If you wish to know more about small group life then feel free to contact Andrew Attwood on 315399
Welcome to the core of St. Mary's!
St. Mary's church regards its small groups as the basic building block of church life. We place high value on fun and friendship, with a clear focus on Jesus at the centre of every group.
There are several small groups that meet formally at various times throughout the week. However, our emphasis is on authentic community and strong relationships, which goes way beyond simply meeting together.
The presence of Jesus with us
We're convinced that the only thing that properly and effectively changes people or situations for the better is the presence, ministry and ethos of Jesus Christ in the world, and human beings doing whatever he says. Nothing else works like he does. So, as a church, we create space for Jesus through the development of high quality small groups functioning in the wider community.
Church: Jesus style
Lets look at Jesus. His mission was to transform the whole world, and yet he spent over 60% of his ministry developing just twelve disciples. It seems that his mission to the world would be most effectively spread as groups of people spent time with him and 'caught' his ministry. The gospel, lifestyle and values of Jesus Christ show his total commitment to making disciples. Jesus handed on this responsibility to the church; to make others into disciples just as Jesus had done with the first twelve. Those disciples were the first small group and through his time with them Jesus demonstrated what discipleship looked like. He left us his values, commands and his method to imitate.
Learning from the Twelve
When we look at the Twelve, what can we imitate? What principles could we adopt for small groups today? First, we need to be small groups that are centred on the presence, teaching, activity and ethos of Jesus himself, now available through his Holy Spirit and the scriptures. Second, we also need to be groups committed to be fully involved in Jesus' continuing mission and ministry on earth. These principles underpin our commitment to being a small group based church.
Vision and values
Our small groups are focussed on this simple summary of Jesus' message and ministry: 'To love God, each other, and those in the world'.
What this means in practice is the gradual creation of groups which are centred on Jesus himself, with a commitment to personal growth and numerical growth. The presence of God is something we both cherish and wish to share with others. We want to help everyone discover their ministry and maintain an atmosphere of openness and honesty to help this happen. Because relationships are the most important and demanding part of life, we are committed to loving others in sacrificial ways. These basic values help us to shape the life of the small groups.
Current Development
We are in the process of developing small group life as a key priority in achieving our goals of numerical growth and improved discipleship, and the next year or so will see more and more emphasis on group dynamics. To help give a flavour of this, the following ingredients will be increasingly the norm:
Each group has a leader, and will soon have an apprentice leader alongside them. The intention is to always grow new leaders to help facilitate preparation to multiply each group into two as numbers increase. Each group will tend to follow the following structure in its meetings :
Welcome, Word, Worship, Well-being, Witness
This simple structure helps to keep our vision and values on the group's agenda.
Activity
Every group will be involved in bible application: taking key principles and applying them to our lives, and will be growing in the habit of praying more effectively for each other. The groups will routinely be involved in socials, practical service and events that are accessible to friends yet to know Christ. This isn't a chore, but a natural overflow of the life of Jesus in our groups. 'The kingdom of God is like a party' and this idea influences the feel of our small groups.
Equipping track
There are three Equipping Track courses now running throughout the year: Joining the Community, Living the Life and Discovering Your Gifts and Ministries. For more details contact Andrew Attwood on 315399.
