When Christians hear the term "small group," the general connotation is more-so along the lines of "Bible Study" or "people who are super good Christians hold a book club for the Bible."

But during my time as a dedicated follower of Christ, I have found that at the center of a successful small group is community: having a group of men (and/or women) meeting together weekly (and outside of the scheduled time), coming together to support each in their walk with God, and in life in general.

I remember back when same-sex marriage was legalized in 2015, it felt good that I could meet with my small group (a collection of juniors and seniors in high school) to discuss the recent legislative milestone of our country, and what it meant for America going forward. We had Christian men who were against the passing of it, but also men who supported (and still support) the progress of overarching human rights in the United States.

I bring up this politically charged small group experience because now more than ever I am seeing in a very up close and personal way how much America's youth (especially those who are stepping into their faith with God) are politically engaging. And that's not just happening on a nationwide scale: political discussion is slowly continuing to influence and be at the forefront of discussion among bodies of Christ followers.

While small groups will always be an essential strategy in the fellowship and discipleship of Christians, they become ever more relevant when considering our current political climate. Small groups go beyond theological debate (and often should never be boiled down to being as such). Since at the center of a successful small group is communal support and deeper, personal discussion, this allows small groups to function as a way to help us as Christians in wrestling with the politics we are partaking in and watching unfold in a Jesus-centered way.

Small groups provide a safe environment for us to be vulnerable about our beliefs. While a group of men or women attending a small group may all at least be interested in who Jesus is, and intrigued in what it means to follow Him, that doesn't mean we will always see eye to eye on every political topic and issue. Even in Jesus' first small group (His original twelve disciples), he had both Matthew, a tax collector who worked for the Roman government and Simon, a zealot, who militantly opposed the Roman government. Here, we see that even Jesus' opening invited and initiated fellowship with two people who possessed heavily opposing political views. In the same way, initiating fellowship and honesty about where we are at politically (within the context of being Jesus followers and deriving our wisdom and truth from His Word) will greatly help us wrestle through and seek to understand other perspectives on politics. In doing so within a small group setting, these conversations become God-breathed encounters where His Grace, Peace, and Patience guides us.

Also, small groups give us the chance to take in Scripture to direct our attitudes and worldviews. Through studying God's Word, we see His own views and treatment of His people. The Gospels (the historical documentation of Jesus's life on Earth) are the best way to see God's flesh-and-blood interaction with all kinds of people: those for and against government, those who work in small business, the deathly sick, those who may not be fully able-bodied, and even people of varied national origin and background. In studying the Word we see God's ideal view and treatment of various sociopolitical situations, particularly through how His Son lives out His life on Earth.

Finally, small groups allow us to sort through the darker, heavier aspects of our politics through praying for and with each other. When we as a small group pray together, we are giving the Spirit of God the space to work within us. Prayer allows meditation on current events and a place to seek the voice of the Lord, who understands how to deal with tough political situations and discussions better than we do! We need to debrief after a heated discussion of political matters. We should be wishing to seek for our government to carry out their duties with similar Godly Love and Grace. As the apostle Paul writes: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6 NIV). Prayer (especially aloud and together) intimately binds community and gives our worries and disagreements over to God who, again, knows how to deal and bring order to them better than anyone else!

Small groups are vital to ministry: they are how we build deeper, personal relationship in the larger church body, allowing us to mimic how Jesus personally connected and strived to have deep, God-filled conversation with people on a face-to-face, intimate level. By dedicating the time and space within our small groups (and interactions with each other outside of our regularly scheduled meeting time) to the Lord, we provide healthy, safe, Spirit-filled space to communicate even the most divisive of political ideas. Small groups will always be important to the work of the Kingdom, but their potential amidst our current political climate is something that must be harvested and intentionally cultivated. To not do so is to fall into our current culture's trappings of visceral attacking, feud-focused division, and the idea that people are irredeemable if they ever so slightly lean one way politically or another. None of that is God's intention for how we operate as Christ following communities, and it shouldn't be our intention, either.