Community
Community: Why our small groups are important?
JOIN A BETHEL SMALL GROUP
There are often two kinds of churches, a church that has some groups, or a church where Small Groups make up the larger body of Christ. Although we don’t mandate small group ministry for membership, we strongly encourage everyone who becomes a member to also belong to a small group because they play such a vital important part to our Christian walk. We believe strongly that the preaching of the word is vital to a thriving church but we also know that you can’t live the Christian life in one to two hours on a Sunday morning. Being in Community is very important in the Christian life.
We also encourage you if you are not a member yet but would like to visit a small group to get to know us, please ask or click the link below and we would love to have you.
We believe these are 5 benefits that we should consider being a part of a Small Group.
1. There is no lone ranger Christianity, fight the idea that you’re supposed to live life alone, the church is to be your spiritual family.
2. This allows you time for Fellowship and one-on-one discipleship.
3. These are the places where transparency and bearing and sharing one another’s burdens take place. Where mutual encouragement and prayer happen.
4. This is where we learn about outreach and evangelism as part of our daily walk.
5. This is also where new leaders have an opportunity to use their giftings.
why Small Groups ?
MADE IN GODS IMAGE
We are all made in the image of God, and part of that image is community. Through the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, that God is one God who exists eternally as three persons in the eternal, perfect community, we understand that humans not only long for but are also made for our community to reflect the image of the Triune God.
Much of the loneliness, pain, and fragmentation we feel in life is a result of sin marring our image of God and putting a wedge between our relationships as God designed them. Our Small Groups are organic but seek to redeem biblical community by making ways to meaningfully connect with other Christians.
BODY OF CHRIST
In the Bible, the church is spoken of as a body often. This imagery points to the reality that we are all interconnected and depend on one another in life much like a body relies on all its parts to function well.
This is usually quite different from the way most people view church which is generally an event you attend on Sundays to be checked off the calendar. Although we do believe Sundays are important, the church is not a service but the people who come together to worship on Sundays and then live life throughout the week at home, work, and society. As the church, Christians are to take the primary role in serving each other, helping each other grow to be conformed to the image of Jesus, and caring for the hurting and injured members of the body.
OWNERSHIP – RESPONSIBILITY TO THE ONE ANOTHERS
The Priesthood of the Believer
As the church, it’s the duty and responsibility of Christians to not rely on a handful of pastors or paid staff to fulfill the church’s calling to make disciples; rather, we believe it’s important for all Christians to take ownership of their role in the church’s calling by participating in making disciples and growing as disciples. Small Groups are active groups. More than just a Bible study or a prayer group, although we do those things, members take the initiative to build friendships with one another, participating in serving one another and our community, and in this way we are learning more about the Bible and Jesus together.
