Wednesday morning Bible studies on the website as a as a small group, um which it's not, it's just a Bible study. Anyway, uh it's weird.

SPEAKER_00 10:10

Anyway, so we just don't we we fit all the things. We just don't, it's not a meal, right? It's donuts, and it's which and we do pray, but it's not I don't know. It's yeah, it's a weird it's a weird, wonderful look.

SPEAKER_01 10:24

But typically speaking, you would you would say that if you look at your small group that you lead on on the nights you guys meet, and then you look on your Wednesday morning Bible study. It's different. There's some differences. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's different. And it's that doesn't mean you love those people any less or anymore. Uh it's just it's just different. Right.

SPEAKER_00 10:42

Well, Wednesday morning's more of a I'm gonna plant a seed and see what it grows into. It it the I think a small group has to have an intent. Yes. Um like and and I'll share about mine if that's okay. The we we split up um in the spring, and my goal was to plant two or three small groups in the fall. But I didn't I realized afterwards, I had a few of my small group come to me and they said, Oh man, they said it was weird, you know, when you told us we were splitting up. And I said, Well, why? And because we had talked about it, and they said, Well, it it almost felt like you had just kind of like ex-ex-girlfriend us, you know, you throw us out, and you know, we're and I'm really it felt like that. And so I said, Well, I said, Well, let's let's um let's change it then. And so talking to a couple of them, I said, Well, I'm gonna reinstate it in the fall with the and invite the same people back if they want to come. Right. But if if that's what they want to do, they will come back. I'll make it very clear from the beginning that the goal of this group is to separate into at least two groups in the spring, right, and then to have possibly four next fall. Right. And so, and that that was something that I was very uh intentional when I went back and invited most of them. I I don't think I've invited all of them. And if you're listening to this and you're in my small group in the spring, you're invited back, but I'll get you. Um, and uh, but yeah, it it was very just very intentional. And and so my Wednesday morning group was not intentional. It was let me plant a seed and see what God does for me. And that's a non an unending group that's now 30, 34 strong, and we're having to find new spaces.

SPEAKER_01 12:22

And listen, I I understand what you know, because the the first the when we first started the small group, I looked at the whole group, which was wasn't very many people at that time, um, and said the the goal is to get to a certain number and then we split off. Yeah, everybody was fine with that. Uh yeah. And then it was probably about eight months, nine months later, maybe almost a year later, and we're and we're busting at the scene. We have a lot of people in our small group. And I and I sat down with them, I said, okay, now it's time to announce that we're gonna have to do this. And you would have thought I was asking them to go kill like baby ducks and stuff. Like just I'm going, wait a minute, this is what we agreed on. But they had become so close.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

Yeah, and that's and that's something that many people I I'm not saying that all churches don't do a good job with intimacy. I'm not I'm not saying that. So if you're if you've experienced it elsewhere than a church, please please don't be upset with me. But I think that small groups struggle in churches like Broad Creek because there's so many different people from so many different places that as good as we get along and as and as well-intentioned as we are, and as well as we work together, and as goal-oriented as we can be, the the issue when it comes to intimacy is that we plain and simple, when you're a growing church, you don't have that. So if you find it, it's like I am never letting this grow because I will never have this again. And yeah, it may be that you never have it again, but it's not like we're telling you you can't see your friends anymore. We're just asking you to go help some other people on a small group journey get going. Right. You know, if you still love your people and you want to get with them, by all means, do that. You know, do a card night, do a game night. There's some games I want to buy now to get together with other people and play games. But I mean, that that idea that we we have to let go of something that once was beautiful is just not true. Because true can maintain it.

SPEAKER_01 14:16

True relationship lasts. That's exactly right. And so it's it's gonna last. But what you what you invite in when you're able to branch off and start another group is you invite more people into that type of intimacy.

SPEAKER_00 14:27

Because there's a lot of people out there who are desiring it. And they don't, they we're just not we're not moving. I hate to say we're not moving fast enough because we're trying to move as fast as we can. But um, you know, there as a growing church, we're we we have to grow faster in our small groups due to participant willingness to open up homes and open up their hearts and open up their open up different ideas to people who are new. And and that that is difficult because we love comfort, and when we find comfort, we we will we will hurt people for our comfort. That's right. We really will.

SPEAKER_01 15:05

Well, and and and and keeping in mind too that you know our small groups encompass um Fairfield Harbor. Um we have one in Trent Woods, we have one here at the church, two here at the church, um, we have one in Bayborough. Um, you know, so like they're they are um spread out, but but then we have people who are farther than that.

