Christians connect through cooking, video games, hiking August 15, 2005 It's Thursday night, and a small group from Red Rocks Church is gathering at a home in Golden, Colorado. They haven't come to pray or discuss the intricacies of Scripture. They're here to eat pizza and play video games. Pastor Scott Bruegman, who leads the Assemblies of God congregation, admits that playing video games is an unusual way to minister. But he insists small groups such as this one serve a larger purpose. More than 120 people currently attend services at the church, which started early this year. "I came out here and didn't know anybody," the 34-year-old pastor says. "I met a bunch of guys who played video games and I started playing with them. Now they all go to our church." Bruegman sees small groups as the best way to reach the young, largely non-Christian, population in Golden. "There are so many unchurched people here," he says. "We're basically starting from scratch with a lot of them because they have no church background. We have to build a rapport and invest in their lives before we can disciple them." In addition to the weekly video game gathering, Red Rocks has organized groups for people interested in basketball, bowling, camping, hiking and mountain sports. Another group, Clueless Cooking, seeks to attract young professionals who are single or newly married and learning how to make meals. There's also Chicks, Chat and Chocolates, a women's group that gets together to cook, eat, discuss books and watch good movies. The average age of Red Rocks attendees is 26. Bruegman says the idea of playing a game of basketball or joining some neighbors for coffee and casual conversation appeals to many people who might not attend traditional church activities. "These groups serve as entry points into our church," Bruegman says. "They're about community, social interaction and getting connected. Discipleship comes later." Bruegman says a Buddhist recently came to the church and committed her life to Jesus as Savior after being involved in a Red Rocks couples' night and volleyball group. "We're seeing the rewards of the momentum that these groups are building," he says. "Everything we do deals with connecting with God and with other people." Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, brought the idea of sharing community and common interests through small groups to the forefront partly in his 2002 book, "Dog Training, Fly Fishing, and Sharing Christ in the 21st Century." Haggard, who pastors the independent New Life Church in Colorado Springs, challenges congregations to use what he calls the "free market approach," which organizes groups around personal hobbies and interests rather than segregating them according to age, spiritual maturity or other variables. New churches such as Red Rocks, whose leaders are trying to grow a congregation, aren't the only ones embracing this small groups concept. It's also being implemented by pastors of established churches who are looking for new ways to reach non-Christians and give attendees a sense of belonging in the midst of a crowd. "We have a lot of people coming through the front doors of our church," says Ben DeBoef, small groups pastor at Calvary Church (Assemblies of God) in Naperville, Illinois, which has an average Sunday morning attendance of more than 4,000 people. "One of our main goals is to try to connect people, and small groups help accomplish that." Calvary Church has about 150 small groups, ranging from traditional Bible studies to groups that focus on knitting, speaking Spanish, car building, flag football, fishing, volleyball, music, gardening and scrapbooking. They meet in such diverse places as restaurants, coffee shops, shopping malls, practice fields and homes. "We are putting more and more emphasis on small groups," DeBoef says. "In the future, it's going to become an increasingly crucial aspect to the growth of this church." Central Assembly of God in Springfield, Missouri, which adopted the small groups concept last year, has approximately 30 groups as well as a full-time pastor who oversees the ministries. "When people walk through the door, we want them to see an immediate path to involvement," says Craig Cunningham, Central's small groups pastor. "The small groups approach is what gives legs to that vision." As with Red Rocks, Central has a group that meets to play video games. Other groups include a couples' game night, fishing, a motorcycle group, a healthy cooking club, crafts, single parents, ultimate Frisbee, mountain biking and basketball. There are even groups for men who work nights and people who have lived in California. College student Lanie Brewster, a member of Central Assembly's outdoor-themed Ecobonding group, says she has gained a lot from small group involvement. "The Ecobonding small group created an opportunity for me to make new friends while learning more about outdoor activities such as climbing, hiking and camping," Brewster says. "There is something about sitting around a campfire that seems to elicit meaningful conversations, and there is something about being surrounded by God's creation that makes me want to know Him more intimately." Shawn Maust, small groups pastor at Pathway Assembly of God in Middlebury, Indiana, notes that in addition to the other benefits, common-interest small groups encourage more laypeople to become involved in ministry. "One guy who never saw himself leading a group realized he could use working on hot rods and classic cars as a drawing point to bring guys in and pour Christian fellowship into their lives," Maust says. "Our vision is that people would realize that whatever their interest and however God has shaped them, that can be a ministry. God can use them both here in the church and in the community." Author(s): Christina Quick, Today's Pentecostal Evangel Article taken from Assemblies of God News Service
