Small Groups
Small groups represent a beautiful facet of our life together here at Edgefield. We understand the local church to give shape to our discipleship, and small groups are one context in which we seek to follow Jesus by doing spiritual good to one another. Our groups typically meet on Wednesday evenings in members’ homes for the course of the academic year.
If you’re a member of Edgefield, or you have decided to make Edgefield you church home, and you are interested in joining a small group, please contact our Assistant Pastor, Matt Ecton.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF Edgefield SMALL GROUPS?
Small groups exist to provide a context for meaningful fellowship,Word-centered discipleship, and honest friendships. Our basic calling as Christians is to follow Jesus, who showed what it is to love God with all we are and to love each other with a distinctive, sacrificial love. Part of what it means to follow Jesus is to help others follow him as well. All Christians are called to make disciples– to help others understand, trust, and live for what God has promised them through Jesus. We can’t be faithful to our calling to be disciples and make disciples without each other.
WHAT DO SMALL GROUPS LOOK LIKE WEEK-TO-WEEK?
Discipleship is less a program than it is a way of life. It is through life-involving friendships that we point each other to Jesus. That said, the core experience in every small group is a weekly gathering in an Edgefield member’s home. These gatherings typically begin with a meal and then shift to a time of spiritual conversation, Bible-study, and prayer. On most weeks the groups divide up by gender after dinner, which allows more time for each person to share and facilitates more candid conversation. Though there is always some variety from one group to another, weekly discussions generally aim to provide three things:
Space for processing what’s going on in our lives: It is in our response to real life circumstances that we see what our hearts truly love, trust, and obey. We must help each other analyze our lives with grace and careful discernment, always considering how we can encourage each other towards love and holiness (Heb. 10:25).
Support for practicing Christian disciplines together: The primary way we grow to love God and his promises above all else is to engage with him through the Bible and through prayer. In our groups, we help each other pursue these things in more consistent and fruitful ways.
Supplication to God over one another: When we open our lives to each other– where we’re encouraged, where we’re afraid, what we’re struggling against or struggling towards– we’re carried naturally into specific prayer over each other. And our times of prayer as a group help to guide our prayer for each other throughout the week.