Home Groups are the heartbeat of our church. They are the place where our values of Faith, Community, and Mission gain traction in the everyday.
What Is a Home Group?
Drawing from Acts 20:20, we believe that if we are to see and show Christ rightly (i.e. with 20/20 vision), we must be meeting in both large gatherings and small groups. The largest gathering we have is the Sunday Service. And our standard small group is the Home Group. We define Home Groups as follows:
Home Groups are the place where our values of Faith, Community, and Mission gain traction in the everyday. They are small, typically intergenerational, groups that meet regularly to break bread, seek God in His Word, share hearts and lives, and pursue avenues of service and witness in the surrounding neighborhood and city.
Allow us to elaborate a bit more for you on this:
- Regarding our value of Faith, Home Groups give people a chance to digest, question, meditate on, and personalize the word of God. Opportunity is given for the church to act as Bereans and examine the Scriptures for themselves (Acts 17:11).
- Regarding our value of Community, Home Groups provide the primary context in which the church can live out the "one-anothering" spoken of in the New Testament (i.e. Rom 12:9-18). Here is where we can truly get to know and love other saints and where we can be truly known and loved ourselves.
- Regarding our value of Mission, Home Groups should serve as "missional communities," strategically located in neighborhoods, not to be dams of God's grace, but estuaries—places where the ocean of God's love meets the parched riverbeds of this world. Home Groups are the arms of the church, reaching into the neighborhoods. They can also serve as wonderful places to raise up young leaders and as potential seedbeds for future church plants.
How Can You Get Involved?
If you are interested in checking out Home Group life at Mercy Hill, here are some next steps:
- Explore our Home Groups List to find a Home Group or two that you'd like to check out.
- Contact the Home Group Leader to schedule a visit.
- Prayerfully join one of the groups as the Lord leads!
If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to contact us. We're happy to help!
For more regarding our vision for Home Groups see The 20/20 Vision.