Small groups at Grace are a means of allowing the congregation to shepherd and disciple each other, within the bounds of pastoral oversight.
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…” (Eph. 4:11-13)
They facilitate relationships for mutual edification. They are not support or counseling groups, and they are not pure study groups. Rather, they are used to cultivate spiritual fellowship together, a fellowship informed by Scripture and pursued through prayer, study, and interpersonal reflection.
In order to facilitate this, our time together is broken down into three 30-minute blocks consisting of; praying together, discussing the sermon, and considering practical applications; also a break-out time of mens/womens groups where we have the opportunity to be accountable to one another, praying more specifically for each other in areas the Lord is working in our lives.
Each small group meets weekly on an afternoon or evening before Wednesday so we can process the message from the previous Sunday before preparing for the following Sunday’s service of worship by watching the Online Bible Teaching Video.
This ‘Cycle of Worship’ illustrates how Small Groups are integral to our weekly flow of preparing to worship the Lord through prayer and reading, anticipating worship; worshiping on a Sunday morning together as a body of believers; and reflecting through discussion and prayer in Small Groups, before returning to preparing to return the Lord again for the following week.
If you are a Partner of Grace and are interested in being involved in a Small Group, please email smallgroupsleader@gracebrockville.com and we’ll be happy to chat with you further.