What is a home group?
A home group is a small group of people who meet once a week or maybe every other week to share life experiences, support each other, study the Bible or a biblical topic, commit to each other as well as reach out to others not in the home group, and pray for each other. Beyond that, a group determines for itself how it will operate, what it will study, how its meetings will work, etc. A home group usually meets in members' homes, much as the early church did, and ordinarily is no larger than 14 persons.
How do I select a home group to join?
If you are not yet a member of a home group and wish to join, our recommendation is that you visit different home groups until you find the one that "fits" you best. You need to be with a group of people with whom you are eager to be authentic, sharing, and supportive. It might take several meetings with a group of persons for you to decide whether that group is the right one for you. Take your time and be intentional about it. Judging from what persons who are in or have been in home groups say, your joining a home group will be one of the most significant steps you take in your own spiritual journey.
Why should I join a home group?
There are several major reasons to join a home group, but ultimately home groups are about spiritual growth. Spiritual growth occurs by doing. Home groups are, ultimately, where we do our faith, where we practice it, learn about it, and live it in a way that is not possible in any other setting. By participating in a home group, you can anticipate and expect that your own spiritual growth will accelerate far beyond what you have previously experienced - - - meaning that the Vertical Relationship as well as the horizontal connectedness are growing ever stronger.
There are seven key reasons for joining with others in a home group:
- Committed Friendships:
You will be with a group of people who are committed to loving you, supporting you, praying for you daily, and talking with you about what is going on in your life. Likewise, you will have the chance to be a priest to those in your group - - - to love them, to pray for them and with them, to study with them, to explore ideas with them, and to be a vital part of their lives as they are of yours. - Practical Discussions and Guidance:
It is easy to say "You just have to forgive her," but exactly how do you emotionally and psychologically do that if she has wronged you, stolen from you, spread falsehoods about you, and ridiculed your faith? It is pretty easy to talk the talk but how does one in his or her heart truly embrace and live forgiveness in this situation? This is just one example of a faith-challenge that can come up in a home group. Thus, one reason to join a home group is that in a home group you have the opportunity to thrash out what is going on in your life and to get guidance and discussion about how to live out your faith. You also help others deal with the "stuff" that is going on in their lives. In short, home groups help us move beyond just talking the talk.
- Building Trust:
Home groups teach us how to trust God. You get to see God at work with a small group of people whom you know well. Home groupssee weddings, births, jobs found, broken relationships mended, etc., you name it. Home groups also see emotional and psychological illness, physical illness, dashed hopes, confusion about what God is doing or where God is, etc. Through it all, members of home groups, using gifts of discernment and discipline of prayer, seek meaning in dealing with what life brings. When the storms are really rough, we in home groups get comfort from each other and help each other trust God. It has been said that all issues are basically trust issues. Home groups help us work on our trust, build it, rekindle it when it burns low, and experience the freedom it provides. - Deep Interactive Learning:
In a home group you will get to study a particular topic in more detail and with more discussion than is possible at the Sunday morning messages. Many of us, listening to a Sunday message,have thought, "I wonder how that works if..." but, of course, during the message, it is not possible to stand up, call out "Wait a minute, Pastor," and ask a question. In a home group, it works the opposite way. We interact. We learn together. We study together. We discuss. Studies ordinarily include a specific book selected by the group, a book of the Bible, or even the message series from HarfordCommunityChurch. Groups ordinarily decide for themselves what they will study and how they will study it. - Fun Comradery:
Home groups are fun. For example, a home group may make its "meeting" a social occasion, (eat, socialize, etc). This atmosphere spills over into and provides energy for the study and the prayer times of the home group. It also enables us toget to know each other better, makes our relationships more authentic, and makes them "tougher" so that we can weather the difficulties that are inevitable and be prepared to rally around each other when needed. - Meaningful Teamwork:
Home groups provide a mechanism for us to reach out. For example, one home group learned of a family in which the children would have next to nothing for Christmas. You know the rest of the story. That same home group the next year learned of a family on welfare which had gotten an apartment but had no beds for the children to sleep on. You know the rest of that story. Other home groups have reached out in similar ways. Home groups, thus, provide an opportunity for us to re-calibrate our new perspective, moving it away from just ourselves, to reach for that abundant life that Christ promises us if we will just live beyond ourselves. - Spiritual Growth:
Home groups in which the membershave been together for an extended period (ordinarily more than a year) can begin to explore how to hold each other accountable. This can provide a floor to our faith and can push us a little farther along in our spiritual growth.
How does one become a home group leader?
Training for home group leaders is offered periodically. Ordinarily, to become a leader of a home group, a person should be active in a home group at HCC. Persons interested in become home group leaders should initially discuss it with the leaders of their current home group and get on the list for the next training session.