Small groups 3 – What should happen in your small group?

What should happen in your small group? 

It depends.........What is your principle purpose for your small groups?

•  Developing closer relationships between church members,
• Assimilating new people,
• Numerical Growth'
• Spiritual growth,
• Equipping opportunities,
• Developing new leadership,
• and/or Maintaining accountability.

The format and content of your small groups will be determined by your purpose and your church’s values and priorities.

Over the years we have initiated small group ministries in several different churches - often with different values and priorities - but most of the content was consistent and based upon Acts 2:42. 

After Pentecost, the followers of “The Way” gathered together on a regular basis.

Acts 2:42 (NIV)  They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

It is always important for the meetings to begin on time and to close on time. The fastest way to kill a small group is to start late and end late. Life today is jammed with important activities and people are hesitant to commit to a new activity unless they realize its value.

• Open on time: Group leadership generally includes the leader, hosts, and worship leaders who need to arrive early so the meeting can begin at the prescribed time whether or not anyone else is there. 
• Closing is a little trickier. Almost always there will be ministry to individuals that cannot be stopped at the closing time. It is important that those not directly involved in ministry be released to go to another room for snacks or go home.
• We normally started the sessions with the singing of praise and worship songs to provide a transition from a hectic worldly schedule to a more relaxed, worshipful, and spiritual mood.  
  When groups are new and people do not know each other well we have found “Ice Breakers” useful to learn more about one another. You can find any number of “Ice Breakers” in youth ministry resources. They are great to get for adults loosened up!
  It is best to break the ice after all have arrived – after the worship time.
• Then it is time for an opening prayer.
• Sharing of scripture: This is not a time for a lecture, sermon, or even a homily. It is important that each person has an opportunity to interact with the scripture. 
  The leader is a facilitator, rather than a teacher. As such, he/she must have an overall direction as to where he/she will guide the discussion, through questions to which others will respond.
• Sharing of needs: At this point, everyone is encouraged to share what is going on in their lives and to share prayer needs. Be careful here, because there will always be some who feel a need to dominate this time week after week with the same issues. Leaders must understand how to handle this with grace and firmness.
• Individual Prayer ministry. 
• Closing prayer and dismissal
• Snack time and fellowship after the closing. [this was optional as some would have to get home.]

Please feel free to share your comments or suggestions below!

The Role of Faith In Healing

The Role of Faith In Healing

(This is an excerpt from my next book, "Heal Like Jesus." - to be released this summer)

What is the role of faith in healing?

The Biblical accounts of Jesus’ healing ministry put a great deal of emphasis on faith. But faith means different things to different people. There is a lot of confusion, bad theology, and abuses in many healing ministries today. There seems to be different understandings of the word “faith,” and in the requirements for receiving healing. Many faith healers put the onus on the sick person declaring that they must have enough faith to be healed. When they are not healed they often blame the sick person for a lack of faith. There are many possible reasons why a person is not healed.

We do read throughout the Gospels of Jesus telling healed people that it was their faith that made them well and we also read where Jesus not able to accomplish miracles in some places because there was a lack of faith. Obviously, faith is important.


Looking upon the scriptural passages of Jesus healing ministry we see faith manifested by different people at different times with the same results, people were healed. In some cases, the sick person had enough faith to approach Jesus - notably the woman with the issue of blood. In other cases, friends had enough faith to take a sick or blind person to Jesus for healing. In the case of the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda, Jesus was the only one that had faith. Yet all of these people were healed. We see also where the lack of faith required taking a blind man out of town for prayer and removing doubters from the home in order for Jesus to raise Jairus’ daughter from the dead.[Mark 5]


The Greek word translated as “faith” is “pístis,” which has the understanding of “confidence,” “certainty,” or “trust.” Other uses of the word could be “trustworthiness,” and “guarantee” or “assurance” in the sense of a pledge or oath with the two nuances of “trustworthiness” and “proof.[Theological Dictionary of the New Testament: Abridged in One Volume.]”

Faith can also represent a belief system, such as a person of the Christian Faith. But we do not have any indication that right theology is a requirement for being healed.

When a paralytic was brought to Jesus on a mat [Matthew 9:2], Jesus recognized the faith of his friends who brought him. Did Jesus decide to heal this man because of their faith or was Jesus able to heal him because of their faith?

To the blind man,[Matthew 9:28-31] Jesus asked, “Do you believe I am able to [heal]?” When the blind man responded positively Jesus healed him.

When the woman with the issue of blood [Mark 5:28-34] touched Jesus robe, she was healed. Jesus told her, “your faith has made you well.”

On and on we see similar instances of Jesus healing and pronouncing that faith was responsible for their healing, but there are instances where He healed when Jesus alone believed, such as the High Priest’s servant in Luke 11:50-51.

