More Than a Small Group
By Sean Blackburn

Personal Essay

I sit on a hard plastic chair, waiting my turn to bowl, as pins colliding echo throughout the alley. Since nine of us are bowling, we have to get two separate lanes. One of the guys brags that no one can beat him because he took a bowling class last semester. We know he is right. None of us are any good; in fact most of us hope just to break 100. These are the same guys I have been with since my freshman year at Whitworth and my friendship with them is deeper than all the others at school. Tonight is a Friday night in Spokane and I'm with my Small Group.

A few days later I walk into the apartment where we meet during the week. As I enter the door, Joel, the leader of our Small Group and also the owner of the apartment, welcomes me with a big hug and a warm smile. A few of the guys already are hanging out in the living room. They lay on the couches with their shoes on and their feet hanging off the edge as if they own the furniture. One of the guys goes on about how lame the food is in the cafeteria while the other two laugh and sip on a can of Mountain Dew. I instantly chime in with a story about how a few days ago I bit into an apple that was soft enough to be a marshmallow. Everyone instantly bursts out into laughter.

Later on in the night, when everyone else has arrived, we open up about how we can pray for each other. Minutes into the discussion, I explain how hard the semester has been for me and wonder whether I will be able to make decent grades. I am afraid about my grades – if they don't start improving and my GPA drops to below 3.0, then I will lose my scholarships. I already know what my friends are going to say. We have met weekly for two full years now and I know most of the guys as well as I know myself. I listen anyway, as one guy talks about a problem at home with his parents. Everyone nods understanding, and then shares their stories in turn. Unlike most prayer requests I hear around school, I know I won't forget to pray for the things I hear in this group.

After we close in prayer, an awkward silence fills the room. Joel cracks a joke and everyone explodes with laughter. Everyone knows Small Group is over and they can go home, but no one will leave for another 20 or 30 minutes.