Growth Groups are an essential part of life at St Andrew’s. They are the main context for building Christian community, which is one of our core values as a church. But what is a Growth Group?
Here are some common misconceptions, even among regular church members: “it’s basically a Bible class”, “it’s like a social group for Christians”, “it’s another church event to go to”, “it’s only for mature Christians”.
Thankfully, the Bible helps dispel these misconceptions. In Acts 2:42, we learn that in the early church, the believers devoted themselves to fellowship. The New Testament uses the Greek word koinonia for fellowship, which means communion or joint participation. It’s about sharing a common life, faith and commitment with others centred on Jesus Christ, resulting in a strong, loving bond between believers.
The Bible gives various illustrations to help us think about fellowship. For example, the body of Christ – believers are like the parts of a body with Christ as the head; or the temple – believers are like living stones stacked together to form a spiritual house with Christ as the cornerstone. The illustration that best captures my imagination is the vine and the branches (John 15:1-8).
God-given practice that keeps our lives centred on Jesus
Jesus taught his disciples that he is the vine, they are the branches, and the Father is the gardener. While our spiritual life comes primarily from being united with Christ, an important part of living it out is being connected with other believers, just like the branches of a vine. I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t want to be a lone branch, and I know I can’t be a lone branch.
When I receive my nutrients and water from the vine, I want the same for the branches around me, so that we all grow healthily. When I am being pruned, I want to know that there are other branches experiencing the same or that have gone before me and become even more fruitful. When I am not bearing fruit, I want to be encouraged by seeing other fruitful branches and not be left to wither.
I hope you can see that every believer should belong to a Growth Group because fellowship with other believers is an essential, God-given practice that keeps our lives centred on Jesus, fosters collective spiritual growth and unity, and provides mutual support and care. What does this look like in practice? We commit to meeting regularly and building deep relationships with each other, we study and apply God’s word together, we pray and serve one another, through the joys and challenges of life.
Join our next Partnership course or chat with a church staff member to find out more about Growth Groups and get stuck in.
I’d like to think that when I, along with other branches, are bearing much fruit, there is a happy gardener smiling down on us. As Jesus said, “this is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:8).
