Two Monday nights ago we announced our line up of Community Groups for the Fall.
All the groups are open for you to join (except Jenelle and Jarreau’s career group–it’s full), just email Gabby Leposki at gleposki@ccphilly.org if you need more information or want a group leader to get in touch with you.
Here are the Fall groups:
(All groups have one membership stipulation, that participants would be in the Young Adults age range–out of high school, under 30.)
Hatboro Home Fellowship
Invited: Anyone
Leaders: Mike & Christina Deasey
Description: Helping keep each other accountable to read the Word over the Summer
Meetings: Every other Thursday
Start Date: September 18
Meal: Potluck Dinner
Arts Fellowship
Invited: Anyone who is currently working in, studying, or has talent in any of the arts (fine arts, writing, graphic design, music, etc…)
Leader: Dave Dion
Purpose: Foster Fellowship & Collaboration of people involved with the Arts
Start Date: TBD
Men’s Fellowship
We’re a group of young men specifically meeting to encourage and edify each other using the Word, activities of service, mutual interests and the relationships that will form as a consequence.
Invited: Men
Leaders: Binu Mathew & Luke Riddell
Meetings: Every other week, Saturdays and Fridays
Start Date: September 6
Meal: Something!
Girl’s Fellowship
Rotating Bible Study nights and fellowship nights for Ladies.
Invited: Women
Leaders: Sara Gallagher & Tiffany Doran
Meetings: Selected Thursdays
Start Date: September 11
Meal: TBD…
Running Club
Invited: Anyone who wants to run. (Don’t be scared, this will be beginner friendly.)
Leader: Chris Lucas
Meetings: Weekly, Thursday nights or Saturday mornings.
Start Date: September 4
Street Team
Sharing the Gospel and ministering to the needy around our city.
Invited: Anyone
Leaders: Schylo Lease & Josh Marcinik
Location: Around Philadelphia
Meetings: Friday nights, Saturdays, other times…
Start Date: TBD
College Student Group
We want to get together to stay connected to church during the summer break, and grow together before we go back to school.
Invited: Anyone who is currently an undergraduate student at a college or university.
Leader: Jake Lanetti
Meetings: Every other Saturday
Start Date: September 13?
Meal: Always.
Career Fellowship (FULL)
A group designed to support and encourage those in the work/career world. Fellowship, food, discussion, prayer and activities.
Leaders: Jenelle Ricci & Jarreau Freeman
Purpose: Support and encourage those in the world & career world.
Meetings: Two Fridays a month
Meal: Themed, Potluck Dessert/Appetizers
And for those of you who aren’t familiar with our Community Groups, here’s the overview:
Community Groups: Your place to build friendship in a small group.
We understand that the sanctuary at Calvary Chapel is big and full of people. The Monday night Young Adults meeting is still rather large, and many who come are looking for an easier way to meet people and build friendships.
Community Groups are a way for those in the Young Adults fellowship at Calvary Chapel to build Christian community, cultivate ministry to the body of Christ, and reach out to those in need of Christ. They range in format from bible reading and discussion groups where people in a certain locality gather at a house, to reading groups where specific books are read and discussed together, to interest-based groups where members pursue a shared passion.
Why do we have them?
As we read the chronicle of the birth of the Church in the second chapter of the book of Acts, we see that Christians were committed to several things, one of which was regular gathering for different purposes. Among other things, we see that they gathered “from house to house.” No doubt this was because they had no church buildings in those days. But from their example we can learn a commitment to being together—in short, to living in real Christian community. They ate together, they studied together, they worshipped together, and they spread the gospel among non-believers together.
Our Community Groups are one way of helping the young adults of Calvary Chapel pursue this part of the Christian’s calling. Specifically, Community Groups are our way of pursuing the need for personal relationships with each other—so we can be the kind of family (where every person is a sibling), and body (where every person is a member), and building (where every person is a living stone) that the scriptures call us to be.
In addition, we see community groups as a way to help build relationships for life—relationships that become part of the lifeblood of our church here at Calvary Chapel and that extend beyond your time in the Young Adults fellowship.
What are they like?
Groups of five to fifteen or so. They may meet in homes, in coffee shops, at local parks, or anywhere else where they can pursue their specific purpose. The core of the group are a few committed members of our Young Adults fellowship, and a leader or two who are specifically designated to coordinate the group and lend it vision and focus. These groups are ideal for people to check out after they’ve been to a Monday night bible study and want to find friendships.
What kind of commitment does joining require?
The “community” part of Community Groups requires that you get together with your group regularly, so you can build and maintain real relationships. Let’s state the obvious: relationships require time. You could even say that they are time, time spent together, communicating and accomplishing things together. So if you’re going to sign up, we’d ask that you are ready to make as many of the meetings as possible for the length of the session.
How long do groups run?
They run for about three months (with sessions in the Spring, Summer, and Fall) and break over the holidays in December. Most groups meet every other week for that length of time. If everyone in your groups loves the group, and doesn’t want to stop meeting, group members will have the ability to sign up first for the next session, so that no on has to lose their place in the group. Then you can keep hanging out, indefinitely. Conceivably a group could form and run on for years until everyone gets too old for Young Adults and they disband or they let it turn into a Calvary Philly Home Fellowship. (So, literally, the group could run the rest of your life!).
Can I bring a friend to my group?
Absolutely. Community groups are ideal places to introduce someone to our fellowship. We would just ask that:
1. You let the group leaders know they’re coming
2. They would be the right age to be part of our Young Adults fellowship (out of high school, under 30)
Can I bring a friend who’s not a Christian?
Please do. One of our hopes for these groups is that they provide us for a very genuine form of outreach. In a day and age where it is often difficult to find a ways to engage people with Christian truth, we hope to see these groups become places where you can invite your friends to witness real Christianity being lived out. So invite people and bring them.
How do I get involved?
Three times a year we will have sign up nights for Community Groups. Signing up then is the easiest way to join a group.
During the rest of the year, email Brian at bweed@ccphilly.org and inquire about the group you’re interested in. You’ll get contacted by someone from that group with details about where and when they’re meeting.