Original Manuscript The Small-Group Ministry Movement of the Last Four Decades Harley Atkinson Independent researcher Joshua Rose Group Life Pastor, Rush Creek Church (rushcreek.org); adjunct professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, B. H. Carroll Theological Institute, Dallas Baptist University, TX, USA Abstract The modern small-group movement emerged in the 1960s as small groups slowly began to replace the Sunday school as the preferred context for doing Christian formation in the local church. This article summarizes the development of the small- group ministry movement of the last four decades, addresses the current state of small groups in the church, and concludes with brief comments on the future of small groups in the church. Keywords Small groups, small-group movement, small-group facilitator, cell group, Christian formation, Christian education, practitioner. Introduction The use of small groups for Christian formation and leadership development can be traced from New Testament times (Jesus and the Twelve), to the Reformation (the early Anabaptists), to the post-reformation Pietistic movement (led by Philip Spener), and to John Wesley’s eighteenth-century system of disciple-making groups. In the United States and Canada, the Sunday school movement dominated small groups in the first half of the twentieth century. This model was distinguished by Corresponding author: Harley Atkinson, Retired 527 Watson St, Toccoa, GA, Georgia, 30577, USA. Email: harley_atkinson@excite.com Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry 1–13 ª The Author(s) 2020 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0739891320942932 journals.sagepub.com/home/cej Christian Education Journal