Community Groups
If you distilled all the letters in the New Testament down to their irreducible minimum, to the essence of what they are all about, we believe you would find one word…
C O M M U N I T Y
Think about it. Each book in the New Testament is about imperfect people, learning to love, forgive, embrace and relate with other imperfect people. Each book is saturated with relational language - forgive, serve, share, encourage, stimulate, build up, honor, respect, speak truth, be compassionate. Each book is at the core, a call to authentic, life enhancing and life changing community. In Community Groups we learn to live together like Jesus lives - in loving obedience to the Father and in loving commitment to one another.
Needless to say, while community is essential, it is far from easy. Community means each person makes a “common commitment” to know others and be known by others, to allow the Scripture to define what is true and what matters most, and to be answerable to others for our progress in maturing spiritually. And while that scares us, deep in our hearts, we know it is exactly what we long for because we were made to live life this way.
We believe the hard work of community pays off in real joy, real life and real hope as we discover those things in life that really are worth living for. Click here to view a video of community in action.
In addition, Community Groups are the primary channel of care and accountability at Fellowship. Each Community Group is led by a leader who is responsible to provide an environment and promote opportunities for those in their fellowship to grow in spiritual maturity and are overseen by our Community Group pastoral team - Doug Martin & Brad Tunnell - North, Tom Clagett - East, Larry Kayser - West, and Dan Vorm - South. Key elements of every group are prayer, care, service and spiritually-stimulating study. Our diversity of ages and seasons of life requires that curriculum be relevant and adaptable so we offer a wide variety of topics that are customized to the particular needs of a group. Click here to view of map of how Community Groups breakout.
Groups meet during the school year September – May two or three times each month depending on the group for prayer, fellowship and study, with elements of both service and socializing built-in throughout the year. Most groups remain intact for 2-3 years, though an open-registration is offered each spring for those desiring a group change.
You join a Community Group by completing both our Discovery One and Discovery Two classes. At the end of Discovery Two, our team will place you in a group that works well for you geographically, with consideration also given to your interests and season of life.
For more details on Community Groups, please contact Doug Martin.
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