I walked to the door and shot up a silent prayer that this was the right house. Every fiber of my being wanted to get back in the car and drive away. Drive back to the safety of home. Drive to Chick Fil A for a milkshake. Drive anywhere. Anything had to be better than the uncertainty that loomed on the other side of that door. Would they be friendly? Would I have anything in common with these people? Would I feel stupid? What if it actually was stupid? Would they like me? Would I like them?? Before my thoughts were able to spiral too far out of control, the door opened and I was greeted with a friendly smile and the rest is history. I didn’t know it then, but that night would change my life.
The hardest part of so many things in our lives sometimes is just deciding to show up. Showing up demands a risk be taken and most of us aren’t too fond of risk. But if there’s no risk, there’s no reward. And goodness, has that one risk I took deciding to show up on that first night of group rewarded me. Showing up in a group changed my walk with God. The community, friendship, and love I found in a group became the real-life place to practice living out what I was learning about in church. It was where my faith grew feet. It was where my faith left the realm of just being religious information and became real life for me. God wants to use people to grow us and he wants to use us to help grow other people. But first we have to show up.
And here’s what happens when we decide to show up- other people show up for us too. It’s wonderfully reciprocal like that. Since being a part of a GT Group, I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count how many meals I’ve received after a surgery or illness, or how many encouraging texts I’ve gotten after a rough day. I’ve also had the opportunity to show up for others in their time of need and actually be the hands and feet of Jesus. There is just nothing that feels better than that.
So…are you ready? Are you ready to move out of a row and into a circle? It starts by showing up.
Conversation Starter
Tell about a time that someone showed up for you when you really needed them.
Discussion Questions
Question 1: Where have you felt the greatest sense of community? (Ex: work, sporting event)
Question 2: What are some of your hesitations when it comes to showing up in biblical community?
Question 3: Read Hebrews 10:24-25
Do you think these verses still apply to us today? Why or why not? What do you think that should look like in a group setting?
Question 4: Read Matthew 18:20
Being assured of God’s presence when we gather, how should that impact us as individuals and as a group?
Question 5: Who is someone that you need to show up for in their life?
Prayer Focus:
Ask God to show you the people in your lives that you need to “show up” for and build community with. Pray that God will form your group to be exactly what He wants it to be, that He would guide it and direct it and that it would be a blessing to everyone in it and that it would also be a blessing to Him.