The Challenge – WRPC has been blessed by tremendous growth in the last couple of years. As a result, much of the small church “intimacy” has been lost. New and old members alike are feeling “disconnected.” We interact with each other for only a few minutes between worship services and Sunday School on Sunday mornings. There is little opportunity to have deeper fellowship and begin to build new friendships and grow old ones. Throughout the New Testament, Christians are encouraged in several ways to have deep caring fellowship with one another in the Spirit of Christ. In John’s first epistle, he encourages Christians to continue to meet, to sustain and nurture the Christian love given to them by the Holy Spirit: “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” (1 John 4:11-12). We need to provide environments where the members, regular attenders, and visitors of Westminster can experience the fellowship of a small congregation (medium sized group) in a large growing church and live out the “one another” commands of scripture. For a list of these passages see Appendix A.
Meeting the Challenge – Congregational Communities will provide an environment for nurturing, fostering intimacy, true fellowship and connectivity within the Body of Christ in medium sized groups within a large and growing church. These communities will make the big church small.
Our Vision
Congregational Communities will be medium sized groups of people where the “one another” commands of Scripture are lived out among the members of the congregation of WRPC.
Our Mission
To provide a place where members and visitors of WRPC can be taught, discipled, shepherded, and where they can begin and grow caring friendships.
Definitions
Congregational Communities consist of groups of 40 to 100 people that are in the same stage of life (newlyweds, parents of preschoolers, parents of teens, empty nesters, etc.) or have some other common interests. Couples are encouraged to participate together. The goal is to foster relationships in a medium-sized setting. Each community meets regularly during Sunday School for teaching, fellowship, prayer and encouraging one another. The Sunday School class provides a place for friendships to begin and grow. However, communities are not just Sunday School classes with a fancy name. They are groups of people who learn together and nurture and care for one another both during Sunday School and at other times. In addition to Sunday School, communities may plan fellowships and service projects. Communities will stay together from quarter to quarter. Elders and deacons are part of each community to provide shepherding and care. The shepherding and care that communities provide will focus on the families of community members not just individual adults in the community. Communities do not replace small groups; rather communities provide one setting in which small groups (Bible studies, Covenant groups, men’s groups, women’s groups) can be started and nurtured.
If members of the congregation would like to start a community for a particular group, they will work with the Director of CE to plan and begin the new community. A congregational community can be made up of people of particular life stage or a community can be a group of people who are in different life stages but have a common interest. Even with the establishment of Congregational Communities, elective adult Sunday School Classes will continue to be offered.
Community Sunday School Class Format – Each community may be a little different, but the general format is to spend 15 to 20 minutes of the class in fellowship and prayer with 40 to 45 minutes of the class reserved for teaching. The teacher may be creative and incorporate some group activities or discussion which is related to the lesson as part of the fellowship time. The ordering of the class is left up to the community leadership. The class needs to be friendly and engaging especially for new people.
Participation in a Community - Participation in a community is completely voluntary. No one will be assigned to a particular community. Leaders of communities and community members may invite all those of a certain life stage or those with a particular interest to be involved in a community. However, the decision to belong to a community will be left to an individual or family.
As the number and variety of communities grows, participation in a community by all members of the congregation at WRPC will be encouraged. This will enhance discipleship and shepherding of the members of WRPC. Although regular participation in the community Sunday School is highly encouraged when possible, participation is not necessary to be included as part of a community. For example, a couple who are serving as teachers in a children’s Sunday School class may continue to be part of a community and be invited to all community activities and be shepherded and cared for by a community elder, yet rarely attend the Sunday School class. The leadership of the community is responsible for keeping track of the community members and encouraging the involvement of members.
Leadership in a Community – A team will lead each community. This team will consist of a community leader, one or more Elders, one or more Deacons, and additional community ministry leaders as needed. These may include a care leader, prayer leader, a special events or projects leader, representatives of women’s or men’s ministries, etc as determined by the community. Spouses of community leaders may also participate in the community leadership team if they desire. The leadership of the community will be responsible for overseeing the care of the community and praying for the community and its members regularly.
Community Leader – This individual is responsible for the overall leadership of the community. They will serve the community Sunday School class as a host and emcee. If married, the leader’s wife would be part of the leadership team and serve as the class hostess. Together they would welcome new people to the class. They are to recruit other leaders to take on community responsibilities as needs arise for ministry in the community. Examples of these community ministry leaders are listed above.
