Small Group

Definition and Meaning

A small group is a small community within a church in which a limited number of members meet regularly, as distinct from gatherings of the whole congregation such as Sunday worship. Meetings typically include singing, sharing from the Word or Bible study, sharing about daily life, and intercessory prayer (prayer on behalf of others). Members often share a meal together for fellowship as well. In large churches, small groups serve as the basic unit through which members come to know and care for one another, and also as a pathway for new members to become established in the community.

Biblical and Historical Background

Churches that organize small groups point to Acts 2:46, which says that the believers of the early church gathered "breaking bread from house to house," and to Romans 16:5, where Paul sends greetings to "the church that is in their house." Exodus 18:21, in which Moses appoints "rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens" to care for the people, is also frequently cited as a model for small-group organization.

Historical antecedents include the home Bible meetings of seventeenth-century German Pietism (a movement that emphasized personal faith and godly living). In the eighteenth century, John Wesley organized Methodists into "class meetings" of about ten people each, in which members watched over one another's spiritual lives. These class meetings are often cited as the classic precedent.

Practice in Korean Churches

In Korean churches, the "district" (guyeok), which groups members by neighborhood, has long served as the small group. In Presbyterian and many other denominations, a district leader and a gwonchal (district visitor) oversee each district, leading district worship and caring for its members. Methodists (such as the Korean Methodist Church) follow the Wesleyan tradition and use the terms "class" (sokhoe) and "class leader" (sokjang).

From the 1960s onward, Yoido Full Gospel Church under Pastor David Yonggi Cho became widely known for making its district organization the central pillar of its church growth. From around the 1990s, various small-group models were introduced or developed, and the names used by churches became increasingly diverse.

• Darakbang ("upper room"): The name used by SaRang Community Church under Pastor John Han-hum Oak when it entrusted small groups to lay leaders who had completed discipleship training.
• Mokjang ("pasture"): The name used in the house church movement. The movement began among Baptists but has since been adopted by churches of many denominations.
• Cell: Taken from the biological term, this name is used by churches that follow the cell church model.
• Sun: Used by parachurch organizations such as Korea Campus Crusade for Christ and by some churches.

Assessments of small groups are mixed. Some hold that they foster closeness among members and strengthen lay ministry. Others point out that when small groups harden into programs, or when leader training is inadequate, they become mere formalities. In addition, because some organizations use small-group Bible studies held outside the church as a means of recruitment, many churches have warned their members to be cautious about meetings of uncertain origin.