SPEAKER_00 15:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

Um so we need we need an oriental group because we have several in the oriental area that would love to be a part of a small group, but that's a long drive to go. Yeah. We need an earnal group in the Vanceboro area. Yeah. Um, you know, we we need we need I mean, we have a couple in our small group who come to church every Sunday and they come back for a small group on Tuesday nights, uh first and third Tuesday, and they live in Jacksonville.

SPEAKER_00 15:55

And so, like and that and that's that's what I'm saying. It's hard. It used to be that everybody went to church that was in their town.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:05

And you rode your horse and the houses were built so close to the road because when your front porch was extended, you could actually speak to the person riding by on the horse and say, Hey, so and so, good to see you. Why don't you stop for a bit and sit on the porch and drink some tea? Yeah, and they would. They come tie up their horse at your front at your front porch and they get up on the front porch and they drink some sweet tea and watch the sun go down. Then they go home. Now we've got people from Moorhead City coming to church all the way back around the bend of the river bend, right, all the way back up to Hortonsville, right, and then over across to Vanceboro and then back towards Jacksonville. And when you've got a church that spread out, right, the the links that you're gonna have are going to be your church services, which are Hellenistic, Greek oriented, we're all facing the same direction, we're all facing the stage, or a group that you can get in to share life together, and that's a small group. Right. And that's why it's so neat.

SPEAKER_01 17:01

Right. And so some of the benefits of of small groups uh that we that I would I you know I that I see um as one who's I mean I I've led a I've led a small group since 2008. Yeah, and then uh in Idaho it was weekly. Right. All year long. Right. And it was it was awesome. We had a great group. Um but uh what what I've discovered is um I I was driving on my way to uh back to Iowa. It was in the middle of I was in the middle of Wyoming. Um yeah, it was in the middle of Wyoming. It was in the fall, and we were going back to Iowa to visit um from Idaho, and uh I got a call in the middle of I of Wyoming. And it's uh my friend Kelly who was saying uh and he was part of our small group. He's he said, I answered the phone, I said, What's up? He's like in panic, panic, but he he works HVAC and he was out of town. He said, he said, Dan, my wife just got bucked off her horse and she's watching a bunch, she had had in in-home daycare. And uh I said, I said, Well, where are you? He goes, Well, I'm in, I'm two almost two hours away working on a job.

SPEAKER_00 18:11

Wait, let me clarify here. You said she got bucked off a horse and she had in-home daycare.

SPEAKER_01 18:15

Yeah, she was running an in-home daycare. Uh, and I'm getting to that. She so she ran an in-home daycare. Um, she had some help with her. Uh uh, her her older kids helped run the daycare. Okay. Um, but she had gone out to move a horse and uh in her process of moving a horse. I should explain that.

SPEAKER_00 18:33

In my mind, I was like, she's leading a bunch of kids around while she's riding a horse. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 18:38

It's it's I mean, that's where the cowboys live, right? At the back in Idaho. Anyway, she got bucked off her horse while she was trying to do that. And and the the girls, uh her girls had had the kids, um, but they were still not old enough to understand, like, you know, just it's mom's mom just got bucked off. And anyway, she was severely hurt, and uh he's calling me, and I said, Well, I'm in the middle of Wyoming. He said, He said, I know you're traveling. I said, I said, Kelly, what why why did you call me first? He said, Because the first person I thought about was our small group. I mean, because we we took care of each other. Yeah, I mean, and I and I said, I appreciate that and I love you. I said, But you gotta hang up this phone. You need to call 911 and get them to get to your house. I will take care of the rest. Yeah. So all I did is make two phone calls to ladies in our small group and said, Hey, here's the situation. And they were they went over there right away, sat with the kids until parents could come and get kids. Like it was just it was just that quick. Yeah. Um, but the first person he called was his small group leader. That's instead of the and so I'm like, uh Kelly, 911. Yeah, yeah, that's the number, bud. That's the nine, that's the number. But that just goes to show you that the importance of small groups in people's lives. When you have that community, you have that connection. And when you have that connection, you don't ever want to let that go. Um, because really that's what churches are built upon is connection. Uh the churches that struggle are the ones that aren't personable. Uh they're they're the ones that um that don't have the um uh the family aspect going on. And and yeah, you can say, well, I, you know, our church family meets on Sunday mornings or my our church family meets on Saturday nights, whatever. But that mass group leading or that mass group meeting doesn't really doesn't really scratch the itch, if you will, of your heart's desire for true community. That's right. That true community happens in a smaller setting. And so um it's important. Um, there are churches out there, um, and one of the one of the churches that I I base a lot of what I do for discipleship off, because that's how I learned, uh, what is real life ministries, Jim Putman's church. Uh, when he planted that church, they planted it from small groups. And so there is like a 98 or 99 percent of their congregation are part of a small group. Yep. And so that's what we call a church of small groups. Right. We're a church with small groups. Right. Small groups was introduced in this church well, well before we got here, but um, but it was it within the 20th century, I'm or 21st century, probably.

