27th Feb – Thanking God for our Growth Groups
Recently I’ve been spending a bit of time sorting through some old papers. In one folder I’ve found a collection of Bible studies that were prepared by the leaders of the Growth Group I was a member of when a young adult. I thank God for the time and effort that these individuals invested in me and my peers during those years. More than 20 years later I can see how God used their work to help form my spiritual life. These were not professional ministers, or members of a church staff team, but mature Christians with regular jobs who knew of the importance of teaching the Bible to others, praying with others and encouraging others in ministry.
This year we have a couple of new Growth Groups being added to our list. This is something for which we can give thanks to God. It would be great to have some other groups form, and I’m wondering whether in particular a group for men might gain traction.In our church we have mixed-gender groups, but in addition to these a number of women’s groups have been formed in recent years. Is there a desire to even up the balance by forming a men’s group? If you would like to be a part of such a group, let me know. Perhaps more importantly, If you have the capacity and desire to lead such a group then I’d be interested in talking with you.
It’s been my experience that healthy churches have a healthy Growth Group ministry. By joining or leading such a group you can help us be healthy!
Martin Kemp
