Small Groups - Foundation of The Experiment

The Pittsburgh Experiment groups are open to everyone. Anyone is welcome to attend. There are men's groups and women's groups, there are mixed groups. There's no set number-anywhere from 2 to 12 people can have a meaningful session.

The groups usually, meet for an hour a week, before work or during lunch or in the evening. Some groups meet in an office conference room with brown-bag lunches, others in restaurants. They begin on time and end when promised.

The elements of the meeting are fairly Simple--sharing and prayer. Each week the members take turns leading the session. If a person has attended a couple of meetings, he or she if willing, would be capable of leading the meeting with its simple format. The leader of the day opens with prayer and by sharing something that's been happening in his or her life-a problem God solved, a Scripture with new meaning, perhaps something he or she has just come to understand, or a failure, an article just read, a book that has been challenging, or a problem that he or she faces. By being open, personal and current, he or she sets the tone for the meeting and helps new people understand what's going on.

When the sharing has ended, the meeting then ends with prayer.

Small groups are vital because over a period of time they provide a place:

• Where non-believers, skeptics, disillusioned as well as Christians can come to discover the saving power of the living Christ in their daily lives.
• Where a person can discover who he or she is and experiment with new steps in growth both spiritually, and personally.
• Where people can help one another discover a freedom to be themselves; to accept themselves; to know, accept and love each other as persons.
• Where people can come together in the framework of their vocational day to receive support and enabling power to work through the personal problems of the business and work scene and other involvements.
• Where a person can begin to see that he or she is not alone. Through the group sharing, it is discovered that others in the group are either where the individual is in needs or circumstances or that they have been there.
• Where there can be hope and assurance, as individuals can see each other change and as individuals witness to the fact that a living Christ has done the changing.