Community and COVID-19

This March will mark 10 years since The Town held it's first worship gathering in the gymnasium of then Glasgow Church. There was excitement in the air as we prepared to be sent that Easter in 2010.

From the very first day, we put all of our discipleship emphasis on a small group format that we called Community Groups. Our strategy to accomplish our mission was simple. We would meet together on Sundays as a portable church for our larger worship gathering while connecting our Community Groups in meaningful ways to the sermon content in smaller more intimate groups. We called this the gathering and scattering of the church.

Those who are still with us and were with us at the beginning are most likely in a Community Group right now. Those who "feel" connected" are most likely in a Community Group right now. The staying power of a family or person at The Town is directly related to their connection in a Community Group.

If you are new to The Town, you might not be in a Community Group for a variety of reasons. Maybe you don't know how. Maybe you are used to doing church a little differently. Maybe you have a preconceived idea about Community Groups whether that be a bad, neutral or good feeling. I want to encourage or exhort you to trust me and to get plugged in now. Community Groups are the primary vehicle of discipleship, mercy-ministry, need-meeting, relationships and prayer at The Town Church. We aren't a church with Community Groups, we are a church of Community Groups. 

I think that now, more than ever, is the absolute best time for you to connect with a Community Group. It could be weeks or even months before we meet together in the same place again, but the church continues to worship Jesus and meet together - in Community Group.

The Church in persecuted places like China or Iran have continued to see exponential growth - not because they have fancy large group gatherings or because their pastor is hip, or because they have a worship "experience". They grow because Christ is preeminent. They have grown while meeting together in small groups, taking care of one-another's needs, and treasuring the promises of God found only in His Word, given graciously to us.

The Town is going to thrive during this time and the reason we are going to thrive is because of Christ-centered community, Christ-centered preaching, and Christ-centered mercy. We are prepared for a time such as this.

If you aren't in a Community Group, I am going to plead with you to take a few minutes and to contact either myself (pastordan@thetown.org) or Pastor Scott (pastorscott@thetown.org), and to take the next step of showing up to a small group meeting. Our health officials are saying that groups of 50 or more should not meet. Our groups are way less than 50 people. You can also search for a Community Group on our app (download by searching for The Town Church on your favorite app store or just go here).

Our Elders are meeting tonight (Monday, March 16), and part of our meeting will be to discuss how we continue to minister and shepherd God's people through this pandemic. We have some pretty cool ideas brewing about how we can look at the church with spiritual eyes and to possibly use this time to improve on our theology of the church. I can promise you that a major component of our church, even more so than going to church on a Sunday morning, over these next few weeks, will be our small group discipleship in Community Groups.

So please, prayerfully take the next step. Even if you cannot get out to a small group, now is the time to get connected to one. We want to make sure that every person who calls The Town their home church is connected to a Community Group. We are going to make this a top priority in the weeks while we are huddled away. 

I want to encourage you to subscribe to my blog as I will be using it as a primary means of spreading the word during this quarantine.