Getting connected at Grace Church involves participation in both the Sunday morning Gatherings and a Community Group. Sunday Gatherings are a time for worshipful celebration together, hearing the preaching of the Word, imparting the vision of Grace Church, and sharing in Communion. Whereas, Community Groups are the primary way we, disciple one another, connect with one another, and live out the mission of Grace Church. Community Groups are an essential expression of our church’s mission.
Each Community Group will find their own rhythm - meeting regularly (either weekly or bi-weekly) to eat together, learn together, pray together, encourage one another, and be on mission together, living out the Gospel in real and tangible expressions. Being a community-driven people means walking through life together, helping one another become fully-devoted followers of Jesus.
Why Community Groups?
At the heart of the Community Groups ministry is the desire to see a community of believers who worship Jesus, love one another, and embody the mission & vision of Grace Church to make disciples. Community Groups will be the place where the seeds of the preached Word (from the Sunday Gathering sermon) take root and become real as we consider how we may "spur one another on toward love and good deeds" (Heb. 10:24). In other words, our Community Groups will be a place where we encourage and challenge one another to live missional lives and to know Jesus deeper and in more personal ways.
The Practice of Living Missionally:
Our Community Groups will aim at connected our members to call of God to “live sent” – commissioned by Christ to follow his Great Commission for the church (Matt. 28:16-20).
The church is a community of God’s people gathered for his mission; and community, centered and driven by the Gospel, is the vehicle through which God’s mission is carried out. As Gordon Fee points out in Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God, “God is not just saving individuals and preparing them for heaven; rather, He is creating a people among whom He can live and who in their life together will (tangibly) reproduce God’s life and character.” We are to be on mission (i.e., missional) together! It is the mission of the Gospel that is to shape our Christian community and activities.
So our Community Groups will be encouraged to come up with outreach ideas for their group. Here’s a list of some examples - 100 Ways for Community Groups and Individuals to Engage your Neighborhoods.
For more – Grace Church Community Groups
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