I'm Excited About Our Harmony Groups
I’m excited that we’re finally getting our small group ministry going. Three couples have agreed to host weekly meetings in their homes and I’m busy now trying to get the word out. I hope people are as excited about our Harmony groups as I am. I mean, we have all these new people who are interested in Spirit Song and want to be part of this new church, but since we’re not yet offering weekly Sunday morning worship, there hasn’t been a lot of opportunities to be together and build that all-important sense of Christian community. But now there is!
I believe the church is all about community, about relationships and about growing together to be the body of Christ. Our Harmony groups can begin doing that right now. And its going to be fun! I’m going to lead all of the Harmony groups for awhile. There are a couple of good reasons – first, it will give me a chance to spend some time with my new congregation and really get to know each and every person – and they can get to know me. Second, I can set the tone and format for the groups in a consistent way. Although each Harmony group will be meeting in different locations with different people, I can be that common thread that will unite the groups and assure that we’re all on the same page and experiencing much of the same things together.
Each Harmony group will meet weekly for about an hour or so. We’ll begin with a brief time of worship, with a devotion, singing and prayer. We’ll do some sharing at whatever level people are comfortable. We’ll study and discuss a Bible passage and relate it to our own lives. And of course we’ll have refreshments and fellowship. As we begin each gathering we’ll make note of an empty chair – the “Christ chair” as some have called it – that reminds us that Jesus is present with us. It also serves to remind us that there is always room in our group for another person. In fact, the purpose of the Harmony groups is to grow! And we grow as we invite another person to join us in our circle.
One last thing – my vision for the Harmony groups is that they would be dynamic and changing. I would hope that people would not feel locked into a particular group over a long period of time but would want to experience fellowship with a variety of people. I would hope that every fall the Harmony groups would be energized by “mixing-up” the groups as people look forward to being with new people in new surroundings.
As you can see, I’m excited about our Harmony groups and I hope you’ll be part of that excitement as we begin this new phase of building our new church family.
Blessings,
Steve