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Small Group Movement (Introduction)
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Paul Jang
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2008-03-24 15:14:26, hit : 2,820 |
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Small Group Movement (Introduction)
Introduction
God is constantly renewing and growing his churches using the diverse methods of church movement and para-church movement according to the context of the local churches in the world. As a matter of fact, church must be constantly renewed and replenished itself as the human body, or it will die (Cho 1981, 57). It is in accordance with the principle of what the organs of the whole living creature as well as the human body are replenished and grow by the division of their cells. The reason is that church is living organization.
The critical issue is how pastor saves his dying church. Robert H. Schuller has been convinced that where there is no growing, there is dying is a law of life (Schuller 1975, trans. by Cho 1985, 59). It is very impotant to therefore have a burning desire for church growth (MacArthur 1984, trans. by Han 1986, 114). Why is his church dying? Rev. Dale E. Galloway, senior pastor of New Hope Community Church in Portland, Oregon has pointed out that there are twelve boxes that stagnate the church and stop the powerful flow of what God wants to do in his book, 20/20 Vision (Galloway 1986, 12).
The twelve boxes are itemized as blindness, unbelief, lack of leadership, superstar pastors, focus on doctrine, ruts, exclusive attitude, isolation, imposibility thinking, busyness, aimlessness and pride (Galloway 1986, 12-21).
He asserted there are two kinds of churches: dead or alive, and that the reason why the church dies is that the churches have boxed themselves in the twelve boxes that stagnate the church, one of which is superstar pastor (Galloway 1986, 12, 15).
According to him, the time has come for churches to break out of the performer box and release lay people into ministry (Galloway 1986, 16). If a church is not involved in the lay ministry, it will either remain stagnant or will die because one pastor cannot take care of a large number of congregation. Therefore the churches have to make lay pastors as many as need to take care for the congregations. This is need of the times for church growth among the population which has been trememdously increasing.
And also the Seattle Oriental Mission Church has felt keenly necessity of using the lay ministry even though it has been a small church yet. This also is need of the times for the growth of the Seattle Oriental Mission Church. The best way of lay ministry is home cell group ministry because in the home cell groups each one has an opportunity to be used by God to minister to the others in the groups from the beginning (Cho 1981, 51).
Presenting and explaining three kinds of models as the methods of ministry, Palmer Becker suggested the care group model, which affirms that the church is a voluntary, caring community of believers who seek to meet the personal and spiritual needs of each other and those they called to reach, as the best one of ministry (Becker 1993a, 19).
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Introduction
Ch Growth 