When Jesus returned to His hometown, He was amazed at their lack of faith. He found that He could not do any miracles, but He did lay hands on a few people to heal them.[Mark 6:4-6] Jesus was always willing to heal those who came to Him with faith.

There is an important passage in Matthew’s Gospel that helps us understand the role of faith in healing. A certain Roman army commander, a centurion, came to Jesus and asked Him to heal his servant.[Matthew 8:8-13] He didn’t ask Jesus to go to the servant, he merely asked Jesus, “only speak a word.”

As a soldier, he understood authority. As a commander, he would speak orders and the troops would obey. He Recognized Jesus’ authority to heal and knew that whatever Jesus ordered would be accomplished because He had authority to heal.  Jesus marveled at the soldier's faith and told the crowds following Him that He had not found such great faith, not even in Israel.

So He told the Roman commander, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." The servant was healed within the hour. In essence, the centurion had the certainty that Jesus had the authority and the ability to order the healing of his servant, and it would be accomplished.

Jesus called this “great faith.” 

We do not know the relationship between the Roman leader and Jesus. He was probably not a follower of Jesus, but we do know that he understood authority, and he knew Jesus had the authority over sickness. This was faith in Jesus’ ability to heal. Did Jesus decide to heal the centurion’s servant because of the soldier’s faith or was Jesus able to heal because of the existence of that great faith?

Over many years of praying for the sick and oppressed, we have noted that Christians raised in an authoritarian system have a far better chance of receiving their healing. Does this mean there is a connection between a hierarchal system and faith? Empirical evidence points that way and it certainly worked with the centurion. Accepting the authority of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is a matter of faith. We note that Jesus honored the centurion’s faith even though his faith was based on authority rather than love. Is it possible that the Post-Modern’s rejection of authority has affected the ability of some churches to heal?

Rejecting the authority of God today is akin to the lack of faith that kept Jesus from performing miracles in Nazareth. 

Some of the leaders of the so-called “Faith movement” misuse the issue of faith. Some have taught that God must respond to our prayers because we speak them in faith.  In the “hyper-faith" doctrine, it is faith that effects changes not God. Christian author Hank Hanagraaff has openly criticized this movement and writes;[Hanegraaff, Hank, Christianity in Crisis, Harvest House, Eugene, Oregon, 1993, pp66]

"Words are containers that carry the substance of faith.  In Faith theology, if you speak words of faith, you activate the positive side of the force; if you speak words of fear, you activate the negative side of the force.  In faith vernacular, this is called 'making positive or negative confessions.'  The Faith movement would have us believe that everything that happens to us is a direct result of our words."

A scripture that is often quoted (in part) by the hyper-faith community relates a conversation between Jesus and His disciples where He tells them that if they do not have a doubt in their heart, they can speak to a mountain and it will move into the sea. [Mark 11:22-24] Then Jesus adds, “Whatever things you ask for when you pray, believe and you will have them.” They pass over verse 22 which requires a faith in God, not a faith in their words.

Faith is not a magical substance or an incantation. Faith is always a faith in a person. Faith is first of all faithfulness or loyalty. It is one of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit listed in Galatians chapter 5 and listed as a gift of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12.

In some of his epistles, the Apostle Paul commended the people for their loyalty to Christ.[Romans 1:8; Ephesians 1:15; Col. 1:4]  Faith in its simplest form is unshakable and unchanging loyalty to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Faith is confident Hope[Hebrews 11:1]. Faith is betting your life there is a God. Faith is also a true belief.

The Apostle writing to the Hebrews tells us that faith requires two things; 1) Believe that God exists, and 2) believe that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.[Hebrews 11:6] But there has to be a significance to this belief, It must mean something, the significance of what we believe causes us to act in certain ways. Faith is not just the acceptance of beliefs. Faith must result in action. Abraham left his comfortable hometown, not knowing where He was going, to follow God’s call.  He took God absolutely at His word, When God promised, and commanded Abraham moved.

Faith is complete trust and complete surrender to Jesus Christ, acceptance of all He offers, and all that He is. It is our approach to God - in complete confidence - that all He has said and all He has done are absolutely true. The only way to a right relationship with God is to take Jesus at His word and to cast ourselves on His mercy. That means accepting His authority.


Responding to God’s love and authority is faith in action. As we look at the Honor role of God’s faithful heroes in Hebrews 11, we read: By faith, Able offered to God. By faith, Enoch was taken up. By faith, Noah prepared an ark. By faith, Abraham obeyed. By faith, Sarah conceived. By faith, Abraham offered up Isaac. By faith, they passed through the Red Sea….as though they were passing through dry land.

How much faith do we need to receive healing? 

The faith of a mustard seed while we faithfully follow the Lord.

Deliver Us From Evil

The call came in around noon on Wednesday while I was studying for next week’s sermon. I was alone in the office and it was a good time to work, study and enjoy some quiet time. An unfamiliar voice on the other end sounded hesitant and confused as if he did not know what to say or how to say it. I waited patiently to hear what he was calling about.

