Last fall on Wednesday evenings, around fifty of your fellow church members participated in what I called The Grand Methodist Experiment. We learned that to be a Methodist in the early days (1740-1865) meant that every Methodist would participate in a small group called a Class Meeting. These groups of 10-12 people were facilitated by a leader. They would meet weekly with the expressed purpose of “watching over one another in love.” This would be accomplished through the members of the class answering the question “How does your soul prosper?” The group members would answer this question to share how God had been present and at work in their lives since their previous meeting. The members would also report successes and failures related to the General Rules of the Methodists: do no harm, do good, and keep the ordinances (prayer, scripture reading, worship, Holy Communion, etc.). The Methodist Movement became the most powerful spiritual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries on the backs of these groups that wrestled with these questions. We simply cannot grow into the people that God has made us to be without the help of each other.

The last six weeks of the fall, we broke into three groups and began to practice what we learned about. As we concluded the experiment in December, it was clear that many appreciated the time we spent in the groups and would like to continue in groups like these.

This spring, we are going to offer what we are going to now call COVENANT GROUPS at two different times. Wednesday evenings here at the church at 6:30 p.m. beginning January 17th and Sunday evenings beginning here at the church on January 21st and possibly off-site at 6:00 p.m. These groups will meet through the beginning of May and finish before Mother’s Day.

Please click the link below to sign-up. EVERYONE WILL NEED TO SIGN-UP EVEN IF YOU WERE IN A GROUP LAST FALL. Please select which day you prefer. If you would like more information about these small groups, please give me a call or send me a text. I WILL BE HAPPY TO HELP. My number 432-559-0208. 

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Steve Brooks