“As a pastor, I have found small groups to be the place where things happen in our churches,” said Pastor Dnieper Vega, who pastors the Tulare and Lindsay churches. There are many types of small groups in our churches, such as Adventurers, Pathfinders, women’s and men’s ministries, Bible studies, and more. Each type of group reaches a different audience, which is one of the reasons small groups have such an impact. They bring people together who may not connect in other ways and allow them to share their thoughts while learning from others.
Michelle Patterson, a member of the Tulare Church, was born an Adventist but chose to wander from the church as she grew up. “When the Lord brought me back, I started sharing my thoughts on social media,” she said. She shared posts on social media about her spiritual
journey, and two of her friends reached out to her. “They told me I should start a Bible study group.”
She felt uncomfortable starting a group to study the Bible when she was ashamed of some parts of her past. Nevertheless, she followed their advice. “I had my first Bible study group in my backyard, and I sent out a text, but nobody came. My two boys came out and said, ‘Mom, your Bible study group. What happened?’” But this didn’t cause her to give up.
The next week a neighbor and a friend came. After the Bible study, she texted a summary of
what the group studied to six of her friends. This led to more people attending, and the text
group grew as well; it is now over 200 women.
Patterson explained that the foundation of the group is a study of the Bible and developing a relationship with Jesus, which brings together women of many different backgrounds and even faiths. “Many of our women are meeting Jesus for the first time. Many are from different denominations.”
One woman who began attending this group recently gave her life to God and chose to be
baptized into the Adventist Church. Patterson hadn’t seen this friend in 18 years, but through
text, they were able to connect. “She was raised in a different religion and felt that it was
inappropriate for her to study outside of her faith. But through the discussion, she decided to go to church on Saturday. Pastor Vega had an altar call, and it was to my surprise she stood up and said I'm getting baptized.’”
Small groups can lead to powerful changes in people’s lives and in your church. Anyone can
start a small group. Learn more about www.cccadventist.org/ministries.
Comentarios