Increasingly, small groups are under assault. Adults live incredibly busy lives, and the speed of their days only seems to be accelerating. Even gathering for a one-hour-per-week meeting is difficult for many adults. Work schedules, supporting the extra-curriculum activities of children and youth, and the demands of geographically distant families make it tough for many adults to attend group meetings regularly. Yet these same adults continue to yearn for the closeness of a Christian group.

In many congregations, Bible studies are one of the most vital expressions of adult groups. Adults meet to share their lives and to gather around Scripture. However, the ever-growing challenge is to find enough time to do the listening and sharing that helps build trust and closeness, and to dig deeply into the study of the Bible, where faith is strengthened.

Small groups face a dilemma: How to we hear prayer requests, share the stuff of our lives, and yet also have enough time to hear and study the Scripture?

Can Technology Offer New Tools for Small Groups?
In May 2005, 15 small groups (which soon grew to more than 200) from various churches volunteered to help test a new Web-based service, called “Caleb’s Café,” designed to help small groups in congregations use technology to enhance their fellowship, learning and ministry. The testing groups were asked to do two things: commit to regularly use the service and provide blunt feedback about its usefulness. At the root of the test was the hope that God could use the powerful communication abilities of the Internet to help groups find new ways to connect, learn and grow.

Caleb’s Café, www.calebscafe.com, is designed to provide groups with a private, password-protected, online space where they can easily do the things growing groups need to do: stay connected, support one another, and strive together to learn and grow in faith from Bible study. Groups can find Bible studies, read articles, post announcements or prayer requests, and stay in touch all week. Caleb’s Cafe offers groups a convenient way to spread over an entire week the sort of conversations and study that they normally pack into a one-hour weekly meeting.

Bible Study at Internet Speed
The Internet has trained many people to expect timely news and information. Caleb’s Café test groups made it clear that they wanted the same sort of immediacy and relevancy from a Web-based Bible study.

Johns Creek Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, tested Caleb’s Cafe with 11 of its numerous small groups, ranging from young adult to senior adult groups.

Ricky Letson, minister to adults at Johns Creek, noted one commonality among all of its groups. “We want articles and Bible study materials that help us bring a faith perspective to the things that we see on TV, read in the paper and hear on the radio. Our co-workers talk about movies, music and yesterday’s news, and they sometimes ask questions that need a faith-oriented answer,” he said.

In response, Caleb’s Cafe added “Teachable Moment” articles. These articles are written only a day or two before they are posted and explore the very things that people discuss over a cup of coffee at their local coffee shop.

“What we appreciate is that the Teachable Moment articles include a list of related Bible passages and discussion questions we can use in our group,” said Letson.

Sometimes young adults are stereotyped as interested in shallow Bible study, but that impression was dispelled by the comments of the test groups.

“We heard a strong desire from younger adults to dig deeply into the Scripture,” said Griff Hogan, a member of the Caleb’s Cafe team.

Caleb’s Cafe now also offers an extensive weekly Bible study that helps groups or individuals do solid Bible study.

Groups Come in All Shapes and Sizes
One of the most surprising findings from the test groups is that people wanted to create groups for purposes the creators of the service had not imagined.

There are now youth groups, church finance committees, deacons, building committees, families, women’s and men’s organizations, and church staff groups using the service.
“We accomplished a number of our ancillary conversations via our group on Caleb’s Cafe, leaving the bulk of our deacons’ meeting to the most important issues,” explained Mark McElroy of Woodburn Baptist Church in Woodburn, Kentucky.

“In early 2006, we were approached by a seminary that was looking for a tool to help them offer training and courses for congregations,” said Lex Horton, another member of the Caleb’s Cafe team. “We are already adding new features to the service to help make online teaching easier.”

Test Groups in the Cafe
As feedback poured in from the test groups, the creators of Caleb’s Cafe listened and re-worked the service to better meet the needs of Christian groups.

“It became clear that groups wanted a strikingly easy-to-use service that offered privacy for messages, auto-notification of new posts, and the inclusion of highly relevant Bible study helps,” said Hogan. “Groups were remarkably united in their demands, which challenged us to develop a service that would meet their needs.”

In November 2005, the Caleb’s Cafe team decided to completely overhaul the service based upon the feedback from the test groups. Dubbed “Caleb’s Cafe 2.0,” the re-built service sought to respond to the insights from the test groups.

“We just listened and found a way to do what groups requested,” said David Cassady, the leader of the Caleb’s Cafe team. “The test groups did the hard part, helping identify the things that the service needed to do really well.”

Technology and the Future of Small Groups
The groups that volunteered for the Caleb’s Cafe test suggest that a growing number of adults are eager to put technology to use in the service of faith.

“Technology is just one more tool that God can use to help us grow in faith,” said one group leader. “If it helps our group grow in faith, we’re ready to give it a try!”