A New Season in Ministry
What if we decided to stop approaching church as if it were a theme park, where we go to be entertained and amused and instead started taking serious the call to be the salt and light of the world?
What if we committed ourselves to actually living like Jesus and doing what he asked us to do instead of simply singing about or talking about or putting events on for him?
What if the gathering of God’s people involved active participation, deep commitment, genuine community, and brutal honesty instead of faked perfectionism, passive consumption, and convenient minimalism?
What if church were different?
If you’ve asked these questions, then house groups are for you. 
House groups are a weekly gathering of students in the home of a faculty and staff member where people experience Christ through the sharing of a meal, the sharing of their lives, the sharing of the word, the sharing their resources and the sharing their sin.
We will be starting a new season of House Groups within the first few weeks of the 2011-2012 school year. If you interested in being a part of a group or learning more about them, stop by the campus ministry office or email Thomas @ thomas.fitzpatrick@pepperdine.edu.
Here’s a little more info about them, just in case you are curious: As we read the NT, we see the following components being the foundation for the deep, transformational, organic community that Christ calls us to be.
- It is being in a community that truly knows one another and seeks to celebrate one another’s victories and carry one another’s burdens.
- It is participating in the communal, inclusive and sacred act of breaking bread together around the table.
- It is continually devoting ourselves to the teachings of Jesus and the apostles and sharing what God has revealed or how the Spirit has been moving.
- It is, as a community, using our resources to glorify God and giving to anyone as they have need.
- It is creating a space so abundant in forgiveness, mercy, grace and accountability that it invites and compels honest confession and true vulnerability.
In short, we will share our lives, share a meal, share our struggles, share The Word, and share our resources. We desire to center these groups and our lives in prayer. Prayers for each student, prayers for each gathering, prayers for the Holy Spirit to move powerful in and through each group, etc.
Once a month, all of the groups will meet together in Elkins as a larger community to celebrate and pray about what God is doing on this campus (see “Worship” Tab for the specific dates).
We would absolutely love for each and every student on this campus to be a part of a House Group. This is where we feel God is moving powerfully on this campus.