It is no secret that there are multiple movements taking place across the kingdom landscape. Only time will tell which ones survive and thrive. One thing is for certain, however; communal life is central to almost all of the current emerging expressions of church life. More intentional than the previous generation, the rising cadre of church leaders consists largely of communal architects, shaping the church into smaller communities for greater missional impact and presence. Not since Wesley’s little bands of the 1700s, the haystack prayer gatherings of 1806 and beyond (starting from a small group of 5 and launching prayer groups still today), and the Jesus Movement of the 1960s have we seen such a church-wide emphasis on community.

The small group movement that burst onto the scene in para-church groups in the 1950s-70s began to find a home in the church in the 80s–90s. Meta-church models, cell churches, mini-churches, discipleship groups, recovery ministries, and evangelistic groups emerged. As a result, churches began to embrace group life as important for growth, but still treated this form of community as a program: “We do groups.” The last 10 years has seen a move beyond that narrower focus—where groups are still essential to spiritual growth, but where they are connected to larger mid-sized communal gatherings.

To be continued...