SPEAKER_00 21:13

You know, yeah, maybe maybe a little before, but I'm not sure. Yeah, yeah. I know they existed before we got here.

SPEAKER_01 21:18

Yeah, and so um, but it's hard when you're an older church like we are, and I'm not older in like our our people, but older in our our existence. Well, we're in our 183rd year, yeah. Something like that, yeah. And so it's harder for an older church to implement and change the DNA to where you are now a church of small groups. It probably, you know, it's probably not going to be a great success rate. Um, but we can do everything we can to try to get people involved in small groups, especially as we grow. Right. Um, and as as we grow, uh, and we're getting I'm getting more at least at least once every other week. I got a I got an inquiry from somebody on our website asking about how to get involved in small groups. Yeah. So that that helps that helps me see that there's people who want it. Well the problem then is we we have we have people wanting to be in a small group but yet we have groups going on um that will start will start up in the fall because not all of our groups meet through the summer um but a lot of them are full. Yeah you know and when I say full meaning that they'll still take you. Oh yeah. But there's but there's a lot of people there. And so we need we need more groups. Yeah. And the problem I'm running into is people to facilitate a group and or teach a group. And we talked about that a little bit ago and then hosts. Yep. Somebody to host the group.

SPEAKER_00 22:35

Let's outline that then in this podcast. Let's let's first talk about host. What do we ask out of host? What do we expect? And um because one one of the things that we're working on uh over the next couple months as ministry team leaders is I'm gonna ask the ministry team leaders to do job descriptions.

SPEAKER_01 22:52

So um like specific job descriptions that you would find in a help wanted thing what is the requirements what are we looking for and so um let's start with host what are we asking uh for our host to do and and I'll be I'll be doing this with our small group ministry as well um ho hosts what we need for hosts is people who are hospitable um who have a safe environment that they live in um uh who are willing to allow people to come into their homes and uh lack of better terms invade it for a couple hours yeah uh whenever their small group meets uh the host is is responsible for um you know the the cleanliness of this the space um and then also what what what I what I traditionally like to do and and thankfully uh Taryn does this as well but um take part in helping if you're gonna have a meal uh planning what the meal is gonna be yeah not taking it on yourself and cooking it no no no you know but facilitating out there who who's gonna be bringing what yeah um uh and so and so the host hostess needs to be a f a friendly face a friendly person um that's willing to allow people into their home yeah and and be okay with yeah be okay with like if if you allow kids in your house right something might get broken.

SPEAKER_00 24:12

Yeah and and and that's asking a lot so maybe you're an older person who feels like you know maybe my home's not not childproof. Right. Is that okay? Absolutely yeah so and that's and that's one thing that you have to that you have to remember guys we're not we're not asking you to to go beyond what we what we would expect right you to go beyond. But if you have a home that you've you know you many people work all their lives and have these beautiful homes around here and um all you have to do is open it up. We're not asking you to you to facilitate right we're asking you to be hospitable and welcoming to people for a couple hours twice a month and um and have them come in and and yeah sit on your couch, eat at your table, um have a discussion and then uh see them off at a decent hour. Right. Um yeah and that's great. And if your home is childproof then maybe you can host one with with kids in it. Yeah yeah that would be great.

SPEAKER_01 25:05

And just let me know because that that's you know I I send out information uh every every um about every launch season January or August September ish I I try to send out some just refresher trainings for small group leaders and and ho and and and stuff like that and and so um you know part of that refresher is just you know how to how to successfully lead a small group how to lead questions and in discussion and stuff like that um but with with the hosts it's it's hard because um you know and one of the things uh going back to that one of the things I asked my my leaders uh with this most recent email was to to let me know if you're if you're a child friendly group right um if you're not that's fine yeah I'm not gonna shame you yeah for not being a child and that's okay yeah um I just need to be able to to put that into a place where people as they're looking at our page our small group page to say oh I like that group oh but they're not child friendly I need to find a child friendly group um and so and so that just helps me place people yeah um and so if you're not child friendly that's fine you're you're okay yeah um you know if if you're if you're afraid of fluffy you know biting off the nose of a toddler um I would prefer you not hosting with kids I would prefer you not let fluffy do right right and so let's do so let's just put let's just put uh adults in your house and and we'll go that way yeah um and so yeah uh we we will work with you in those areas so so that's a host a host just needs to be somebody who is willing to open their home uh and and and honestly and and I'll just be very blunt it needs to be a clean space yeah um because again we're worried about uh you know uh getting people together and stuff like that it doesn't it doesn't have to be not not look like it doesn't have to look like no but no nobody lives there. Right. It doesn't have to be a museum yeah um but but it needs to be a a space where it's adequate for the group to fit. Now our our facilitators um andor teachers and we we differentiate because as Scott was just saying you know he and I love to teach we are teachers um but not everybody is a teacher uh but everybody can facilitate anybody who can take and I'm not being facetious but anybody who can read right can facilitate a discussion and so uh for those for those facilitators and and teachers what we ask is that you be willing to stick to the curriculum that we give you and it's really easy guys uh we we preach a sermon on Sunday we turn it into a lesson and we give it to the groups and with questions and everything. Yep openers, you know icebreakers all that stuff is all part of that.

