Small Group Ministry
PURPOSE
Scripture calls us to express love, care, concern, and brotherly affection toward one another. Answering that call with only our interactions on a Sunday morning can be difficult. To help fulfill this part of our walk with the Lord we have intentionally set out to bring us together in smaller groups where deeper relationships can form. We accomplish by incorporating small groups or closer fellowship into the structure of each ministry (youth, college, men, women, and seniors), and by encouraging and supporting various forms of small groups under our small group ministry. The latter fall into four categories: Bible Study Groups, Fellowship Groups, Prayer Groups, and Outreach Groups. These groups gather throughout the week at the church, in homes, at local coffee shops, etc. While every group includes some level of all Bible study, fellowship, prayer, and outreach, the category a group falls under indicates the primary emphasis of that group.
LIFE GROUPS
Life Groups gather to build close relationships that can provide support and encouragement through the various circumstances of life. These groups bring friends together in a home on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. They might focus on specific areas of life or life stages, they might be formed by those who live in the same area, or they might just be a group that has come together because of the close relationships they had with one another. Typically, these groups will have a balance of fellowship, Bible study, and prayer.
BIBLE STUDY GROUPS
Bible Study Groups gather for an in-depth study through a book of the Bible or to work through a Bible study series. These groups seek to help one another to grow in our knowledge and understanding of the word while encouraging each other to live it out.
PRAYER GROUPS
Prayer Groups gather to fellowship and care for one another as they lift the individual and corporate needs of the church in prayer. These groups seek faithfully express our needs to God and represent our corporate dependence on God through prayer. The focus is to provide faithful prayer concerning all we do here at Calvary Bible Church so that God’s power is recognized and seen by answers to those prayers.
OUTREACH GROUPS
Outreach Groups gather based on common interests, making it easy to invite the unsaved and the unchurched to join. Interests as varied as biking, sewing, playdates, fishing, etc. These groups seek use the common interests and time spent together to intentionally lead into spiritual discussions that can draw those in the group closer to God.