Small Groups vs. Sunday School - What do you think?

[James Nored]

For those who are looking into small groups and want to find hard research (not just theories), I highly recommend Sharing the Journey: Support Groups and America's New Quest for Com... by Robert Wuthnow. Wuthnow is a Christian author and sociologist who did the most comprehensive research to date on various kinds of small groups. His work is extensive, combining all the major studies.

Here are a couple of quotes from Wuthnow. The first contrasts Sunday school groups and Bible study groups.

"Bible study groups are more likely to say that they study the Bible and that they hold each other accountable; members of Sunday school classes are more likely to say their groups provide child care, have a leader, and have parties. As already noted, Sunday school classes meet more often on average than Bible study groups and tend to be larger, but Bible study groups' meetings generally last longer. Perhaps the most significant difference between the two is that Sunday school members tend to be older and more established in their communities--meaning that Bible studies may, indeed, be more effective than Sunday school classes in attracting new members to local churches. Sunday school members also say they joined because they were in a previous group, whereas Bible study member are more likely to say they were invited and joined looking for emotional support." -p. 70

The second quote shows that even within home Bible study groups, the most trans formative factor is not necessarily the curriculum, but the group interaction and caring and sharing within the group through things such as prayer.

"The love and caring that people see enacted in the group especially is what they feel has helped them the most. Studying particular lessons from the Bible comes out significantly lower than any of these interpersonal characteristics." - p.259 

ACTIVITIES THAT HELPED MEMBERS

Percentage of All Group Members Who Say Each Is Very or Fairly Important

People in the group giving you encouragement - 86%

Hearing other members share their views - 85%

Seeing love and caring acted out in the group - 84%

Seeing how to apply ideas to your life - 80%

Having a leader who could answer your questions - 80%

Having one person in the group who you could discuss things with - 79%

Hearing people tell stories about what worked and what didn't work for them - 78%

Having someone in the group that you admire and try to be like - 58%

Studying particular lessons from the Bible - 54%

What do you think of these studies? Do you think small groups or Sunday school classes are better and why? Why do you think that studying the Bible ranks so low in home Bible study groups as compared to the rest of things that group members say are important?

[James Nored]

Amziah, you said, "It is through the sensitivity of community among others that even content will take  on a more relevant or applicable position." This is exactly the conclusion that Wuthnow reaches as well. The caring of the group causes the material to become more relevant, real, and believable.

[Amziah Christman]

Most small group environments are going to appeal to a persons need for community probably more than actual study content. But it is through the sensitivity of community among others that even content will take  on a more relevant or applicable position. Small groups are designed to bring out the relational impact and when this happens, people will open their spirit to the content that's being offered.