Small Groups 103: Flourishing Groups
Waypoint’s Flourishing Groups exist to organize and initiate works of restoration in our community. The goal of these groups is to bring flourishing and extend glimpses of God's kingdom to those around us as we follow God in his restoration of all things. Each group focuses on serving a particular space, place, or group of people.
A healthy church will have a cycle of gathering people in to be renewed by the gospel, and sending those renewed people back out into the world to bring restoration.
What do we mean by renewal?
We are gathered into the church to be reminded of the good news of the gospel, to be encouraged and challenged by one another, and to be formed into the image of Christ.
What do we mean by restoration?
Renewed people don’t just hole up within the church. When we’re transformed by the gospel, we’ll naturally be propelled out to share God’s goodness with those around us! We’re called to follow God in his work of restoration as he undos the brokenness of the world and to give people a taste of his kingdom.
That’s why our mission statement is:
Waypoint Church exists to help people find rest in God’s love, restore wholeness to our lives through Christ, and work toward the flourishing of our neighborhoods, our city, and the nations.
We have 3 types of groups to help us accomplish these three aspects of our missions statement:
Find Rest | Support Teams
A huge part of the way we help people find rest in God’s love takes place on Sunday mornings. The sabbath day is about coming together as a church family to worship, encourage one another, and be reminded of God’s love as the gospel is preached. Our Support Teams enable much of what we do on Sunday mornings, from leading us in worship, to caring for the children in the back,, to setting up the cafeteria so we have a space to meet - and lots more!
Restore Wholeness | Discipleship Cohorts
We’re also called to help people grow in their faith - to bring restoration and wholeness to our hearts and lives as our dependence on Jesus grows and we begin to look more and more like him. The main way we do this is by meeting in Discipleship Cohorts. These are short-term small groups centered on encouraging and equipping one another as we learn how to be disciples of Christ.
Read more about Discipleship Cohorts
Bring flourishing | Flourishing Groups
The third aspect of Waypoint’s mission might be the most important part! What’s the point of helping people find rest and be restored by the gospel? So we can be sent out into the world to bring that hope - and a glimpse of God’s kingdom - to those around us. That will be the work of Flourishing Groups.
How do we determine which groups will be organized and sponsored by the church?
Within the community at Waypoint, we have a wonderful diversity of backgrounds and interests that will lead people to want to move out into the world and bring flourishing in many different ways. We want to encourage this! If you have an individual passion, please pursue it! But we also know that we can’t form an official Flourishing Group for everything.
There are 3 factors to consider when we decide to formally create a new Flourishing Group:
1. Normative: What does the Bible say all churches at all times are called to do?
2. Existential: Who are we as a church? Who has God placed at Waypoint and what collective interests, callings and giftings do we have?
3. Contextual: What needs are there in our community? Which of these needs are we connected to and have the resources to impact?
As an example, I was part of a church in college that had a significant ministry to the homeless. The church understood that God calls us to care for the poor and vulnerable (normative). There were a significant number of people in the church who had formerly been homeless and who understood the struggles of homelessness firsthand. Our church was also located near the overpass that had become a main gathering place for the homeless in town (existential and contextual). Because these three factors all aligned, the church formed a ministry to serve and support the homeless in our city.
