Saint Chad’s, Chadwell Heath, Romford
A Christian Community Seeking To Serve Jesus
House Groups are an integral part of the ongoing 'Life Beyond Sunday' at Saint Chad's. Click here to down load an information pack with details of all the activities, for people of all ages, taking place within the life of Saint Chad's, or contact the Church Office with any queries you may have.
Belonging to a House Group becomes more important as our numbers increase - it's so easy to feel lost in a large church. House Groups provide the opportunity to develop friendships with other members of our church family. It is also a place where you can strengthen your faith through studying God's word and receive both pastoral and prayer support.
House Groups focus on three areas when they meet together:
Looking Upwards
Through: Worship and Bible Study
Looking Inwards
Through: Caring for one anothers pastoral needs
both in prayer and in practical support
Looking Outwards
Through: Praying for the needs of our family members,
neighbours, work colleagues, mission links and the wider world
House Groups meet every other week on Wednesday/Thursday evenings and Friday mornings. Please click here if you would like more information or pick up a leaflet at the back of church.
House Group Handouts/Sermon Notes
House Group handouts, with sermon notes and discussion questions etc., are available to members only. To access these files, please click here
Being An Effective House Group Member
(Or ... how to gain the most from belonging to a House Group!)
Introduction
The questions many people ask are: Does belonging to a House Group really make much of a difference in the lives of its members? Does the House Group have a clear purpose, or does it just exist because it has always existed? Will I go along because that's what I'm expected to do? More to the point, what part are you going to play in your House Group and what can you do to make your House Group a success? The following are a few thoughts as to how each member can gain the most benefit from belonging to a House Group.
Why go in the first place?
People go to House Groups for all sorts of reasons: to make friends; to deepen relationships; to receive encouragement and counsel; to learn more about being a Christian; to make friends and so on. Whilst most of these might be perfectly good reasons to join a House Group, the first and most important reason must be clear in our minds: Our primary reason for belonging to a House Group is to give us an opportunity to love and encourage other people in Jesus.
This, after all, is what the Christian life is about. Our most basic principle is to love other people as Jesus has loved us, to lay down our lives for them as Jesus did for us. This applies as much to House Groups as it does to our marriages and families, church or Christian meetings. We go to House Groups not primarily to have our needs met, but to meet the needs of others. In essence, it's not about Me; it's about Them. And it's about them because of Jesus. Of course, we have needs too and, I?ve no doubt, they will be met along the way - but we can let others worry about that. The truth is, the more we focus on loving others, and doing whatever we can for them, the more encouragement and strength we find ourselves. There are many ways that we can love and encourage the other people in our House Group, I want to suggest five ?powerful? ones:
1: The Power of Presence
This is the simplest and most obvious, but is no less powerful for being so. Just being there each time you meet (fortnightly), is a powerful encouragement to the other members of the House Group. In making a solid commitment to group time, to be missed only in times of emergency, you send a very clear message to the other members: "Being with you matters very much to me. Unless something very important comes up, you can expect me. Encouraging you is a top priority." Conversely, inconsistent attendance sends a somewhat less encouraging message: "I don't mind coming, but it's not that important. If I feel a bit tired or something else crops up, don't expect me. Being with you and encouraging you isn't really a very high priority for me." Turning up regularly requires no extraordinary gifts or talent, but it is a powerful way of loving other people.
2: The Power of Preparation
Myself, along with most House Group leaders, are forever pleading with members to read the Bible passage and complete the worksheets in advance in preparation for the next study. The leader knows full well that most people won't, but there's no harm in trying! You may have never thought about it in this way, but preparation is a powerful way to love members of your House Group. (The worksheets for use in House Groups will be available the Sunday before and are planned on the basis that every member will do some preparation in advance).
There?s no doubt that doing some homework by reading the passage, looking through the sermon handout and completing the Looking Upwards, Looking Inwards, Looking Outwards sections, greatly increases the benefit you yourself receive from the meeting.
More importantly, however, it equips you to encourage others by what you say. Rather than throwing in whatever occurs to you at the time? you have actually thought about the Bible passage and the issues that it raises. This way you are much better prepared to say things that stimulate and encourage others if you have given it some thought beforehand.
3: The Power of Prayer
Paul's friend and fellow worker, Epaphras, would have made an ideal House Group member. According to Paul, he was always "wrestling in prayer" for the Colossians, that they might "stand firm in all the will of God". Paul was able to say that in doing so, Epaphras was "working hard for you" (Colossians 4vs12-13). Praying for others can be hard work, but also very satisfying.
It is one of the most loving things we can do for our fellow House Group members, not only because it is through our prayers that God does His work in people?s lives, but because it is such a quiet, inconspicuous from of ministry. Prayer has none of the rewards of a more glamorous or tangible ministry. You do it for one reason only: that you care for that person and want what is best for them in Jesus.
4: The Power of Personality
The analogy may be starting to stretch out a little thin here, but the point is that a powerful way of loving others in your House Group is to be willing to share your own life and personality with them. This is by no means an easy thing to do. Many of us would much rather keep quiet and not give too much away. However, by being willing to make ourselves vulnerable and by opening up and sharing our lives and thoughts and struggles and joys, we do others a great service. Not only do we show them that we have the very same struggles that they have (but thought they were alone in suffering); we also encourage them to open up as well.
Of course, it is anything but loving to indiscriminately dump everything we are thinking or feeling onto the group. We need to heed the advice of Proverbs and think carefully before we speak: as well as the words of Ephesians 4vs29: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it
may benefit those who listen."
5: The Power of Pastoral Care
As a church, we will never be able to meet the pastoral needs of everyone but, through House Groups, we can ensure that most people's pastoral needs are catered for (especially through the pastoral care network that is now in place). Whatever you do in the House Group - every word you say, every action - do it for the sake of others. Look for ways you can support and help the leader. Look for ways to care for the members of the House Group (and those who are not members); those who could really do with a phone call or a visit; those who would benefit from someone praying, or reading the Bible, with them; those who need practical, financial or material help; those who just need a friend to share
a pizza and a video.
And Finally ...
I believe that if we fully grasp the possibilities, and potential, that House Groups have to offer, we will recognise that it presents us with an enormously fruitful opportunity for the building up our church family through; developing meaningful relationships; establishing effective pastoral care; enabling us to grow in our faith; and to help us to continue to be A Christian Community Seeking To Serve Jesus?.
It must be obvious to you by now how much I want each of you to gain from, and enjoy belonging to, a House Group. There's no doubt that belonging to a House Group will be a very demanding exercise. It can cost us our lives, but isn't that is what it means to be a follower of Jesus - to lay down our lives for the sake of others? If you are not in a House Group and are interested in finding out more, then please have a chat with me, Christine or a House Group leader. It is my prayer that you will find yourself able to be committed to being an effective House Group member.
Revd Paul A. Carr
The above is loosely on an article by Tony Payne from
'The Briefing' - available from The Good Book Company
and has been reprinted with permission.
click here to print/view the above article on a PDF file.
Office Address:
Saint Chad’s Road
Chadwell Heath
Romford
Essex
RM6 6JB