A key way we live out our mission here at Redland is through ‘Grow Groups’. To be an apprentice of Jesus is to open our lives up to him, allowing Him to transform us; to form us into his image. A Grow Group is simply a group of people who, through five shared practices, are committing to encourage, challenge and pray for each other as we apprentice our lives to Jesus; seeking together to grow in intimacy with him and let him transform us.
The whole point of a Grow Group is that we expect to grow through being part of it. We expect to grow in our intimacy and love for God, in faith, patience, love, compassion, our concern for justice and issues of sustainability, our heart for those who don’t know Jesus, in kindness, joy, peace, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control etc. We want to grow not simply in what we know about God but in both, our relationship with him and our likeness to Jesus.
Grow groups are structured around this core aim. To achieve this each group is committed to five practices.
Five Practices
Connecting
Being with Jesus
Growth Focus
Sharing
Prayer
A Grow Group operates not on a set model but on core practices. Grow groups can look very different from one another but will all share a common commitment to 5 practices that will be realised in contextually appropriate ways for each group. These are practices that we would expect to see present in the life of each grow group across a month. Some groups may inhabit all of them each week others giving focus to different practices on different weeks. We believe that is through an engagement in all of these practices that those in a group will grow together in Jesus. Some practices will be more attractive for some groups than others but we would encourage a good balance of all five in your group’s life together.
JOIN A GROUP
We run lots of different types of grow group that meet in different ways in different times. Check out the list below to get a flavour of each group and click on your favourite to request to sign up. If none of these work for you why not think about launching your own group. As long as a group holds to our core vision and inhabits the five practices it can become a grow group. We’d love to see grow groups that meet in pubs, homes, cafes; around common interests or sports. If you have an idea get in touch with us.