It can be easy to go to church every Sunday and still spend most of your week feeling isolated and lonely. For many people, especially in large cities like San Francisco, the paradox of community is that we are surrounded by people yet we are constantly reminded of how alone we feel. We might come to church every Sunday wondering where we’re going to sit and whether someone will initiate a conversation. We all want our church to be a welcoming place, but too often it perpetuates isolation. We were made for community.
Community Groups have been part of City Church’s DNA from our early days. We have always believed that small groups of people are where some of the church’s best pastoral care can take place, and people can get to know one another in ways they can’t during a weekend service. One of the most important reasons behind our adoption of Community Groups is this passage from Colossians 3:
As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let not the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body.
In Community Groups, we learn how to “bear with one another.” In large part, this simply looks like sharing our daily lives with one another with honesty and compassion. Community Groups are made up of 10-12 people who meet in individual homes throughout the city during the week, often over a meal. There are many reasons we offer Community Groups at City Church, and they all stem from our understanding of who God is and who God has created us to be. When God said, “It is not good for man to be alone,” after creating Adam, God was making a statement about the vital and central role community plays in a human life.
Our hope for Community Groups at City Church is that they would be places of renewal, welcome, and study for anyone who is interested in growing in their relationship with God, with others, and with this city. This September, we are especially encouraging people who haven’t yet been part of a Community Group to sign up to join one.
COMMUNITY GROUP SIGN-UPS
Sunday, January 8, 15 and 22
Both Campuses