SPEAKER_00 27:43

Really you could you can set up as a facilitator in probably 10 to 15 minutes. I we would hope I would love for you to spend a little more time in prayer. Yes um over that of course but if that's a hopefully that's part of your normal life. But um yeah it's a it's a fairly easy process.

SPEAKER_01 27:58

Yeah and and every lesson's going to require to open your Bible and so what I do ask for the facilitators and uh teachers is to be able to open their Bible and to be able to guide the discussion if it's getting off the rails. Right. The worst thing a group can do is come together, open their Bible and read the passage say, so what does this mean to you? Yeah well well I think it's yeah and so you've got pretty soon you've got 15 different per uh you know responses to the question then you're going wait a minute which which is the actual response to this passage you've got to be able to lasso it back in and that's that is something that comes with experience but it's also something that if you just pay attention you'll you'll know it when you're something that I can train you to do. Absolutely so um and so uh so the facilitator uh the leader uh needs to be able to sit down open the scriptures and facilitate the questions uh so you would you you know you that means you need to come to church you need to pay attention during the messages probably take some notes so that you can you know have some things in you know context of what you're talking about uh because a lot of times the questions don't give that context of what you actually heard that Sunday morning uh and it's not meant to um but so you know you have to do a little bit of a little bit of work yeah um but you know and so that's it it does it does take somebody who's willing to put in the effort. Yep. Um and so uh at any rate um and then every facilitator af as you start the group as the group continues uh forward should be trying to find another person in that group that could be uh a facilitat a facilitator as well and ask that person to be an apprentice. Yep because when it's time to split you need someone that apprentice is the one that's going to be taking over the a new group. That's right. Or that group and then you're gonna go off and take the new group as as as the facilitator. And so one of the things that we try to do is is when we establish those those relationships is you know you can't be stingy with yourself like so like I my apprentice like if I'm not able to be at small group uh for some reason if I'm out of town or whatever I don't cancel my small group right I my apprentice does it if if he's available. Right. And so um and so we have that standing that you know of of knowing that that's that's what's expected. Right. And if he's not working he's there and he's there faithfully he lives there too. But anyway but anyway he you know it's it's we we just know that that's what's going to happen. Yeah um and so uh so as a facilitator I know that I don't have to I don't have to always um cancel or I don't always have to make a decision or choose between you know because I know I have a capable person. Right. And so when it's time to split he's perfectly capable. Yeah and so um so it it's good that way. Also for facilitators you know needing to understand as well that you are taking on a role that almost people look to you as as a as a pastor in some ways. So being able to shepherd your your little flock you have there. Which is why we're not going to ask you to do that without you know offering some type of training and and how to do things and you know that type of thing. So um thankfully the ones we have now are all very good at that. Yeah. Yeah and so I haven't had to put a lot of training into them.

SPEAKER_00 31:29

No no and and training for shepherding is I mean do you care about them? I mean that's really you know if you care about them you're gonna shepherd them and that's do you love your people? Yeah great because if you do then you're gonna you're gonna right you know take care of them and that's and and that's that's important. Right. That's so important. Right. Um yeah I I think that I really believe that if we could just impress upon people the need. Um I mean that's you know because facilitating you know and hosting I I'm I'm I'm a better facilitator than I am a host. I mean I know that and even though people are welcome in my home and everything else um I think there are people who are more hospitable than me and better at making people feel welcome and stuff. Um and I love facilitating I mean I feel I feel you know and I love to hear people talk. I love to hear people answer the questions and and talk about it you know and I like to just sit back and kind of you know kind of be be be led in a in a way by my by those who are listening. Right. And so um no I love small groups. I've always loved small groups. A lot of my history of small groups though were they were all organic. I wanted them to be small groups but they kind of popped up out of nowhere and um because the churches that I were in didn't have structures for small groups. Right.

