Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field (Matthew 13:24).

"The question Do you believe in small groups? is neither right nor wrong; it is late. it is like asking if one believes in rain or automobiles. Groups are! They are springing up spontaneously all over the world wherever God's movement is active and alert."--The Power of small Groups in the Church, p. 15.

Old Testament Principles

God organized Israel into large, medium and small groups when they were released from captivity. They were divided into tribes, which were divided into clans, which were divided into families, which were divided into household.

When Moses attempted to judge the people by himself, Jethro told him to divide the people up into manageable groups (Exodus 18:21-23). Exodus 38:26 states that there were 603,550 men in the camp. For Moses to divided up the camp according to what Jethro had said, he would have to have approximately 60,000 leaders of 10, 12,000 leaders of 50, 6,000 leaders of 100, and 600 leaders of 1,000, for a total of 78,600 leaders. Yet, he was able to create the small groups.

Jesus and Small Groups

When Jesus founded the Christian church, He began with a small group of 12 men. (Matt. 4:18-22, Luke 6:13-16). Even within that group, Jesus had yet a smaller group. He had a smaller group of 4, Himself, Peter, James and John (Matt. 17:1-3; 26:36-37).

Jesus spent most of His time with this small group. He bonded with the member, trained them,  prayed with them and showed them by personal example how the work was to be done. It was also in these small groups that He taught the finer details of God and His plans and proper leadership skills (Matt. 14:13-23; Matt. 24:1-3; Luke 22:24-30; Matt. 18:1-5).

Home-based small groups were also a part of Jesus' ministry. His ministry occurred at home setting: "Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him" (Matt. 13:36). "He went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat" (Luke 7:36). While He was at Peter's house, multitudes were brought to have devils cast out and to be healed (Matt. 8:14-16).

The New Testament Church and Small Groups

The early church were mainly "household of faith" (Gal. 6:10). After Pentecost, the new believer stayed together, "continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house" (Acts 2:46). The members of the new church were reminded that they were members of "the household of God" (Eph. 2:19). Peter used a similar concept when he said they were members of a "spiritual house" (1 Peter 2:5).

When we understand that Christians were hunted and not allowed to build churches, we can better understand why the church was often said to be in the house. For example:  the church in the house of Mary (Acts 12:12), the church in Priscilla and Aquila's house (Rom 16:3-5), the church in Philemon's house (Philemon 2), and the church in the house of Nympha (Col. 4:15).

The following are a list of the type of house meeting that are given in the New Testament:

• Prayer meetings (Acts 12:12)
• Evening of Christian fellowship (Acts 21:7)
• Common meals, possibly Communion services (Acts 2:46)
• A night of prayer, worship, and instruction (Acts 20:7)
• Impromptu evangelistic gatherings (Acts 16:32)
• Planned meetings to present the gospel (Acts 10:22)
• Following up confirmation training meets (Acts 18:26)
• Evangelistic meetings (Acts 20:20)