George Whitefield, the great revivalist preacher of the 1700s, wants you in a Care Group.
He exhorted his converts: “My brethren, let us plainly and freely tell one another what God has done for our souls. To this end you would do well, as others have done, to form yourselves into little companies of four or five each and meet once a week to tell each other what is in your hearts; that you may then also pray for and comfort each other as need shall require. None but those who have experienced it can tell the unspeakable advantages of such a union and communion of souls. None I think that truly loves his own soul and his brethren as himself will be shy of opening his heart in order to have their advice, reproof, admonition and prayers, as occasions require.”
Whitefield’s appeal matches the pattern of the church in Acts. Shortly after the church began, we see a developing rhythm of large group gatherings in the temple and small group meetings in homes: “Day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts” (Acts 2:46). This matches Paul’s description of his ministry in Ephesus: “I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house” (Acts 20:20).
This rhythm of large-group/small-group meetings continued through the history of the church. The Puritans, for example, often speak of small group meetings using terms like “private meeting,” “conference meeting,” or “society of conference.” They held these meetings in addition to their corporate gatherings on the Lord’s Day, and they included prayer, singing, biblical discussion, mutual encouragement or rebuke, and other elements.
In this morning’s sermon, I’ll explain why Christians need this kind of small group gathering in their lives on a regular basis. But for the purposes of this column, I simply want you to see this biblical and historical fact: Christians have always done small groups. Care Groups are not a new innovation in church life, made popular by churches that cater to felt-needs. This is not a Christianized adaptation of recovery groups. Frequent, consistent, small-group gatherings are just what Christians do.
George Whitefield wants you in a Care Group. Your elders want you in a Care Group. Is it an overstatement to say God wants you in a Care Group?