Community Groups 2010
What are community groups? How will they look? How will they function? Let me take a brief stab at answering these questions.
“…because the times in my life when I have been most happy haven’t been the times when I’ve had the most money or the most freedom or the most anything, but rather when I’ve been in love or in community or right with people.”
– Donald Miller, ‘Searching for God Knows What’
On Sundays we gather as Living Hope to celebrate our love for God and one another and hear the preached word. We catch up with friends we haven’t seen throughout the week and welcome guests who are checking out us and Jesus. Sundays are also the time we are reminded of our who we are together as Living Hope Church: a local church to St. Joseph and Maryville, a member of the Newfrontiers family of churches that stretches around the world, and as part of that great cloud of witnesses which stretches down through the ages.
Community groups are smaller groups of people that gather in homes throughout our community to ‘live life together.’ They ideally consist of 15-20 people who meet together as a community group once per week. They share a meal or a snack (depending on the group), enjoy a short time of worship together (this can be in song, the reading of a Psalm or a poem depending on the talents and gifts resident within that group), explore how what was taught in the previous Sunday’s preach can be applied and worked out in our everyday lives, break bread (communion), and finally, pray together and for one another.
Most groups last approximately 1 1/2 hours officially, but as friendship grows, you may hang out late into the evening. Childcare will be arranged as needed depending on the group.
Community groups are where we care for one another. We do this in practical ways, like preparing meals for a new mother and her family, helping with that move into a new house or apartment, making hospital visits, and the like. They are where we share “the stuff of life” and bear one another’s burdens in love.
Should you join a community group? The answer is yes! Father God created us to live out our Christian life in community. God exists in perfect community and He designed us to live in community with Him and others.
As we learn to live our life together in these community groups, our hope is that our lives are changed more and more to look like Jesus’. As this happens, we then look outside ourselves – which we are always called to do, it’s not one or the other, it’s both – and invite our friends, neighbors and co-workers to join us in this new community. We believe everyone is looking for connection, friendship and deep community. It’s how we’re made.
I very much encourage you to join a community group and be a part of the mission we are on together: Connecting people to Jesus, His church and the world.
[...] it’s a new semester for Community Groups in St. Joseph! Please do read Jeff’s post on 2010 Community Groups if you haven’t already. We are looking forward to a great season of fellowship together and [...]