Our current sermon series has got me thinking of the vital role that small groups play in the life of the church. One of my best friends, Brandon, is a chaplain for the Army Special Forces, and he is currently overseas in the middle of a “hot zone.” Brandon was deployed a few years ago during the massive military surge in the War on Terror in the Middle East. As Brandon and I discussed what he would be doing on this deployment, he shared some current military strategy with me. Though the Army saw measurable success in their surge a few years ago, they identified a key component in making their efforts even more successful. Whereas most of the troops had been sent into combat zones in massive numbers with massive force, the most successful operations were carried out by highly trained, highly specialized, small teams of soldiers. These teams were all part of the Army Special Forces. These teams saw marked success much greater than any other strategic move thus far in the war. As a result, the Army has increased the number of Special Forces units and has mobilized more, smaller teams to carry out the mission on the battlefront.
While listening to Brandon talk about the US Army’s strategy, I couldn’t help but draw the parallel to the Church’s war against Satan and his forces. As we seek to do battle against the forces of Hell and free those people who remain in bondage to sin and Satan, it’s fitting that we use a similar strategy. While we’ll see success in going out in massive numbers to engage this world on behalf of Jesus, I’m convinced that we’ll see the most success come from our highly trained, highly specialized, small groups. When our small groups “train members for godliness” (1 Tim 4:7) and specialize in connecting people to Christ and to His Church, then our group members are better prepared to battle the forces of darkness, whether in their own struggles with sin or in the work of evangelism.
As we at West Side find ourselves SURGING into the next chapter of the history of this church, it’s imperative that we recognize the vital role our groups play as the church’s Special Forces teams. It’s up to us as the leaders of those groups to train our members well for the purpose of holiness and to always give them our best.
