OUR SMALL GROUP COVENANT
Our Goals:
We want to grow closer to Christ—we want practical tools to grow closer to Christ and be more like Him.
We want to experience Christ radically in the context of community. We want to be transformed into His image through our encounters with each other and with Him.
Our Covenant:
We agree with the covenant of accountability—we will meet on the first Wednesday of each month from 8:30-10:30 p.m. If we cannot make a meeting or are running late, we will call the leader of the group. If anyone feels like s/he is no longer able or desiring to remain in the group, we will make sure to discuss with the leader instead of “disappearing.”
We agree with the covenant of confidentiality-we understand that what is said in the group stays in the group. If a member of the group feels led by the Holy Spirit to share a praise item or testimony from someone in the group, we agree that it’s ok so long as the story is very vague and no details are given.
We agree with the covenant of grace. We understand and celebrate that we are not perfect—only Christ is! We therefore want to be a community that extends grace and forgiveness, compassion and mercy.
We agree with the covenant of acceptance. We acknowledge that each one of us is in a different stage of his/her spiritual journey. We agree to not judge one another and create a safe place for each member of the group to be themselves.
We agree with the covenant of challenge also known as the “push back.” We want to grow in our relationship with Christ and are willing to accept feedback from the group about our progress. We know that push backs are offered (not forced) and are given and accepted in the spirit of freedom and love.
We agree with the covenant of love. We want to learn to love each other, our communities and the world as Jesus loves.
We celebrate the discipline of silence. Instead of filling up the silence, we look forward to experiencing how the Holy Spirit will lead us during those times. We are committed to monitoring our talk times and ensuring that each person has an equal opportunity to speak.
We agree with the covenant of action-we want to put our faith into practice on a consistent basis.
We agree with the covenant of joy and fun. We are thankful that joy is the serious business of heaven (C.S. Lewis) and want that to be our serious business too. We agree to be a community that loves to laugh, giggle (maybe even tickle) and affirm the need to celebrate often.
We agree with the covenant of prayer. To the best of our ability we will pray for each other, our communities and the world, especially those for whom no one prays.
Signature: ________________________ Date: ______________________
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