At a time when churches should be booming, welcoming outsiders to hear the gospel, it seems that many are clueless as to how to put out the welcome mat. The apostle Paul's method included both public and semi-private venues. There are other factors, however, that make small group studies vital to the Lord's work. The group dynamics are different in a smaller, less formal setting than they are in a large crowd. Jesus would often teach the multitudes and then reinforce a point with His disciples in semi-privacy.
Small groups offer enhanced opportunities for social bonding in a less threatening environment.
More importantly, they enable teachers to focus more personal attention on the needs of individuals. Recent church growth studies have emphasized the importance of small groups as particularly effective in our own culture. We live in an age of alienation. People have lost their sense of community. In American culture today, a small group Bible study in someone's house is probably a much more effective entry point for a typical unbeliever than a worship assembly or a traditional gospel meeting.