Small Groups
Edgefield small groups represent a beautiful and important facet of our life together as a congregation. These groups meet weekly in homes for the course of the school year (September-May). For more information or to connect with a group, contact Jonathan Worsley.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF Edgefield SMALL GROUPS?
Our basic calling as Christians is to discipleship. We’re called to be disciples. To follow Jesus who showed what it is to love God with all we are and to love each other with a distinctive, sacrificial love. And we’re called to make disciples. To help others understand, trust, and live for what God has promised them through Jesus. We can’t be faithful to our calling to be disciples and make disciples without each other.
WHAT DO SMALL GROUPS LOOK LIKE WEEK-TO-WEEK?
Discipleship is less a program than a lifestyle. It is life-involving friendship in which we point each other to Jesus. That said, the core experience in every small group is a weekly gathering in a home. These gatherings begin with a meal and then shift to a time of spiritual conversation and prayer. On most weeks after dinner the groups divide up by gender, which allows more time for each person to share and makes greater openness more comfortable. Though there is always some variety from one group to another, weekly discussions generally aim to provide three things:
A safe environment for processing what’s going on in our lives: It is in our response to real life circumstances that we see what our hearts truly love, trust, and obey. We must help each other analyze our lives with grace and careful discernment, always considering how we can encourage each other towards love and holiness (Heb. 10:25).
A support group for practicing Christian disciplines together: The primary way we grow to love God and his promises above all else is to engage with him through the Bible and through prayer. In our groups, we help each other pursue these things in more consistent and fruitful ways.
An opportunity for prayer over each other: When we open our lives to each other–where we’re encouraged, where we’re afraid, what we’re struggling against or struggling towards–we’re carried naturally into specific prayer over each other. And our times of prayer as a group help to guide our prayer for each other throughout the week.