Homegroup Questionaire
More thoughts, this time from the “personal” section.
Q: What has God laid on your heart in regards to a small group?
Small groups are a slice of the wider church. What the wider church is in the grand scale, so a small group should be in miniature; the small group should express the same DNA as it’s parent church. What the main church values - worship, bible, evangelism, fellowship, etc - the small groups should reflect. Where the small group differs is that it’s a place to be connected with one another, a place to exlpore faith in a community setting.
Everyone is on a faith journey and the small group is a place for fellow travellers. The apostle Paul, when speaking at the Areopagus, noted that there was an alter built “to an unknown god” in Athens at the time. I believe that God is already at work in people, drawing them to himself, and our lives could be thought of as being like the city of Athens in Paul’s day. Some of us have yet to come into a relationship with Jesus - but His Spirit is at work in our lives to draw us to Him. In that place group members can provide positive feedback and clarification of the unknown god. Once we have come to know this God for ourselves, and have made a commitment to follow Jesus, there are still the idols of other “gods” in our lives to deal with. None of us are perfect, nor is our life spotless and pristine. We all have issues and a small group is the place to interact with God’s Word to highlight them, to receive prayer and allow God’s Spirit to free us.
Q: Is there a certain group of people that you want to reach out to, or need that you’d like to fulfill?
I want to see people grow in faith. I would like the group to be open enough that people who would fall on the negative portion of the Engel scale to be welcome to come, to belong, and to process issues of faith. I dont want a group made up of people who’re mature believers who want a social club!
On the flip-side, I want to see people taking steps of faith in leadership. So, a mix of mature and new believers seems to be needed. I want the group to be a place where people feel safe about stepping out and trying new things - leading bible study, praying for others, leading worship, organizing an event, sharing a prophetic word, and so on.
Q: What do you want people in your group to experience?
In a word? The Greek translation of the Old Testament (Septuagint) translates the Hebrew word “Yasha” as the Greek “Sozo.” In English: salvation, healing, wholeness, deliverence, freedom. I want to see people come into an experience of Salvation in Jesus, and to grow in their salvation in the fullest sense of the word.