If I may use a broad brush stroke here, there seem to be two motivators for a church to (at least attempt to) develop a healthy small-group ministry. Motivator number one is for the sake of the current church attendee. It provides an atmosphere for personal relationship-building and deeper spiritual growth. This motivator has been addressed with a good measure of success, but it's the second motivator that appears to be lacking any significant positive impact on the Kingdom of God.

The other major reason for a church to put time, energy, and resources into a small-group ministry is to provide a backdoor for those spiritually seeking to connect with the church. They may not attend a Sunday morning service, but hey, maybe they’ll go mountain biking!

If we honestly look in the mirror and ask ourselves, "Has this attempt been reasonably successful?" what’s our answer? If you're like most people, you think it’s rather bleak—or, if you've lowered your expectations enough, maybe it is satisfactory. So what's the problem?

To put it bluntly: We're still creating small groups that are mini-services, or creating them with the "hidden" agenda of trying to eventually invite someone to a Sunday morning. To be honest, if I'm an outsider and (to use Paul’s words) the gospel is foolishness to me, then after one "mini-church" I probably won’t come back; or, if I’m mountain biking with a new buddy of mine and after a few rides he asks me to go to church with him, I’ll see through the sales pitch and politely (or not so politely) say no. What’s left, then? The prayer that maybe down the road I’ll see the light—but for the foreseeable future the door's now closed…

So, without abandoning the previous small-group formulas because they do have their place, allow me to suggest an alternative—a third space with a missional approach.

A third space is where we like to spend our time when we’re not at work or at home. It can be something informal like our favorite coffee shop or something more structured like a mom's group or softball team. We often know how to create Christian third spaces—which is completely reasonable—but what about two or three of you finding a place that’s distinctly non-Christian, and begin building relationships there?

It's not formal small-group ministry per se, but it can definitely turn into that. This means thinking outside the box and living outside your comfort zone. It takes time, but it works. Here are a couple ideas that our community is doing:

1) A friend and I are interested in amateur astronomy. So instead of putting together a small group of Christian amateur astronomers with the hopes of inviting non-Christians to come, we found the local astronomy club and will be joining them. It'll take time to build friendships and trust, but I’d rather take the time investing in others without the sales-pitch gospel. Religion and faith will come up eventually—it's almost certain. We’re spiritual beings that hunger for God whether we know it or not. And we have the Holy Spirit who promises to give us the words to say when the time is right. Ever sit next to someone on the plane and religion becomes a topic of conversation? Why not take your small-group time and trust that God can do the same thing in the local knitting club or sports bar?

2) Our second example is more a formal approach. Our community started a group called "The Undercroft: Underground Conversations of Subversive Thinkers"—a philosophy/theology group completely devoid of any particular religious leanings. Even our Undercroft website has no links back to our community or anything Christian. We aren't trying to hide our faith, but we are being intentionally subversive. It's our desire that people come without feeling that "sales pitch."

It's understood that everyone who comes has an equal voice and is free to share distinctive beliefs. We pick a topic, we have a facilitator, and over some refreshments and appetizers at a local pub, we discuss everything from foundationalism to the latest movie. We’ve had agnostics, Buddhists, and a Sufi come, along with several adherent to different "branches" of Christianity. We find common ground, we debate our differences, and we all leave as friends.

Our intention was to hold Undercroft once a month, but it's been so successful that we've gone to twice a month. I firmly believe that when we level the playing field between all "truths," the truth of who Jesus is rises to the top without us ever having to manufacture the sales pitch.

The Gospel was meant to be spread out into the dark places. So use wisdom, be inspired and directed by the Holy Spirit, and follow God's heart into the third spaces. Not only will outreach naturally take place, not only will small groups organically form, but you'll find your own small-group attendees growing in their own faith in a much richer way. The Gospel wasn't just meant to be studied and analyzed, but to be lived out in the dirt and grime of the world. So go to your third space and live your life in Jesus to the fullest.

David Fisher and his wife Makeesha lead the missional community "Revolution" in Fort Collins, Colorado.