Belonging I

Ever been told that 'the best way to really belong to this church is to join a small group'?

Small groups can be great things. But did you know that across the board, only about 30 per cent of congregation members ever end up staying in them?

If they are the place in which people find 'belonging' in the church, then does that mean that the 70 per cent who don't find their place in a small group really don't belong?

Joseph Myers' book The Search to Belong has an interesting take on the whole idea of belonging. (Check out Myers' blogspace here.)

He argues that there are four 'spaces' or types of belonging. And small groups only deliver one or two specific kinds of connection. A person’s search for community is far more complex than this. People can experience belonging in groups ranging in size from 2 to 2000.

Watch this space for more on the four spaces of belonging. It's a concept I'll be bringing into my talks on friendship in July.