Visit – Connect – Serve
The Sunday morning service is the main opportunity we get to gather as family all together to connect with God and with each other. How?
Worship
Coming together to spend time singing might seem a bit strange but we usually start with singing for a few reasons.
- God told us to do it
- It shifts our focus from us to God
- It’s fun
- It’s celebrating who God is and what he’s done
God Stories
God is interested in every part of our lives and we can encourage each other by telling how God has been working in and through our lives. During our time together we regularly have opportunities to tell God stories of how prayers have been answered and our lives have been changed.
Prayer
We want prayer to be the heartbeat of our church and our lives together. Prayer is how we talk to God and is part of the relationship between a Father and His children, so it’s quite natural really. We have times of prayer during the service, usually led by one of the leaders or worship team. Depending on what the teaching is about it may be appropriate to pray after the message and you’ll quite often see people praying together after the service.
Teaching
We spend time looking at a passage in the bible. We believe the Bible is God’s word and that God wants to speak to us through it. The teaching is practical and helps us to explore what God’s plans are for our lives.
Connecting
After the service we spend time together over tea & coffee, biscuits, and sometimes cake. It’s an opportunity to get to know people you don’t know, or find out more about those you already do know, encouraging each other, praying for one another and generally being family.
LifeGroups:
What are they?
Connect Groups are a gathering of people from the church that get together regularly to share life and support one another and reach out to others. It is a place to belong, to ask questions, to wrestle with your faith, to see more clearly how God’s Word applies to your life, to pray, to be comforted, encouraged and challenged, all within a community of people who care for you, love you and want God’s best for you.
Why go?
Life was never meant to be lived in isolation. Community is a gift of God intended to help us see and experience the good news of Jesus in real and tangible ways. It is within relationship together that we exist as true family in a time when the concept of a loving and caring family can seem so alien to so many. It is a place where we can encourage and challenge one another in our journey to know, love and obey Jesus in deeper and more personal ways. It is a place where the teaching from the Bible can take root and become more clearly visible and applicable in our lives. It is a place where we learn to be vulnerable with one another and discover that none of us have got it sorted, but that together with Jesus we can become more and more the people God desires and has created us to be. It is a place where we talk together, laugh together, struggle together, grow together, pray together and serve together and reach out together as we are transformed by the grace of God in our lives.
Who are they for?
LifeGroups are an opportunity for anyone who wants to build relationships within the church & benefit form the love, encouragement, care, discipleship and mission opportunities that community brings.
Where do they take place?
LifeGroups take place in various locations across Chepstow. Chat to Martyn or one of the other leaders and they’ll point you in the right direction and introduce you to one of our LifeGroup leaders.
When do they happen?
LifeGroups take place weekly, except for the first week of every month which is reserved for our corporate prayer gathering. Most groups’ meet in the evening (usually from 7:30-9:30pm), but there are daytime options.