SPEAKER_01 32:46

And here thankfully it's a little better but we're we're still right we still got a lot of room to grow and I mean we got one group that's sort of an organic group as well that we weren't going to say nope, you can't you can't meet we grandfathered them in which is good you you want those but um as church leaders um it is our job to make sure that uh people from our church when they get together uh in that kind of setting that they're honoring God first and foremost right and that they're not being taught things that are not not biblical or contrary to what what we teach. Right. We have to be and that's just part of as shepherds taking care of our sheep. That's right. And so um yeah we're you know we're we're pretty diligent upon that. Again it's gotten easier when we started doing our sermons rather than just uh you know because I used to have you know what are you doing? Get it to me let me let me vet it for a week and then I'll let you know whether it's it's good or not or not. And so now we know I mean if it comes out of your mouth if it comes out of my mouth um hopefully hopefully it's gonna be good uh and and biblically accurate uh so we don't have to vet those things anymore. Right. Um so uh it's gotten easier to for facilitators see my my wife is very very much a hospitality she loves hosting uh and I'm and I'm I'm the other way around like I love hosting but I'm just like you know I'm not the best at it like you're gonna come over and I'm a you want water I guess yeah yeah um but uh but I love to teach right and so it works really well um and so maybe you're a couple that you you you you have that dichot you know that dichotomy not dichotomy uh dichotomy yeah yeah uh of where one of you likes to host one of you likes to teach you'd be perfect yeah so yeah uh traditionally I like having separate hosts and the leaders but um if if it is what we have then that's what we have so uh so if you would if you are listening to this and saying you know what I could host please please reach out please let us know yeah we would that's that's the Lord's answer to a lot of things. Yeah I mean because honestly like my goal was to have at least three new small groups by the fall and it's just I can't I can't launch that because I'm not and I'm not gonna make that promise to people that hey we're gonna have one for you uh because it's just it's just not gonna work out right right that but we we have we have a host ready yeah and a leader ready um that we in I'm that leader yeah and the host is one of the people in our small group um but we're tr we're trying to evaluate our small group right now because we're going through some transition with different families moving out and stuff like that and going being restate you know uh stationed somewhere else and uh so we're gonna be revisiting that but I I can pop that group together in a week and a half yeah um and so uh but we are in need of uh the oriental area the Hortonsville area they know that area where where we have a we have a few families that uh one of them comes from Hortonsville all the way to Trentwoods to be a part of our small group that's a 45 50 minute drive yeah that's a long but they do it with children and so it'd be great to have a group where they could go that's closer to their home. And so you know if if that's you if you know you can uh please get a hold of us whether it's facilitating or whether it's hosting um and so uh and then we'll we'll start the process. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 36:13

So yeah it's um it's just too important guys right I mean and and we know and we know that there are hosts out there. We know that your heart beats to help people and love people. And maybe you're sitting there going I yeah up until this moment I didn't know how I could help but if I can just open up my home for a couple times a month and allow people to come and join together the community that you would find and the community that they would find there. Yes um I mean man it speaks through speaks through eternity it really does.

SPEAKER_01 36:39

And remember like the it is not a replacement for church. No. And so and so this is on top of your attendance at church because that's important that you know because the early earlier Christians what we have is is them gathering together. Acts two tells us that they gathered daily that's right uh and then um they both gat gathered in their homes and then they gathered together in the temple. That's right. In the temple courts the synagogues um and that that was their corporate larger corporate worship was that was that uh that time but their intimacy with each other really happened during that small group when they met daily together and and they broke bread and they had you know they taught they did those things they fellowship together um and so house churches um that you know we have I think Romans 16 1 Corinthians 16 uh I think they all talk about house churches of Priscilla and Aquila uh had a house church um uh nympha um uh became they all that that was the center of the Christian life where where it was where it was together now again these these smaller gatherings were important because they didn't have church buildings right like we have yeah they didn't have sound system in church buildings right and so and so like it was better for them to be able to meet in smaller home home or house churches because of the persecution because of those things. Well we don't we don't really deal with that a whole lot in in uh western society so um so to me small groups is just an addition to what church should be on Sunday mornings and then you're getting together and we get to go deeper into the message from Sunday um because as much as Scott and I would love to I tell people I I I make no I make no apologies. I'm a 40 minute preacher. So when it's my turn to preach you're gonna be there at least 40 minutes. And I don't I don't apologize for that. I love it that you say and so um but you know there's so much that we have to present that we have to really scale back. Well small groups is a way to go deeper into that. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 38:41

And so like this week I mean this week the you know it's about Jesus on his way to Jairus's house to heal his daughter. That's a big text and on the way he gets stopped by a woman who's had an issue of bleeding and so you got to address that. Then why did she touch him? Was it Hellenist? Was it Greek or was it because she believed that the book of Ezekiel says there was healing in his wings you know and so she touched the the tassels on his robe. I mean there there's so much there and then Jairus's daughter dies and he goes there and he says she's just asleep and he raises her from the dead and he makes fun of the you know the people and um well he doesn't make fun they make fun of him but he shuts them up and um there's just so much happening there that even in a 40 I mean gosh guys I could probably preach for two hours on that and still not cover every intricacy right in it. So I know I could um but um but yeah a small group is necessary for then for exploration of that passage to to be able to go deeper.

