The proof is in the congregations. People love their groups. One man told me, 'I came to church for intimacy, to connect. Our Sunday attendance is running at Christmas and Easter numbers every week. We had all our religious education teams signed by August.
People talk about the groups at coffee hour.
Covenant groups meet for two hours once or twice a month. The leader keeps the group on time and on topic. They are organized around Bible study, canasta, hymn singing, play reading, gourd artistry, and other topics. After our minister left, our energy was kind of low, but the groups have changed that. The Rev. Glenn Turner, who conducts small-group workshops in the Northeast, cautions against rushing to create groups without securing a base of knowledgeable support.