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Here at
Central it is our belief that every person should
be involved in community by being connected to a
small group. We have four types to choose
from.
Care
Groups (Fellowship In Someone’s
Home)
These groups exist for the purpose of
fellowshipping, caring for each other, and building
strong bonds of fellowship with one another.
They will be composed of any mixture of people
from Singles, Couples, Men, Women, Youth, Young
Married, Mixed, and Senior Adult groups.
Interest Groups
These groups are organized
by areas of a common interest. They are formed
out of a common skill or interest or focus of employment
such as computers or the medical field. In
each case there is a leader with a passion for reaching a certain
group of people who have the same interest
and pulling them into community. Combining interests is merely
an organizing principle. Some interest based
groups may be a Seeker Group, Discipleship Group, Single Mom’s,
etc. These groups may meet in restaurants, offices,
or other settings.
Task Groups
A Task group is distinct
in that it is not just a traditional fellowship-building
group, or team of people simply fulfilling
a task. By definition, Task groups attempt to accomplish
both fellowship and ministry simultaneously.
Task groups are organized around special needs
such as helping the poor or working with community
based organizations. It may involve work at our
church such as ushering, parking cars, or building
and grounds ministry. Being involved in a service
or task group promotes a servant spirit while
at the same time developing our community with one
another. Setting up a task group is a great way
of developing the growing number of faithful
volunteers within the church body.
Support Groups
Open any newspaper today and
you will see a large number of notices for self-help
groups, ranging from the traditional 12-step groups,
such as Alcoholics Anonymous, to the more arduous groups
such as Incest Survivors. The primary purpose of these
groups is to provide care and support for people who
are in the midst of crisis or need help overcoming
sinful patterns of behavior; namely, addictions. Such
groups include Celebrate Recovery, Divorce Care, Divorce Care for Kids, and Compassionate Friends. These
groups provide a caring community for people
to come to and a place for many in our church
to serve. It is the hope that these who begin
in a support group will eventually grow and
move to one of the three groups above. |
