“Life change happens in circles, not in rows.” ~ Andy Stanley
The “church” is not a building, a denomination, or a business organization. It’s a family of people who agree about Jesus.
At Faith Lutheran Church, we believe that the family needs to gather together on the weekend in our worship time, but we also believe the family should scatter around the community and meet in small groups during the week. We call these small groups.
What is a small group?
“A micro-community of 3 to 12 Jesus followers doing the Christian life deeply together.” Doing the Christian life deeply together can be seen in the practices of some of the first believers, following Pentecost, as outlined in Acts 2:42-47.
Included in this list are:
- Devotion to living out what they learned from studying God’s Word together (“the apostles’ teaching).
- Devotion to doing life together (“fellowship” or koinonia).
- Eating together and/or partaking of the Lord’s Supper together (“the breaking of bread”).
- Wholehearted, faith-centered prayer that brought about the miracles seen throughout the book of Acts.
- Meeting one another’s needs even when it meant giving up something substantial of their own.
“Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as anyone had a need” (Acts 2:44-45).
Small groups, unlike straightforward Bible studies, make disciples through the utilization of and processing of God’s story as it intersects with our stories. When an individual joins a small group of believers, that person involves herself/himself in the gaining and processing of biblical knowledge in community and utilizes Scripture to get to know a complex God and to understand life in relationship with Him.
Belonging to a Group
Every believer needs a church home, and we also need a small group of other believers for support and encouragement. We believe that spiritual growth happens as we gather regularly with a few other believers, and when we meet, our goals are simple:
- To share each other’s hurts and triumphs.
- To pray for one another.
- To know one another.
- To be accountable to others.
- To encourage one another.
- … and more.
Hosting Your Own Group
What to see life change happen in your living room? Pray now about hosting a small group. You don’t need to be a Bible scholar. You don’t have to be an expert in leadership. We’re looking for people to host groups who…
- Have a heart for people.
- Open their home or find another meeting spot.
- Serve a snack or set the table for conversation.
- Turn on a video or lead a discussion with curriculum we provide.