“Reverend Johnson,” he began, “My name is Phil Short and I am a Presbyterian pastor and currently the chaplain at Magnolia Hospice here in town. We are facing a strange situation and thought you might be able to help.”

“How can we help?” I asked expecting to talk about funeral arrangements or ministry to the family.

He hemmed and hawed for what seemed like minutes but it was probably much less. Then blurted out the question that he was not sure about how to approach. “Are you familiar with spiritual decontamination?”

Chuckling to myself over the choice of words I responded in a tone similar to his solemnity, “That term is unfamiliar to me but I think I understand what you are asking and we can probably help.”

“If you have the time I would like to come over and talk.”

“Come ahead.” This sounded more interesting than what I was about and could still finish later.

Arriving within ten minutes Chaplain Short appeared to be a gentle compassionate man with a heart for people in the last throes of their earthly life. He seemed to fit the role comforting and encouraging the patient and family through the death process.

He began to share about one particular case which had him very bewildered.

“Ms Jones is a frail, eighty year old lady, who is dying of a brain tumor. She is less than five foot tall and weighs about ninety pounds. She was so weak she hardly ever got out of bed.”

“Yesterday she said she had been attacked by demons,” he explained. “Of course I immediately went to her apartment and found it in ruins. She was always neat and tidy and her apartment had always been spotless.”

Then he asked, “Would you go with me to her place and see what you think about this situation.”

As we walked up the concrete stairs to her second floor apartment Chaplain Short whispered, “Don’t be amazed. The apartment looks like a war zone.”

The slight woman was exactly as the chaplain had described. One thing he failed to mention was the tennis ball sized tumor projecting from her forehead. The mess around her seemed to embarrass her but she politely invited us in.

The two room apartment was as described, as if a vicious battle had been fought in this small space. The large, brown, imitation leather sofa was turned completely on its side, two large fichus trees in two foot pots appeared to have been had been thrown in anger high up against the wall, the wooden dinette table with its chairs were broken into pieces and strewn around the floor.

“What happened here, Ms. Jones?” I asked.

“A demon did this yesterday. He has been attacking me for weeks but this is the first time he became violent and destroyed my home.”

Ms. Jones and the chaplain looked at me for help, but this was way beyond my personal experience.

We rearranged the sofa and each found a place to sit. We wanted to get acquainted and learn more about Ms. Jones and why this occurred. We learned that she was a devout Christian woman and had served in the church all of her life. She had recently changed churches and loved her new church. I made a mental note to talk to her new pastor as he was a friend, and a strong man of God.

It was then that the Lord prompted me to ask Ms. Jones two questions. Her response amazed me with her wisdom and forthrightness.

The mood in the room was transformed so we spent time praying and continued to visit until we had to leave because of another commitment.

I never saw Ms. Jones again, but Chaplain Short told me that her tumor had disappeared and she had been released from hospice care. She had moved to Arkansas where she lived happily for several more years with her daughter.

What were the two questions we asked Ms. Jones which changed everything?

John Dawson in his book “Healing America’s Wounds” uses an illustration of an explorer in Africa, chopping his way through a dense jungle. Suddenly his machete slips and puts a deep gash on his arm. The blood running down his arm attracts a number of flies. At this point he has a choice to make. He can stop and chase the flies away, or he can bandage up the wound to deprive the flies of a target. In spiritual warfare we can chase demons around or we can eliminate the reason they are there.

The first question was, “Ms. Jones, you are a devout Christian woman, can you explain to me why the demon was allowed to attack you?”

Most of the time spiritual attacks will come in areas of our lives that the Lord is not in control. These are areas of sinfulness, unforgiveness, and our own stubbornness where we want to be in control to do things our own way without consulting God.

Ms. Jones knew exactly what I was asking and she knew exactly where the trouble lay.

She explained, “I have been a member of my church for over thirty years. When the pastor’s wife became ill they asked me to move in and take care of her. I took care of her for twenty years until she passed a several months ago. Then the pastor told me I could no longer live there with him. I became very upset and angry and have been trying to get revenge for him treating me this way. In spite, I left the church and joined the church down the street. I guess my anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness gave the demons the excuse to attack me.”

The second question was, “Can you forgive your former pastor for the way you were treated?”

She forgave and repented for her actions. We then spent the next half hour praying with her and over her apartment.

My friend, the pastor of the church that Ms. Jones joined before we met her contacted me. He explained that they had tried to help her but were not able to. He asked if we could teach his people about spiritual warfare. 

We have been teaching a workshop on Spiritual Warfare for several years. Our workshop, "A Balanced Approach to Spiritual Warfare," is available for churches or small groups from:
http://www.aslanministries.org/spiritual-warfare.html


Bill Johnson

aslanministries.org