CM speaks how discipleship is best developed in a Small Group. What are your thoughts about this? Do you have any experiences you can share? BIB 547-1-7-5

As for me, I much prefer being in a small group to attending church. Over the years I've attended several Bible studies and enjoyed the give and take in this less structured format. The church I grew up in seems rather structured and week to week the format was usually the same. For years I sang in both the junior and senior choir and I can remember a wooden plaque off to the side of the altar. This plaque had slots where the verse being studied as well as the numbers of the hymns would go. Although I had a Bible given to me at the age of six and later New Testament I do not recall carrying my Bible to church.
Fortunately when I was much younger and still in my formative years there was a nearby Baptist Church where my best friend’s father was a preacher. As a result I had a good introduction to Bible verses. Now decades later when I’m in my adopted state of Arizona I attend the local Baptist Church. I was baptized by full immersion there a number of years ago. However and as much as I like this church, I still prefer a small group of believers.
In my opinion, members of a small group bond with each other and often are very supportive of each other. There are no church politics and there doesn't seem to be the clicks in a small group that I too often find in church. The groups I belonged to would get into a very in depth Bible study and everyone was involved in the discussion unlike in a church setting.
To me characteristics of a successful Bible study include:

• Staying small or splitting into more than one group
• An informal setting
• Staying on topic
• Leaders who are well prepared and gently controls the flow of the meeting

The disadvantages of a small group include:

• One person monopolizing the discussion
• The discussion can “fall into a rabbit hole”
• Differences of opinions can get out of control and cause hard feelings
• Some participants seem to be there mostly to find fault with Christianity
• Some participants seem to be there mostly to bloviate

Before my move to Southern California I would spend summers in a RV park in Michigan in an area called “The Bible Belt of Michigan” where we had a wonderful weekly Bible study.

My favorite Bible study is a small group meeting winters at a camping site in the desert in a 10’ x 20’ tent. Arizona gets a lot of “winter visitors” so the group starts out small in the fall and grows through the winter. There is something about the desert that makes me feel even closer to Jesus