Why We Need Community The idea of community lies at the very heart of the Biblical picture of the church. As the Body of Christ, we are called to a depth of relationship with each other that goes way beyond the casual or superficial. In the New Testament the community of believers who love, encourage, admonish, forgive and submit to one another is repeatedly shown to be the place where Christian character develops and faith matures. In fact, the Bible has very little to say about individual ‘spiritual growth’ but speaks rather of a body of people growing towards maturity together. With this in mind, we are developing a network of small communities within the wider body of the church. There is nothing new about this idea, we can see a similar pattern in the New Testament as the larger fellowships broke into smaller numbers meeting in each other’s homes (see Colossians 4:15 or Romans 16:5). Growth GroupsThe vision is for TBC to develop as a network of vibrant Christian communities, within which each believer is encouraged into a deeper faith and a closer walk with God. A ‘Growth Group’ is a small community of believers who have committed themselves to the values underlying this vision, the name is simply an acronym for the values… 
God-Centred CommunityGod Himself, Father, Son and Holy Spirit must be at the centre of all we are and do. We recognise that it is only through constant prayer and the ongoing guidance of the Spirit that our Growth Group will become and remain a community that honours God. Relationship BasedThe Bible calls us a family, and Growth Groups are a celebration of our relatedness. The group will become a place where each member is valued, loved and discipled in an atmosphere of submission and trust. We value openness and honesty with regular time given over to allowing each member to talk about themselves, their walk with God, their struggles and joys: to tell their story. Prayer and ministry become a natural focus of the meeting. We believe that every Christian has God-given gifts and is called to be a minister rather than a passive recipient of ministry. Within our Growth Groups we will encourage discernment and development of both charismatic and ‘natural’ gifts, in a safe, loving environment. Every member will be positively encouraged to try new things, perhaps to lead a bible study or lead the group in worship, to organise refreshments or to help with group administration. The role of the leaders will not be to do everything, but to be encouragers, trainers and facilitators as the whole group becomes actively involved. If a Growth Group is to maintain this high level of relationship between the members there will be implications for the size of that group. Once a group reaches a certain size they will be encouraged to ‘reproduce’ into two groups. In the same way that a parent often feels a profound sense of loss when a child grows up and leaves home, this organic kind of growth is sometimes painful but, nevertheless, is a natural and positive part of the group’s life. Outward LookingEach group exists not only for its own blessing, but to be a blessing to others – to the wider church, our local communities and the world. Recognising that the whole church is called to proclaim and embody the good news of the gospel we will positively seek out ways that we as a group can be involved in the church’s mission to seek the lost and serve the poor. We will also actively support each member as they seek to make Christ known in their home, workplace or social circle. As we reach out, we will also aim to draw in. Growth Groups will be places where newcomers are welcome, whether enquirers from outside the church or long-established Christians. However deep our relationships and however blessed our fellowship, we will not allow ourselves to become a closed community even if it means that our one group has to go through the pain of becoming two. Worship FocussedWorship is our only appropriate response to God and is therefore an essential ingredient of our time together in God’s presence. It is important that we do not limit this by trying to re-create the ways we worship on a Sunday. Rather we will explore the immense variety of ways that we can express our love and devotion to God, and discover those that are appropriate to our unique group setting. There is plenty of room for creativity and experimentation in our worship. Transformed by Word and SpiritWe expect that as we meet and explore God’s word and pray and minister together, we will be changed. When we study the Bible the focus will always be on applying what we discover to our lives and honestly exploring where each of us need to respond to what God is saying. The question is never “what have we learned?” but “what have we become?”. As God speaks, through his word, during times of worship or directly by his Spirit, so we need to respond. As a group we will look for opportunities to minister to one another and to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us and guide us in our prayer and response. Helping Each OtherEach Growth Group will become a community of care, the sphere of which extends far beyond the ‘official’ group meetings. When a group member has cares or concerns, is unwell or feeling down, has practical needs or matters for prayer it will be to their group that they will naturally turn. Both individually and collectively, we will constantly look out for practical ways of supporting and caring for one another. The pastoral role of a Growth Group will extend to caring even for those who are unable to attend any group meetings. Each group will include a small number of members who, for reasons of health, mobility or home situation, are rarely if ever able to come to meetings. Nevertheless, these individuals will come under the umbrella of care that the group provides and will be involved in the life of the group as far as possible. This may include visiting the housebound or occasionally meeting at a different time or place to bring in those whose work or family commitments keep them away from regular meetings. If you want to know more...You can download a more comprehensive outline of the vision for Growth Groups and their role within the pastoral care structure of TBC by clicking this link. If you would like to find out more, or would like to join a Growth Group, please get in touch with Paul Vaswani.
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