Homegroups

For information on Home Groups email Information

Why Home Groups?

In the pages of the New Testament, we find descriptions of early church life that are very appealing. It seems clear that many of these early groups of Christians were very dynamic, close, and exciting. Consider for example the following statements:

"And everyone was filled with awe...and all the believers were together and had everything in common...they broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of the people. And the Lord was adding daily to their number those who were being saved. (Acts 2:43-47)
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we shall grow up in all things to him who is the Head, that is Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Eph. 4:15,16)

We are told that the basis for this closeness and mutual fulfillment is the fact that God has arranged a special role for each Christian in his or her local Christian community:

All [spiritual gifts] are the work of one and the same Spirit, as he gives them to each one just as he determines. The body is a unit though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ...God has arranged all the parts of the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be...The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!...so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. (I Cor.2:11,12,18,21,25)

But how are we to discover this role that God has planned for us? One part of the answer lies in forming caring relationships with other Christians. It is in this context that we are best able to "speak the truth in love" and to "have equal concern for each other." This is why we have Home Groups.

Home Groups in the Parish

Daytime Group:

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This meets at St Mary's Church at 11am on the 3rd Tuesday of the month. The Group is run by the Vicar, Karl and the Parish Administrator, Claire. We start with a hot drink and a chat and then we look at questions about the Christian faith. It is open for people of no faith and of little faith or of long standing faith who would like to ask all kinds of questions about Christianity without fear of condemnation or criticism. We will pray together and explore what the Bible may say about various issues.

Danny's Group:

Meets at St Mary's Church on various dates, about once every two weeks. We are a mixture of lifelong and new Christians and there is a warm, family feel to the group. We spend part of the meeting sharing what God has been doing in our lives and praying for each of us. Our focus in Bible study is how the concepts of our faith such as grace and sacrifice can be real in our every day lives. This group seeks to place Christ at the very centre of everything we do. We never assume to know the answer but we are always seeking the truth.

David's Group:

· Our home group is called “Just looking with Curry”. “Just looking” – because we welcome anyone who just wants to come once as they are “Just Looking” at what a home group involves. “With Curry” – because we usually have curries during our meetings but that’s not a requirement.

· Our home group is presently seven strong but busy lives mean that we often only have 4 or 5 at our home group meetings. So we’re looking for 2 or 3 more members.

· There are 4 women and 3 men in our group. The women are all mums with young children but age is not a bar – David Bridger is our leader and another pensioner is a regular.

· We usually meet for about 2 hours on alternate Tuesday evenings starting at 8.00pm.

· We enjoy ourselves in discussing a whole range of aspects from the Bible.

If you would like to know more about this group e mail 'Just Looking with Curry'

Kim's Group:

For those who want to journey along a path of Christian discovery and discipleship, where we join in questioning, probing and thought provoking bible based discussions; for those who are willing to open their hearts and share in fellowship, where we care, encourage and support one another in prayers and deeds to walk in faith and grow together as a church; for those prepared to give of themselves. We are currently a group of 9, meeting fortnightly at St Marys Church on days that suit the majority.

For more information email homegroups@smasch.org

Richard Jones' group:

We are currently a group of 5 who are welcomed into the home of Richard & Barbara Jones on alternate wednesday evenings. Through following programmes of study we seek to enrich and develop our Christian lives by learning about God's word revealed to us through the Bible, prayer and in discussion.

As we are looking to grow our group, we would welcome new people. If you are also looking to explore your faith and would like to know more about the group, please contact Richard and Barbara on 889327 or 858127.

Resources Used in Our Homegroups

Grace by Geoff Lucas

Based on the exciting and popular theme of Grace, this looks at grace through the life of Gideon and also various parts of the New Testament. Helping you uncover the truth of God's grace, it then inspires you to apply it to your own life. You will not just learn facts, but will be encouraged to think 'How does this apply to me? What change does it require of me? What incidents or situations in my life is this relevant to?'

Land Sea and Hope

Texts of Land, Sea and Hope’ will read selected biblical passages on the themes of ‘land’ and ‘sea’ in a variety of groups across the South West alongside local oral histories, stories, experiences, culture and art. The involvement of a variety of mediums reflects the cultural heritages of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset that have more often expressed themselves in painting, song, dance, rhyme, folk tale, poetry and festival than in ‘word’ alone. We are hoping to stimulate discussion about community building and sustainable development issues in the region and discover how a return to ‘place’ can contribute to Christian identity and mission.