18 September 2014
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. – 1 Thessalonians 5:11
There was a time when I grossly underestimated the power of being connected and engaged in a small group.
There was a time when I would put all of my “eggs” into the going-to-church-Sunday basket. When I reflect on that time, it is no wonder to me why I seemed to always come up short at the close of each week.
For me, being connected with a small group gives me the opportunity to truly get to know people outside of church in a way that encourages a “letting down of the church clothes”, if you will. The small group I belong to happens to be affiliated with the church I belong to, but welcomes everyone. Believers and nonbelievers. Church members and non church members.
When I was going through a difficult time on my job my small group gave me insight. When I miscarried and shared it with my small group, they enveloped me with unending love and encouragement. When I had questions about the Bible that I felt too silly to ask in a formal church setting, my small group leader lead me in a direction that let me know it was more than okay to ask questions and provided me with resources. It is not a meeting of “all saints” as I once thought. What it is, however, is a group of people who meet to share their love of Christ and if given the opportunity, become your family because they get to know you.
A small group in essence is that critically important fellowship group that gets to know you intimately and shares life with you.
For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them. -Matthew 18:20
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