The Community Leader directs the community’s leadership team. He would work closely with the Elder, Deacon and church staff to chart the direction of the community in teaching, nurturing, worship and outreach. He would support others on the leadership team as they fulfill their responsibilities and encourage them to use their gifts to serve others.
Being a community leader requires a heart and passion for the people in a community. The leader and his wife must share this passion. They must have a desire to serve others and enjoy caring for others and praying for others. They must have a sense of vision and mission for the community. In order to develop a smooth start, each leader will be asked to serve for one year.
Community Elder – The shepherding of the people within a community is the responsibility of the community elder. Shepherding includes discipling the members of the community, caring for people in crisis situations and praying regularly for the community members. The elder’s undershepherd list will be the members of the community. Community elders will be an active part of the community Sunday School class. They are to use the gathering of the community as an opportunity to get to know the sheep and shepherd the flock. The members of a community will have an excellent opportunity to build a relationship with their elder as they fellowship with him every Sunday morning.
Community Deacon – As part of the community leadership, deacons have the opportunity to care for special needs that arise among members of the community and pray for the members of the community. The deacons that are part of a community will be active in the Sunday School class and build relationships with members of the class. Being a part of the class allows the deacon to stay informed as to needs that arise among community members. The deacon can either work to meet these needs himself or direct community members to other deacons who can.
Teacher – Teachers for community Sunday School classes may be members of the community or may be from outside the community. Some teachers will be rotated from community to community to give communities exposure to different teachers in the church. The community leadership team, working with Christian Education Director, will determine the topics which are taught and the teachers each quarter. The selection will follow guidelines established by WRPC’s Christian Education Committee. As part of his responsibility to shepherd the community, the community elder may teach the community Sunday School class occasionally. The community may develop other teachers that teach on a regular basis in the community.
Goals and Plans
To establish two Congregational Communities at WRPC in the Spring of 2004.
To have these Congregational Communities functioning well as places where people are beginning to live out the “one another” commands of scripture by mid-Summer of 2004.
To establish two additional Congregational Communities in the fall of 2004.
To develop a desire of the congregation of WRPC to establish additional communities to disciple, shepherd and grow friendships among members of the congregation.
Appendix A
The One Another Commands
Below are many of the scripture references for passages that instruct believers in their relationships with one another. These are to guide the work of Congregational Communities.
John 13:34-35; Rom 12:10, 16; 13:8; 15:7; 1 Cor 1:10; Gal 5:13;
Eph 4:2, 32; 5:19-21; Col 3:13, 16; 1 Thess 5:11; Heb 3:13; 10:24-25
1 Pet 1:22; 3:8; 4:9; 5:5; 1 John 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11-12; 2 John 1:5
Appendix B
Some Common Questions about Communities
Why are we going to start communities at Westminster? As Westminster grows and ministers to a larger number of people it becomes harder to begin friendships and for new people to get connected into our body. When we gather as a congregation for worship on Sundays there are usually over seven hundred people present. In a group that size it is hard to get to know one another and begin friendships. Also, as we grow it is difficult for the elders to build relationships with the people they shepherd. Communities will provide an environment of a medium sized group (40 to 100 people) that meets regularly where people can learn, grow in Christ together and care for one another.
Isn’t a Community just a Sunday School Class? A Community is more than a Sunday Class. Yes, communities will meet on Sunday mornings for teaching and fellowship, but they will also care for each other and plan fellowship and ministry activities outside of the Sunday School hour. Communities will stay together from quarter to quarter.
How do I join a community? Participation in a community is voluntary. To be a part of a community all you have to do is ask. You may do this by going to the Sunday School class or contacting a community leader. No one will be forced to be a part of a particular community.
If I am teaching children’s Sunday School, can I still be part of a community and be involved in community activities? Yes! Just let the community leaders know you want to be involved. You will be invited to community activities and cared for by the community.
Are all communities going to be based on life stages or on age? The two initial communities are going to be based on life stage. However, in the future if a group from the congregation would like to establish a community that is intergenerational one will be established. New communities can be based on life stage or some other common interest of the members.
What if I am in one community and my favorite teacher is teaching in another class on a subject that interest me? You have two options. First you may go to the other class for the subject your favorite teacher is teaching. You can still remain part of your community. Or second, you may ask your community leaders to have your favorite teacher come and teach that subject in your community in the future. Some teachers will rotate through the different community classes each quarter.
I like our elective Sunday School classes, are we still going to have elective classes? Yes, there will be some elective classes offered each quarter.
How does a group of people start a community? Talk to David Dickson the Director of CE and Small Groups about your desire to start a community for a group of people.
