Not only do you have to feed a newly baptized one, but you must bring him to a nearby small group meeting as well. You need to tell him, “Christians are communal. They are not like the butterflies. Rather they are like the bees and the sheep. Let me take you to see a group of Christians nearby.” However, by bringing him to the small group meeting, you should not let the others take over your job; you have to continue feeding and caring for him.
Concerning the small group meetings, I would first beg you to drop the all too legal practice that you have had before. The principle of attending the small group meeting is the same as that for the home meeting. You must be a person who is revived. Before you go to the meeting, you must first pray and have yourself enlivened. You must confess your sins thoroughly and be filled with the Holy Spirit completely. In this way, you will be a praying, singing, and living person. The small group meeting should consist of the following five things: fellowship, prayer, mutual care, the teaching of the truth, and the guidance in life. The Chinese are traditionally taught to be quiet. But when we come to the small group meeting, the minute we see each other, we have to speak. One may say, “The Bible is wonderful. This morning I read Matthew chapter one. The name Jesus Christ is really sweet.” Another may say, “Yes, I also realize that Jesus Christ is wonderful. However, maybe I could share something with you. I don’t know why, but for the whole day today, I have had a problem with coughing.” In this way the fellowship begins. Perhaps by that time not everyone has arrived yet. You do not have to wait for everyone to be there. Instead you can start praying, “O Lord, remember our brother’s cough.” After the prayer, perhaps one brother would say that he has a good remedy, that it is not expensive, but is very effective, and that this brother can try it. This is what we mean by mutual care.
In this way, the brothers and sisters will get to know each other and will care for each other like members of the same family. This way will capture, support, and perfect people. The brother that you have invited may ask a question, “I have read the Bible, and I have listened to you speaking on justification and reconciliation. But what do all these terms mean?” Once this question is raised up, everyone will answer. After one finishes, another may add on, with more points. The older and more mature ones can speak something deeper at the end. We must build up an atmosphere where everyone answers. In this way, everyone speaks and will not take up much time. Perhaps some may bring out a question, “What does the life of God mean?” Everyone begins to answer again. In the answer there is the teaching of the truth as well as the guidance in life. If throughout the fifty-two weeks of the year there is this kind of teaching week after week in the small group meetings, everyone will receive much edification in truth and life. Moreover, everyone will be able to tell others about these things. This is what we mean by an organic practice.
Those that we have begotten through the gospel are nourished in the home meetings. They are also taught in the small group meetings. This teaching is the perfecting. It is like the perfecting of a soldier in the army. First, he is taught the marches and the steps. Then, he is equipped from head to foot. Lastly, he is provided with guns and bullets. This is the perfecting described in Ephesians 4:12.
I hope that the brothers and sisters would not merely listen to these words, but that you would set your mind before God to practice these points. First, we must go out to preach the gospel. Second, we must nourish the newly saved ones. Third, we must bring them to the small group meetings that they may receive the fellowship, the intercession, the care, the teaching, and the leading. To do this, we must first consecrate our time before the Lord. Every week we have to set aside two evenings. In principle, one evening is for saving people, and the other is for the small group meetings. The Lord will surely bless this kind of practice.
(A message given by Brother Witness Lee in Taipei on March 12, 1989)