SPEAKER_01 39:35

Yep and and that that deepness that we get because because like it or not if all you do is turn is turn yourself to Sunday mornings and all you do is is put all your energy into that Sunday morning service. Right. You don't go to connect class you don't go to small groups you don't have a Bible study you're a part of um you are not being discipled. Right. Because discipleship does not happen in a mass group no it happens in smaller set settings where you can talk the text you can you can break it down further you can ask questions you can you know you can really study it together and that's what small groups do. It helps it helps in that process of discipling you. And which is why we even go even even further than that we have discipleship groups you can be a part of where um you have one mature believer discipling one or two other people. Yep you know maybe up to five people at a time but it's a smaller group.

SPEAKER_00 40:32

Yeah I'm excited because I've got two I think I'm getting ready to start yeah so that um I'm really I I've got two guys who I'm gonna it's not till October because one of them schedules so demanding but I've got two guys ready to go in October and then I've got a couple I've I've got three teens that I'm gonna try to take through um a small discipleship group um alongside Kevin just to kind of get something started like um because you've worked on some discipleship stuff for that group and we're gonna try to get the ball rolling with that and I'm gonna get out of the way and let them roll. And uh so one of the other things I really think about small groups that needs to be said is the one another of scripture I've always tied the one another of scripture because there's what 59 59 one another's in the New Testament. And so um you know and they're like love one another serve one another encourage and build up one another and sometimes when when I grew up in church I I didn't yeah I loved one another in church but I also was so close to the people in my community who went to church I rode my bike through the neighborhood I'd see them all the time you know they loved me serving them I would stop and help them if they got a lawnmower in the ditch you know I'd serve people do whatever encourage and build up forgive one another bear one another's burdens those things aren't done in the church service though as much. I mean you can do but in a small group when someone comes to a small group and you're like hey how are you and they break down right you don't have to worry about a service starting you don't have to worry I mean if your small group needs to get started you can go to another room or you can go outside and sit on the porch and y'all can have a conversation and you can bear that person's burdens with them and pray with them and love them. And that's what I to me the one another's of scripture are lived out in small groups. Yes and um and and when Jesus when well when Jesus says or when the by when Paul writes or whoever the one another's I think I don't think we get the opportunities to practice the one another's unless we're in a smaller setting in a smaller setting.

SPEAKER_01 42:26

Yeah and that that you're inviting the intimacy in uh prayer prayer is different in a small group um you know because I I keep uh every week I in my notes app I keep all the prayer requests and then when we're done praying that night I copy and paste those into the app that we have uh and we have a we have a group chat in the app so that you can keep those and pray for those throughout the week. And then we're able to to go over them say hey you know how how's your mom? You know uh how did the surgery go? Uh you know that type of stuff. Uh in our small group we we pray over each other. Um you know uh we had we had uh a cancer diagnosis last year and so um not only did that person come forward at church and we prayed over them uh but in our small group we prayed over them um and uh and we continue to pray over them um uh we have a couple that is moving to Virginia yeah because he's got new orders and uh some of us in the small group was able to go and move their stuff up there and put it in a storage unit. Yeah you know like like we it that that's the family yeah that we have and if you're not a part of a group like that you're really really missing out.

SPEAKER_00 43:35

Yeah well in a small church you have that in a small church in a church of 60 people you have a few friends who you're really close to but when you're a church like us is pushing 400 or over you it's easy to get lost. And no doubt some people go to larger churches to be lost in the in the mix. And and I get that and and um I wish that we wouldn't let that happen here. No we're gonna try hard not to let that happen. Right. Um, but I I get that some people want that. My my thing is is that you you can't the old adage is you can't grow bigger without first growing smaller. And small groups are the key to that. That's right. And and um it's really an idea to grow intimacy, to be able to love one another, help one another, show up, take care of the kids when something happens, you know, when you get bucked off a horse. Right. I mean, you know, things like that that that you're able to um uh really be in the lives of the other person making.

SPEAKER_01 44:25

It's also our small groups now that are starting to take the reins of uh providing meals for people who are had surgeries or or had babies or had a baby.

