Community Groups
Updated: March 8th, 2010 by CH/TL
Community Groups are the primary means through which Renewal Church gathers to live out the gospel and mature together in its truth (gospel community) and to spread the gospel incarnationally through word and deed (gospel mission). Gathering weekly throughout our region for fellowship and accountability, Bible study and prayer, shared laughter and tears, Community Groups are a central expression of our church’s vision to see lives and our region transformed for Jesus. The goal is to cultivate a devoted community of believers who worship Jesus, love one another, and together serve those in need of the hope of the gospel.
The Importance of Community Groups
Why are Community Groups so important to Renewal?
Getting connected at Renewal means participating in both the Sunday worship gathering and a Community Group. Sundays are a time for celebrating in worship of Jesus and receiving the preaching of the Word and sacraments together as one body. Community Groups are the primary context where the seeds of the preached Word take root, get nurtured, and bear fruit. It is the place where we build authentic spiritual relationships with one another, share life together, and live out the gospel.
It is within these groups within the neighborhoods of our region that we can participate in God’s mission to incarnate the gospel to our broken world.
How Community Groups Work
How do Community Groups and the Renewal Campuses work?
We are one people that meet in the greater Philadelphia area at two different local congregations called campuses (the West Philly campus and the King of Prussia campus). Our desire for each person that calls Renewal home is that they would connect with a specific campus. We want you to identify with the mission of a particular campus where you would worship, serve, and participate in community in that particular context. For most, that will coincide with where you live and the campus that is the closest.
We discourage people from attending the worship service of one campus and participating in a community group of another as that disconnects your weekly relational community and mission from your Sunday worshipping community. We see an unnatural separation of one’s spiritual life in doing so. Therefore, we encourage you to consider where God is calling you to participate in the mission of a specific campus and plant roots there in worship attendance, service and community group life.