The Importance of Housegroups
Last night our housegroup met and continued our Bible study on the subject of Angels. Over the years I have belonged to various different housegroups at the three Churches I have attended. For someone like myself who can sometimes find it difficult to get to know people at Church, they are a good opportunity to build up relationships.
Generally speaking a housegroup will consist of between 6 - 12 people. Most groups meet during the week and will study the Bible together, share prayer needs and build up relationships within the group. Housegroups present the opportunity to raise questions we may have about our faith and we can bring these to the group and discuss together. If we didn't understand something about the sermon in Church on Sunday, we can bring our questions to others in the group and get their views. After all, generally speaking we don't normally interrupt the speaker in the midst of their sermon on Sunday and ask them to clarify a point! Some Churches based their housegroup programmes on the same subject that is preached from the pulpit on Sunday mornings. Personally speaking I think that is an excellent idea as it keeps the sermons fresh in our minds and helps us to hear what God may be saying through His word to the Church.
One of the benefits of regularly attending a housegroup is having a group of people with whom you can share your prayer needs. Most of us have things that we would like others to pray about and it normally is not possible to fit all those prayer requests in on Sunday morning. Indeed, we might not be comfortably about sharing these prayer needs with the whole Church. However, the housegroup offers us the opportunity to mention these needs and then to pray for one another. It can also be very encouraging to members of the group when they see these prayer answered.
At my last Church housegroups were called "Support Groups" and this is actually a good description of one of the main functions of the groups. As we share various concerns we may have with others members of the group, we can actively support one another, maybe in prayer or in practical ways.
Housegroups are also a good place to build relationships with other believers. My last Church had about 250 members in it and for someone like myself that can be rather difficult process in getting to know others. However, by attending a housegroup I was able to get to know my members of the group well and build up some good friendships.
So if you don't already belong to a housegroup please consider making it a top priority as it is something from which you will benefit and you can be a blessing to others!
Generally speaking a housegroup will consist of between 6 - 12 people. Most groups meet during the week and will study the Bible together, share prayer needs and build up relationships within the group. Housegroups present the opportunity to raise questions we may have about our faith and we can bring these to the group and discuss together. If we didn't understand something about the sermon in Church on Sunday, we can bring our questions to others in the group and get their views. After all, generally speaking we don't normally interrupt the speaker in the midst of their sermon on Sunday and ask them to clarify a point! Some Churches based their housegroup programmes on the same subject that is preached from the pulpit on Sunday mornings. Personally speaking I think that is an excellent idea as it keeps the sermons fresh in our minds and helps us to hear what God may be saying through His word to the Church.
One of the benefits of regularly attending a housegroup is having a group of people with whom you can share your prayer needs. Most of us have things that we would like others to pray about and it normally is not possible to fit all those prayer requests in on Sunday morning. Indeed, we might not be comfortably about sharing these prayer needs with the whole Church. However, the housegroup offers us the opportunity to mention these needs and then to pray for one another. It can also be very encouraging to members of the group when they see these prayer answered.
At my last Church housegroups were called "Support Groups" and this is actually a good description of one of the main functions of the groups. As we share various concerns we may have with others members of the group, we can actively support one another, maybe in prayer or in practical ways.
Housegroups are also a good place to build relationships with other believers. My last Church had about 250 members in it and for someone like myself that can be rather difficult process in getting to know others. However, by attending a housegroup I was able to get to know my members of the group well and build up some good friendships.
So if you don't already belong to a housegroup please consider making it a top priority as it is something from which you will benefit and you can be a blessing to others!
posted by Richard at 8:52 am
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