Why I Do Small Groups

I do small groups because I have learned life without community can be deadly. When I was a child we lived in the little town of Pitman. In the center of the town there was an area called the grove. The grove was a big wheel shaped area with an old church meeting house in the middle. The street did not have roads going through them but side walks to travel on. The Grove was lined with house after house only separated by tiny little patches of grass for yards.

The street we lived on was amazing the amount of children. I am the youngest of seven kids, the Ungrue family had 7 kids and the Haggerty family had 7 kids in their family. Kids were everywhere. I remember my Mom and her best friends Gen and Norma. They would get together almost everyday for coffee. Sometimes they would get together for a game of pinochle My best friends Maria and Sharon were the daughters of my Moms best friends. I remember this group of people their differences, but would always take care of each other. It was sharing life together like this that I think God intended for us.

When I was in third grade one January night life for us changed. We were all asleep in bed and were awakened by my Dad tell us to get out of the house. We did and minutes later our house was consumed by flames. After being separated for about six months we found a house in the same town, but not in the Grove. I watched as my Moms life changed dramatically you see the neighbors really didn’t want to talk to each other. the kids didn’t play in the street and definitely no one wanted to play pinochle. My Mom didn’t drive and would occasionally would walk to the Grove to see her friends but long distant relationships can be one sided you see their life hadn’t changed as much as my Moms had. My Mom started having health issues and Gen would come to visit once in a great while but it wasn’t the same as being a part of a community. My Mom used to tell me, “This house is killing me”. I don’t think it was the house I think it was the lifestyle change.

Having moved around quite a bit with my Husband’s job I began to learn the importance of community. When we moved to PA I began attending Christ’s Church of the Valley. It was this really cool church that met in a movie theater and I loved it. However, I felt like I always did when we moved to a new place ‘alone’. I would walk through the corridors of the theater and see people talking together and catch small glimpses of their conversations, I would even try to participate because I am an extrovert but usually felt stupid. Until I read in the programs about Home Teams. They were groups that would meet weekly and do Bible study and social things together. I knew I had to do this and signed up. My first group meeting was wonderful and after a few weeks I felt like I knew these people my whole life. It was amazing. I had gained friendships that were reminiscent of life in the Grove. Finally, I had people to share with and care for, people to do life with but even more then this I had people to pray for me. I am not sure that my Mom had people praying for her.

We live in such a transient world today with people moving from place to place regularly. It is difficult enough to find a new doctor yet alone a new group of friends. I know if we as God’s family don’t address the issue of community then people will go else where to find it, like becoming sports parents, joining social groups and programs that fill the need of interaction, not that any of these are bad I am a football Mom but, it does not fill the heart like only God can. My Mom knew what community was and lost it, and in the small parts of my mind I will always wonder if losing that community is what killed her.