Equipping Members for Ministry through Small Groups

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 361-375
Author(s):  
Joshua Rose
Keyword(s):  
Small Group ◽  
Small Groups ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Small Group Ministry ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Group Ministry

There are many questions that are still yet to be explored regarding small group ministry among these questions this article addresses how small groups equip group members for ministry. This article argues that ultimately it is through the learning process in small groups, with the goal of attaining Christlikeness, that group members are equipped for ministry. This article will examine how various learning constructs support the equipping of small group members, and then recommend two propositions for improving small group ministry efforts to equip group members for ministry.

The Small-Group Ministry Movement of the Last Four Decades

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 547-559
Author(s):  
Harley Atkinson ◽  
Joshua Rose
Keyword(s):  
Small Group ◽  
Small Groups ◽  
Sunday School ◽  
Small Group Ministry ◽  
Christian Formation ◽  
Group Movement ◽  
Current State ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Group Ministry ◽  
The Church

The modern small-group movement emerged in the 1960s as small groups slowly began to replace the Sunday school as the preferred context for doing Christian formation in the local church. This article summarizes the development of the small-group ministry movement of the last four decades, addresses the current state of small groups in the church, and concludes with brief comments on the future of small groups in the church.

Small Group Effects on Foreign Policy Decision Making

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean A. Garrison
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Small Group ◽  
Small Groups ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Policy Decision Making ◽  
High Level

The core decision-making literature argues that leaders and their advisors operate within a political and social context that determines when and how they matter to foreign policy decision making. Small groups and powerful leaders become important when they have an active interest in and involvement with the issue under discussion; when the problem is perceived to be a crisis and important to the future of the regime; in novel situations requiring more than simple application of existing standard operating procedures; and when high-level diplomacy is involved. Irving Janis’s groupthink and Graham Allison’s bureaucratic politics serve as the starting point in the study of small groups and foreign policy decision making. There are three distinct structural arrangements of decision groups: formalistic/hierarchical, competitive, and collegial advisory structures, which vary based on their centralization and how open they are to the input of various members of the decision group. Considering the leader, group members, and influence patterns, it is possible to see that decision making within a group rests on the symbiotic relationship between the leader and members of the group or among group members themselves. Indeed, the interaction among group members creates particular patterns of behavior that affect how the group functions and how the policy process will evolve and likely influence policy outcomes. Ultimately, small group decision making must overcome the consistent challenge to differentiate its role in foreign policy analysis from other decision units and expand further beyond the American context.

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