Community Groups
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Acts 2:42
What is a “community group?”
Of all the distinctives that set Trinity apart from other U.S. colleges, its development of tight-knit communities stands alone. For Christians, this can function as a powerful illustration of what Christian communities ought to look like. For RUF, the nurturing of Christ-centered relationships is the core of our approach to campus ministry. It is not enough to simply know facts about God, but those truths have to be lived out in the context of meaningful relationships; after all this is precisely what Jesus modeled for us with his own disciples.
What does a community group look like?
A community group is any 6-8 people who are interested in getting together on a weekly basis for the express purpose of encouraging one another in prayer, Bible study, and fellowship. Each group will determine their own meeting time and location.
What does a community group do?
A community group consists of three primary elements: fellowship, prayer, and Bible study
FELLOWSHIP
Christ-centered fellowship is always founded on honest confession and mutual encouragement.
Confession
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” James 5:16
We are convicted that there is a profound relationship between the soul of a person and their words. Words have power over us, even as we speak them. Therefore, by “confession” we do not mean “airing out all of our dirty laundry” rather, we mean an honest sharing of what is happening on the outside as well as the inside of your life.
Encouragement
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29
We are convicted that the practice of Christian encouragement is woefully lacking on our campus. Therefore, we recognize the power of sharing words of truth, grace, and encouragement to build up one another.
PRAYER
“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:7-10
We are convicted that we do not pray for each other. Perhaps we are bored with prayer or we are too preoccupied with our own comfort and success, rather than Christ’s kingdom. For this reason, community groups are devoted to praying for God’s reign of grace to change us and renew Trinity’s campus.
STUDY
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Acts 2:42
We are convicted that we need to study God’s Word in community even more than we need bread and water. For this reason, all of the community groups will be studying Paul’s letter to the Galatians this semester. We also hope that this will be an aid to those who would like to grow in their devotional life. In preparing for community group, hopefully the individual members will find their personal relationship with Christ enriched by the focus that the study provides. All members of the community group, including the leader, are learning together. The leaders are neither the “answer men” nor the Bible scholars. They are fellow learners and disciples of Christ. That being said, Justin and Bekah will be available in a variety of ways to assist community group leaders with troublesome topics and discussions.
Are you interested in leading or joining a community group for RUF at Trinity?
Justin is looking for as many folks as are interested (in as many groups as can conceivably get started) to start and maintain these groups. What would be expected of you?
• Find a Co Leader(s)- These things never work if there's only one person leading it. It takes a couple people, working together to keep everyone encouraged to make this a priority.
• Provide a Meeting Place- This can be a dorm, a coffee shop, someone's living room in town, wherever your group feels comfortable meeting.
• Maintain the Direction of the Group- The primary task of a community group leader is to keep the group focused on all three elements listed above (prayer, Bible study, and fellowship), so that the time doesn't devolve into a pure social event (folks have plenty of that already).
• Give Feedback to Justin & Bekah- this is a new area of our ministry and we are working hard to work out the kinks. Therefore, the leader needs to communicate with Justin & Bekah a few times during the semester concerning who is coming, what problems are occurring, and how they have made it work.
If you might be interested in a community group (or if you just want more information about our community groups), fill out the form below.