Late summer, before the true beginning of fall, is a treasured time for me. Summers are long and generally uneventful, but for many, the busyness of vacations and breaks in routine and day-trips and general chaos means that connections with friends can be haphazard at best. But early September is a sweet time when our small group Bible study resumes. I’ve long been a proponent of this study, and here are a few of the reasons why:
This is where we truly see people. That wise older woman who seems to always have everything put together doesn’t actually have all the answers. She may struggle with daily prayer and Bible study too, and she is daily dependent upon the grace of God as well. We see their humanity and their struggles and their deep thoughts and their convictions, and we get to watch God work in each other’s hearts and lives. We see that at the end of the day, we are more like each other than we are different, and that’s something we don’t see in a 2-minute greeting on Sunday morning.
This is where we truly see people with whom we may not otherwise come into contact. Let’s be real: We tend to split generationally even at church. I’m a 30-something with young kids. I see the other 20/30-somethings with young kids of a similar age, and if I don’t deliberately go out of my way to sit somewhere else or talk with someone else, I don’t see the other generations. But in a small group Bible study (at least at Parkside!) there’s cross-generational representation. (My current small group has an age span of about 50 years.) This lets us younger ones benefit from the life experiences of the older ones, and allows the older ones to share their wisdom.
This is where our faith grows feet, where we are encouraged by our mutual faith, where we encourage one another and are built up, where we are challenged practically. We need each other. The Christian life was never designed to be lived in isolation.
Nearly very meaningful relationship I’ve formed at church since 2009 has in some way been facilitated by Parkside Green’s small group Bible study on Wednesdays. There are fewer than a handful of exceptions. We started today with a preview of what we’ll be covering in the fall semester, and if you’re local to the area, I would encourage and invite you to consider joining us; it’s not too late.
Whether a church has a hundred people attending or thousands, it only becomes alive when the people are part of a small group and really begin to know each other and see Gods’ gifts in each other. The 12 apostles came from many different social and educational backgrounds, and God used them to change the world. Thank you for putting into words how being part of a small group enriches not only the people in the group, but the church overall.