The Small Group

The eighteenth century was marked by spiritual revival, both in Britain and the U.S. The Wesley brothers and George Whitefield drew tens of thousands with powerful open-air preaching, resulting in thousands of enthusiastic believers zealous for their newfound faith. Yet this large public revival was sustained by small, private group meetings.

John Wesley incorporated the new converts into smaller groups called private societies, classes, or bands that met weekly to discuss the progression of their spiritual lives. They were known as Methodists by their critics, because they were seen to be methodical and intentional in developing their spiritual lives.

Wesley had been influenced by the Holy Club, a group of dedicated Oxford students who sought to improve their spiritual lives through specific disciplines. During the period of his involvement from 1729-1735, Wesley still didn't regard himself as a true believer; but after his conversion in 1738, he would return to the small group idea, transforming it into a gathering where spiritual experience itself would become the main focus.

Probably the most comprehensive manual explaining the role of these small groups was written by Welsh preacher and spiritual writer William Williams. His The Experience Meeting gives us insight into some of those early Methodist societies. He made it clear that they were not Bible study groups or preaching meetings, but gatherings dedicated to mutual encouragement in the practice of Christian living.

Williams saw such groups as a means of

• maintaining spiritual warmth,
• strategizing against the devil's temptations,
• encouraging mutual love,
• being spiritually and morally accountable,
• providing opportunities for bearing one another's burdens,
• testifying to God's ongoing providential care, and
• enabling individual believers to present a united front against Satan.

Methodists had no time for an individualistic, do-it-yourself Christianity. Wesley himself noted, "Christianity is essentially a social religion; and to turn it into a solitary religion is indeed to destroy it" (Methodism and the Common People of the 18th Century, R. F. Wearmouth, 1945, p. 229). He believed that the visible outer life was a clear indicator of the health of the inner spiritual one.

The depth of honesty and vulnerability practiced in the Methodists' small groups is evident from the questions drawn up for each meeting:

• Do you desire to be told your faults?
• Is it your design to be entirely open ... without exception, without disguise, and without reserve?
• What known sins have you committed since our last meeting? What temptations have you met with?
• Has no sin, inward or outward, dominion over you?

In the small group—with a mixture of spiritual advice, close emotional feelings, and mutual accountability—thousands of Methodist converts maintained the freshness and warmth of their first love. They refused to let their experience congeal into a mere memory of past encounters with God. They sought ongoing spiritual revival.



Bibliography
The Experience Meeting, William Williams,
Regent College Reprint, 1995.

Kevin Adams was born in South Wales and has authored two books and a film on Welsh revival history. He is the senior pastor of East Baptist Church in Lynn, Massachusetts.