Why Connect in a Group?
By Chris Koch
Senior Director of Ministry
I am currently involved in a Connect Group, primarily with families, and have led two Rooted groups and two Lenten groups since I have been at West Side. Part of my role at West Side is to shepherd Connect Groups and leaders, but even if I was a congregation member, I would still be a part of Connect Groups. The reason why is that I need to be with other people who are seeking and growing in Christ. I am naturally an introvert, so after a full week of interacting with people I would rather retreat into time with my family and being alone. Yet Connect Groups remind me that I have been formed by Christ to be part of a body and that God is forming us into something greater than the sum of its parts.
One scripture that always draws me back to Connect Groups is from 1 Peter 2:4-6: “As you come to him, the living stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” The idea of being ‘living stones’ is intriguing to me. If you put a bunch of rocks together in a bucket and shake them, they scrape and crash against each other. And that can happen to us when we are put together as well.
Yet when we get together at church and in Connect Groups, God is teaching us grace through each other. We are formed into the body of Christ, the living temple of God’s presence on earth. The body of Christ is a classroom of grace where the Holy Spirit teaches us through each other about how to receive and give God’s grace in Jesus Christ, through both the good and hard times. And that greater perspective keeps drawing an introvert like me to church and Connect Groups.
If you are interested in joining a Connect Group or just finding out more information, contact Chris at chrisk@wspc.org. Or fill out our online form to join a Connect Group during Lent.
Senior Director of Ministry
I am currently involved in a Connect Group, primarily with families, and have led two Rooted groups and two Lenten groups since I have been at West Side. Part of my role at West Side is to shepherd Connect Groups and leaders, but even if I was a congregation member, I would still be a part of Connect Groups. The reason why is that I need to be with other people who are seeking and growing in Christ. I am naturally an introvert, so after a full week of interacting with people I would rather retreat into time with my family and being alone. Yet Connect Groups remind me that I have been formed by Christ to be part of a body and that God is forming us into something greater than the sum of its parts.
One scripture that always draws me back to Connect Groups is from 1 Peter 2:4-6: “As you come to him, the living stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” The idea of being ‘living stones’ is intriguing to me. If you put a bunch of rocks together in a bucket and shake them, they scrape and crash against each other. And that can happen to us when we are put together as well.
Yet when we get together at church and in Connect Groups, God is teaching us grace through each other. We are formed into the body of Christ, the living temple of God’s presence on earth. The body of Christ is a classroom of grace where the Holy Spirit teaches us through each other about how to receive and give God’s grace in Jesus Christ, through both the good and hard times. And that greater perspective keeps drawing an introvert like me to church and Connect Groups.
If you are interested in joining a Connect Group or just finding out more information, contact Chris at chrisk@wspc.org. Or fill out our online form to join a Connect Group during Lent.