Who Is First: Starting and Sustaining Small Groups and Teams

The purpose of this project was to determine the most effective way to launch and sustain missional small group communities based on biblical descriptions of Early Church activities (Acts 2:42-47) and the fivefold Church leadership roles (Ephesians 4:11-13). These two pericopes outline the importance of small groups as well as the necessary leadership required: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds, and Teachers (APEST). Therefore, this project compared small groups started and sustained in traditional ways compared to small groups started and sustained with a leadership structure containing each of the roles of APEST. Moreover, the comparisons clearly indicate APEST based small groups are more effective in being started and sustained as compared to groups started with conventional methods. Therefore, as a result of this research, it is evident small groups should be started by ensuring each group has a leadership team reflective of Ephesians 4:11-13.