Missed the Point

Honestly, I don't know who said it. I was in the kitchen making coffee. But I heard someone comment about the size of the group gathering in my home for Bible study. In the summer of 2011 we stopped meeting at the church on Sunday nights and began meeting in homes a couple of times a month. Attendance had gotten so low that I wanted to try something that might get more people involved. We've had some very well attended Sunday Night Bible Studies.

The comment I I heard was that if this kind of attendance keeps up we'll have to open up the church, turn on the heat/air, and go back to Sunday night services. My immediate thought was, "No, we could have two groups meeting and continue to get more people involved." My point in changing the Sunday night format was not to save money on utilities but to increase involvement.

Somebody missed the point. There's nothing wrong with meeting at the church on Sunday nights but that model has proven to be ineffective for us. Sure, it is comfortable, traditional, and known, but few people participated. Meeting in small groups in homes has helped develop fellowship and we still worship and study the Bible.

I think that's a much better way to do Sunday nights. And I'd really like to see us grow and add more groups. I believe that will promote even more participation. And more spiritual growth.

I learned a couple of things. First, our Sunday Night Bible Study has gained traction. Second, I didn't communicate the vision very well when we started. Or maybe I failed to stir the vision along the way.