SPEAKER_00 44:34

Yeah, um again, in a small church, yeah, you get one birth a year, yeah, and everybody in the church joins up and they go for two or three weeks, they serve food. Well, in our church, I mean we've got five couples right now who are in their first trimester, and there's no way we can go to the church and say, Hey everybody, we're gonna form this huge wheel train. Right. Because these babies are gonna be relatively born in the same way. They're all gonna be born within like a few weeks of each other. So it's crazy right now. But uh and that's awesome. But at the same time, our small groups would operate so much better in helping them than the church at large. And um, we're just we're just getting to that place where we can't we can't take care of everybody. And again, isn't it great? Kelly, uh Dan's friend Kelly, who called him when his wife was hurt, um, didn't call an a shepherd of the church. He called a small group. And elders are often thought of as, well, they're the ones that we, you know, even in a really great small church, they're the ones that you call when you're in trouble or the minister, you call the minister. Right. Well, if everybody called me when they were in trouble here or called you, we we wouldn't we would never be able to sleep. And so what happens is it gets filtered through others, and there's others who shepherd in our places. And and as much as I want to be there for everyone, I know I can. Right. And and I know you can't do that. Yeah, there's no way. There's no way.

SPEAKER_01 45:54

And um, so you know, I've seen ministers literally burn slam out trying to trying to manage 125 people, much less for and it just so happened Kelly was able he not only did he call his small group leader, but he'd had he did call his pastor too. But still, but we weren't as big as we are here, and so but it but it's still that you know it it was just I I need to call the small group. Yeah. And and that, you know, that's that um that's that brotherly love that Paul taught writes about in Romans, you know, where we're supposed to uh love one another with that brotherly affection, that brotherly love. Um, and and he I think he goes on to say it outdoing one another and serving each other. Yeah. Um you you can't really do that in a big setting. No. That's in a smaller setting. That's right. And so I I truly believe as as the scriptures were being written, they were being written to the entire church, but they were being written to individuals, conver uh congregations that were not five, six thousand people. They were they were smaller communities. Yeah. And there were just many of them. Yeah, you know, because we don't we don't know the church in Corinth Church in Corinth, I guarantee you, was not just one giant building.

SPEAKER_00 46:58

Oh, no, but I came to I remember taking Pauline and and our um Pauline epistles went into and and our professor was like, Look, when he says he's writing to the church in Ephesus, he's not writing to one church. No, he's writing to the church that lives in Ephesus. That's right. He's writing and and it's hard for us in Western society to understand that because we have, you know, you ride down the road and you have nine churches and they're all different. There, the church, it it it was you could literally leave one church and go to the other, and you knew the people in that church because you saw them, and you know, it didn't matter, and you were just gathering on that day. So I mean, I I have no doubt that people probably when they gathered in the ecclesia, the gathering, that they probably went to different gatherings because they had their own people, but they might go different things. Right. But when the letters were written, they they were written and copied off to the churches in that area, right? It wasn't just and the elders oversaw all the churches. Yeah, they didn't just oversee one, right? They oversaw all of them.

SPEAKER_01 47:54

Yeah, that was that's Romans 12, by the way. 12 10. Cool. So um, but yeah, uh the Bible's very clear. Uh we need to get together, uh, we need to have this intimacy together. Um, this this Christian life is not meant to be lived alone. Uh, when when God looked at Adam and said, It is not good for man to be alone, knowing that Adam had everything he could ever want. He walked with God, he had complete domain over everything. Um, but yet there was still something missing, and then from that he created Eve because we're not meant to be alone. That goes beyond just an intimacy relationship with your with your wife or your husband. Uh it goes into the body of Christ. Uh I I believe because the Greek I think supports it. Uh, when when Paul writes, you know, uh that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, he's not talking about your individual body. Right. The the word that is actually used can be translated as bodies. All y'all are the body of Christ. That's the southern translation. Right? Yeah. All y'all. Yeah, all y'all. All y'all. But yeah, we we ab I mean, it's a side topic. We abuse that and say, you can't have piercings, you can't have tattoos, you can't do this, you can't do that. That's not what it's talking about at all. It it's you as a all y'all are the are the body of Christ, the church.

SPEAKER_00 49:07

I would be thinking about all y'all the rest of my day. Yeah, thanks for that.

SPEAKER_01 49:11

So uh so we've we've gotta stick to we've gotta stick to understanding that we are meant for each other. That's right. And so if you isolate yourself from that, if it's just a Sunday morning thing, um, you are missing the point. And I and I believe you're being disobedient to scripture.

SPEAKER_00 49:27

Yeah. And and unfortunately, the the Western Church has provided uh the the opportunity for people just to become Sunday listeners and not be involved in any other way.

SPEAKER_01 49:41

And COVID even provided even further where you can just sit in your living room and be a part of a quote unquote church. Now I I had a conversation with a a friend today about that. Um and it's it's difficult for them because you know there's some health challenges with with her husband, and so they're not always able to leave because he can't. And so then then that's great. Watch it on church, be there in present in that moment because at least you're growing. But if you're able body, you should go. You should go.

