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A UMNS Report
By Susan Hogan*

1:00 P.M. EST Aug. 18, 2010 | ROSCOE, Ill. (UMNS)

Small groups at Roscoe United Methodist Church include photography, cards, walking, biking and even a group for repair people. Pictured in this collage clockwise from the upper right are James Franklin, John Edie, Paul Nelson and Rich Doden.
UMNS photos by Susan Hogan. View in Photo Gallery

Gladys Hibbard drove down Main Street, past the brick United Methodist church with the pristine yard, many times a week.

"I ought to give that church a try," she thought to herself many times. But she never did.

Then she discovered a friend and her spouse belonged to the congregation.

"My husband and I asked if we could go with them," said the 66-year-old Hibbard. "We joined the church, then joined several small groups in the church. That made it easy to get to know people."

Several recent studies support the idea that growing congregations such as Roscoe United Methodist Church tend to offer more small groups than churches that are losing members. Small groups are an effective means of helping church members develop relationships with one another, which helps drive church growth.

Roscoe United Methodist started forming small groups more intentionally about a decade ago, said the Rev. Don Dexheimer, the church's outreach coordinator. Since then, the church has doubled its membership to 1,100 people.

"I can't tell you that all the growth has come because of small groups," he said. "I can tell you that the small groups have been a significant factor."

Common interests

Roscoe United Methodist Church is in a village of 6,000 people north of Rockford, Ill. There's no formal downtown area. Businesses that dot the path around town include a butcher shop, Beefaroo burger joint and a Starbucks.

With two campuses, the church serves as a hub of spiritual, social and social-justice activities. The small groups include the typical knitting, walking and Bible study groups.

Other groups thrive around people's interests: cards, motorcycles, photography, line dancing, construction, community gardening, putting together puzzles, etc.

"Rather than trying to create small groups around an imposed topic or curriculum, we allow them to form around common interests," Dexheimer said.

"Because there's no forced group, they can be involved in as many as they want," he said. "We train the leaders. We ask that a devotion be part of the gatherings. We also ask that each group do some kind of outreach project once a year."

Hibbard joined a Bible study group and the Knitwits, a knitting and crocheting group. She's also active in the Mercy Angels Ministry, or MAM group, which visits elderly women confined to their homes, nursing homes or hospitals.

"I also joined the Assimilation Committee," she said. "We take a loaf of fresh bread to people who visit our church. We don't buy Wonder Bread. We either make it ourselves or get a nice loaf from the bakery. Then we wrap it up so it looks real nice."

Getting started

Ninety miles away from Roscoe in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, the Rev. Lisa Telomen is trying to figure out how to create effective small groups.

"We have groups, but we don't have an overarching plan and uniformity," said Telomen, administrative pastor at Grace United Methodist Church. "We're trying to think about it more strategically now."

Lynda Nelson, foreground, and Jean Edie often join their husbands in the card group at Roscoe United Methodist Church. View in Photo Gallery

The church sponsors a quilters group, a book group and other traditional church groups. A daytime movie group is popular among older church members.

"We're kind of feeling our way," Telomen said. "There's a lot of canned programs for structured, small groups. We tried some of those, but that's not what people want."

Dexheimer agreed.

"One of the challenges is that you need to be continually listening to people for ideas on new groups to form," he said. "But you also need to give them permission to end some groups. There's a birthing and dying cycle."

In addition to the small groups, the Roscoe congregation may occasionally study books or topics together for Sunday school class.

"It's not enough to have groups if you want your church to grow," Dexheimer said. "The church also needs to be promoting Bible literacy and prayer. All of these things work together to drive growth."

Bible study

Small groups don't just help big churches thrive.

It's how people in small churches stay connected too, said Sandy Fridley, 72, a member of Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Wheaton, Ill.

The church draws about 40 people on Sunday during the summer and 80 people in the winters, she said.

For small churches, small groups may not produce growth, but help congregations remain sustainable, said the Rev. Kurt Gamlin, pastor of Aldersgate.

"We're trying to discover what small groups will work in our situation," he said. "Clearly small groups have helped foster a vitality between the people here."

One of the successful small groups is a Bible study held in the home of Sandy and Dan Fridley.

The Bible study meets weekly in the evenings. The Fridleys serve cookies and desserts first, then church members settle into a time of prayer and study.

"Our pastor felt that small groups were where people make connections," Sandy Fridley said. "It's definitely brought the church closer together."

Fostering connections

Another secret to small group success is for the congregation to see and hear about the work of the groups, Dexheimer said.

For instance, the photography group's work is framed and displayed prominently in a church hallway. The photos are sold for $15 apiece.

"New photos go up every month," said James Franklin, who leads the group. "One of the biggest joys I have is seeing how crowded that hallway gets when those photos go up. People are genuinely interested in our work."

“The more comfortable you are in the church, the more service you want to do.”
— Jean Edie

On a recent Saturday night at the church, five people filed into a fellowship hall to play cards, including two couples.

"We like this group because it's an activity we can do together," said Lynda Nelson.

The players brought their own beverages — tea, soda, Gatorade — and nibbled on pretzels during the games.

"We don't play for money, only for pride," Nelson joked.

Jean Edie, a newlywed who met her husband at the church, said the small groups help people get comfortable in the congregation.

"The more comfortable you are in the church,” she said, “the more service you want to do."

*Hogan is a freelance writer based in Chicago.

News media contact: David Briggs, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.