Connect Groups
WHAT ARE CONNECT GROUPS?
Connect groups are fun, friendly, and filled with great fellowship. It’s a vital part of our Christian walk. It‘s where the church meets together on a weekly basis in small group settings in homes throughout the Tampa Bay area. Connect groups start the second Sunday night of every month with our Food, Fun and Fellowship night. It’s a night of all you can eat, laugh and having fun. The third Sunday night of every month the connect groups break up into gender specific groups. We like to call it , “Go Nites”. That stands for Guys only or Girls only. On a “Go Nite” we meet back at the church and the guys get together for some chest pounding fun and teaching while the girls, get to stir it up with some great girl- talk and focus on biblical principles. On the last Sunday night of the month we come back to the connect group house that we each attend and we discuss the last three Sunday morning teaching sessions led by the connect group leaders.
IS THERE A BIBLICAL BASIS FOR CONNECT GROUPS?
Absolutely! While going to church for corporate worship & teaching is a biblical pattern & requirement for our personal growth, it’s only part of the pattern. The early church also met in small group settings under the leadership & direction of men & women who were proven, appointed, set aside & made accountable to the apostolic leadership of the church.
WHAT’S THE PURPOSE FOR CONNECT GROUPS?
Meetings in the homes under the watchful eye of trained leaders, provides for certain areas of growth & discipleship that cannot always be duplicated in a large corporate church service. Because of this ‘hands on’ approach to discipleship in a small group setting, the early church was able to reproduce itself over and over again allowing for phenomenal growth to take place personally & numerically. ?
The best forum for the overall direction, teaching & worship of the church takes place in the Sunday morning worship service. Likewise, Connect Groups become the ideal environment for pastoral care, fellowship, discipleship, evangelism & ministry involvement. Connect groups aren’t just another way of having church, they are a necessary way to have church. One doesn’t replace the other. They’re both needed.