SPEAKER_00 50:09

Yeah, it's it's you should go. It's not the same. Uh you're miss you're missing out on being loved. Yeah. And I understand that we we live in an in an age, and you mentioned COVID. COVID COVID COVID didn't COVID exasperated things. COVID for the church, COVID sped us up by like 10 or 15 years. Yeah, there were underlying issues. COVID brought them to the surface. COVID broke them, brought them up. It did so many things to expose a lot of the weakness in the joints of the church and how it joined together that we really had to hustle to figure out how do we jump 10 years ahead in what we do. And so um and and and we're still looking back at it going, you know, wow, you know, how are we how have we uh been hurt by it and how have we benefited? Because, you know, there there are two sides to it. And so, yeah, it's a difficult way. It really is. All right. Well, we're about 50 minutes in. Um we um really do want to encourage you, if you are interested in hosting or facilitating, uh, please come let us know. We we would love to know. You can talk to Dan or I. If you come talk to me, I'm gonna point you to Dan. Dan's the head of our small groups, and um he's he's the he's the mastermind. And so I want you to be able to go to him and I like that word, mastermind. Mastermind. I'm imagining it was Will Farrell with a really big one. I was gonna say, um Yeah, I'm I'm just thinking of the cartoon now. Yeah, but he comes out to welcome to the jungle is really cool. I'm more like Dr. Doofenschmartz, actually. If my voice was okay, I I would do my imitation. But it is pretty good. Oh, that's not uh and uh so anyway, go to Dan, talk to him, uh come to me, I'll I'll take you by hand to Dan and uh we'll um we'll get it done. But all y'all need to be in a small group. That's right. And um, and that's that's just the plain and simple truth. And if you're listening to this and you don't go to Broad Creek, well, maybe you should consider coming. But number two, um, I hope that you have small groups in your church. And if you don't, then why don't you get them started? Yeah, get them get them started. And if you need help with that, please reach out.

SPEAKER_01 52:10

We'll help you. We'll help you start that. Absolutely. Um if you go to a different church and you know it's you're not in a place where you can actually start that kind of ministry in your church or your church wouldn't really be accepting of that, you can come to one of our small groups and still go to your church. Yeah, it's fine. Absolutely. We would love to have that.

SPEAKER_00 52:26

Yeah, so and uh and and it may be, you know, guys, I'm not saying disobey your church. I'm not saying that, but you know, it it may be where you really feel by God, feel led by God to do it. You go to your church, they're like, hey, we're not starting small groups, get a couple of friends together and read the Bible together. Have a meal together, read the Bible, and just don't just don't forsake the assembly on Sunday. Nah, that's right. Don't stop going to church. Yeah, church, church is far too important. Um the body is far too important for us.

SPEAKER_01 52:53

Hebrews 10, 24 through 25. Yep. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 53:07

The NIV, therefore, neglecting uses forsaking. Yep. We do not forsake the gathering. And uh we we would not do well with that. And by the way, you guys, Jesus died for the church and is the head of the church. Right. So it's our job to love the church, because if we love Jesus, we're gonna love his things, and um the church is his. So all right. Dan is has picked up his dad joke, three not the three thousand. He's got a thousand is done. Uh the three thousand is is gone. Yeah, he's got a dad joke. And uh, so let's see what he comes up with.

SPEAKER_01 53:39

So let's see. Why did the stadium get hot after the game? Oh Lord, I don't know. All of the fans left. Oh, good grief. What's the most musical part of a chicken? No idea. The drums.

SPEAKER_00 53:55

Oh, I missed it. Clean toilet. Clean toilet. Everybody at home right now. Okay, good. Um no, they they then shut us off. All right, guys, we love you if you're still here. Uh thanks for listening. And uh damn, appreciate you, buddy. Yep. Y'all have a great day and uh enjoy your week, and we will look forward to seeing you sometime soon. Take care.

SPEAKER_01 54:20

Also, oh yeah, if you've not signed up, if you're listening to us, and you've not signed up for our 101 class, if you're recent recent to our church, recent meaning within I would say the last eight to ten months, nine months, or you know, whatever, sign up. Go to the app, sign up, go to the website, sign up, and then you are can find out this Sunday, right after second service. We will meet and have lunch together and uh tell you a little bit about Broad Creek and let you ask questions.

SPEAKER_00 54:49

Yeah. And uh you can ask us you can ask us questions, and if we don't know the answer, we'll find the answer. That's right. So uh yeah, come on out and join us. We would love to have you.

SPEAKER_01 54:56

Okay, now I'm ready to end it.

SPEAKER_00 54:58

Thank you guys. Thanks. See you guys.