June 2025 – TORVINKRELLA

Three Practical Reasons to Hold Some Small Group Meetings Online

Back during the pandemic we heard a lot of complaining about “Zoom fatigue.” People were forced to work from home and meet online and they didn’t like it—as opposed to very different feelings today.

After we got back into church buildings most of us reverted to old patterns often overlooking the power we gained through those once detested meetings.

It is time to take another look at online tools beyond their use in podcasting or staff meetings.

It’s not about the tool—it’s about the people.

Drive Time Is Disciplemaking Lost

Life is full. People are already managing kids, jobs, and packed calendars. When we ask them to drive across town for a midweek small group, we’re often competing with real-world limitations—especially for those barely keeping up with life.

Small groups that meet online can change all that. They let people show up without packing bags, finding childcare, or spending an hour on the road. When the gathering ends, they’re already home. That time savings often makes the difference between someone opting in or drifting away.

We don’t often think of commuting as a spiritual issue—but if it keeps people from community, it is. Removing friction creates space for shared life.

Older Adults Avoid Night Driving (and Tech Can Help)

Most pastors in their thirties and forties haven’t yet felt the hesitation that comes with driving after dark. But for older folks—especially those in their 70s and 80s—it’s a real concern. Eyesight dims. Reactions slow. What was routine starts to feel risky.

These are not people who’ve stopped caring about church. They just don’t want to get behind the wheel at night. I’ve seen this again and again. Faithful, longtime members who gladly show up to serve in daylight hours simply opt out of nighttime gatherings.

But Zoom—or some other tool—gives them a way to re-engage. If we’re willing to meet them halfway—by helping them learn how to click a link and join a meeting—we open the door to a renewed sense of belonging. And don’t underestimate the power of this. These are often the people who helped build your church. They deserve more than a pat on the back. They deserve access to each other and to the care of your church.

Online Meetings Include Otherwise Isolated People

Sometimes the roadblock isn’t driving distance or age—it’s a dynamic at home.

I’ve known believers whose spouses don’t follow Jesus yet tolerate Sunday mornings but draw a hard line on other church activities. It’s hard to grow as a disciple when your living room becomes a war zone every time you want to leave the house.

But online gatherings slip past those boundaries. They allow someone to join community without leaving home, and sometimes that quiet presence on the screen is the only way they can stay connected.

Years ago, before smartphones and Facebook, three women in our church had this problem. So every Friday night, they met by phone in a three-person small group. It worked because it met them where they were. Zoom does that today—only better.

In the End, It’s Not About Tech

This isn’t about technology. It’s about people. And it’s about flexibility in the way we make disciples.

Small group meetings are a tool, not a template. So if a tool makes it easier for busy families, older saints, and isolated believers to follow Jesus together—why wouldn’t we use it?

It’s not a compromise. It’s just good shepherding.

Ralph Moore is the Founding Pastor of three churches which grew into the Hope Chapel ‘movement’ now numbering more than 2,300 churches, worldwide. These are the offspring of the 70+ congregations launched from Ralph’s hands-on disciplemaking efforts.

He travels the globe, teaching church multiplication to pastors in startup movements. He’s authored several books, including Let Go Of the Ring: The Hope Chapel Story, Making Disciples, How to Multiply Your Church, Starting a New Church, and Defeating Anxiety.

The post Three Practical Reasons to Hold Some Small Group Meetings Online appeared first on Newbreed Training.

The Power and Danger of Rules

A friend recently asked me to state, in one word, what I thought could kill a movement. As I reflected on that, my mind went to Acts chapter 15, where the Jerusalem Council met and struck down the whole issue of circumcision. This isn’t about circumcision, but it is about rules.

That was my one word answer—“rules.” Rules that have outlived their original purpose.

I believe rules have their place—they have their time, and then they’re done. Too often, however, rules hang around long after their purpose has expired. Some were meant for a generation ago—or maybe thirty generations ago—and yet they still hold back the work of the Kingdom of God.

If we’re serious about doing the things God has really called us to do, we need to regularly take a hard look at our rules. Maybe once a year, reassess: What are we doing? Why are we doing it? Should we keep doing it—or should we stop?

Lessons from the Jesus Movement

I came up during the Jesus Movement, and so much of what we did back then was considered off-limits by others—at least in their minds. The way people dressed, the simple fact that we served coffee after church—those things upset a whole bunch of people.

Then we got into a tangle with our denomination over something else. We had a 58-year-old aerospace engineer who volunteered his time as an associate pastor. This man had led very successful, large Bible studies in the region where we lived, and he was thrilled with what we were doing as a young church. He joined us wholeheartedly.

But I couldn’t get the denomination to give him a pastor’s license so he could officiate a wedding. I got into a heated argument over this with a wise denominational official. Eventually, he got them to change course and created an entirely new system for licensing pastors trained in local churches, not seminaries.

A New Generation Facing Old Rules

This brings me to a conversation I had a few weeks ago with a very exciting young couple. I had met three men, all missionaries from Liberia to the United States, serving alongside their wives. All of them are church planters, and all hope to multiply more churches.

One of these men is married to an American woman who had been trafficked in the sex industry as a young girl. The remarkable thing is that these people are now doing short-term missions to Kenya, where they have met young girls caught in similar situations.

The big problem? Their denomination has a rule: no woman can be a pastor. And these young women in Kenya don’t trust men—for obvious reasons.

She wanted to start an online church for these girls.

I felt my role in this situation was to remind this brave young woman that she wasn’t hired by the denomination, and that she could choose to do what God was putting before her. I’m not sure where that’s all going to lead, but I have a strong feeling it’s going someplace good.

Once again, the rules in place have their reasons. I happen to disagree with this particular rule to some extent. But in the end, the rules aren’t the main issue—the young girls in need of a pastor are.

And if this young woman is able to shepherd them through WhatsApp and other social media platforms, then she should be free to do what God has clearly placed in her lap.

Balancing Submission and Speaking Up

We need to remain submitted to our leaders and their wisdom. But we also need to learn when to respectfully push back and to hope and pray that, like the men at the Jerusalem Council, our leaders will respond to genuine spiritual need the way those men did when Paul and Barnabas presented their case.

What About You and Me?

My point here isn’t really about them—or even about the people who seem to be blocking ministry efforts in Kenya. This is about you and me, and whether we’re willing to assess the rules and policies we’ve put in place over the years—and ask if they’ve outlived their usefulness.

In our church staff, we always made this kind of assessment during our annual planning meetings. We intentionally looked for ministries that had outlived their usefulness so we could shut them down or phase them out.

It would have been wise for us to do the same with our policy manual. Throughout the year, we developed policies based on decisions we made, and at the end of each year, we would try to harvest those decisions that seemed worthy of becoming formal policy.

But we never quite figured out that we should spend the same amount of time asking which existing policies had outlived their usefulness.

The post The Power and Danger of Rules appeared first on Newbreed Training.

Summer Home Refresh

To kickoff summer, I’ve been making small updates around the house. Sometimes the smallest update can make such a huge difference! Here are a few of my new recent home finds I’m loving 〰️

I just got this new neutral rug for our living room and it has been a bestseller for awhile now. I love how it brightened up the room so much. Its on major sale right now – over 50% off!

Rug // White Chair // Faux Tree // Frames // coffee table bowl // coffee table box

last week I did a powder bathroom refresh. I still need to get some family pics in the frames but Targets new home arrivals are so good and an affordable way to freshen up a space! I added these frames to the wall, and the towel holder and flowers for height. Everything linked here.