What's Next?

Guest Blogger: Jay Ashlock, Discipleship/Groups Pastor

In my position as Groups/Discipleship Pastor here at Rock Bridge Community Church I have the amazing privilege of connecting with different people from all walks of life. One thing I am learning is that God often works through the people in our lives -- through our conversations, through community, through our relational connections.

Once I was talking to a friend who doesn't attend Rock Bridge.  He visited our church and asked me, "Is there something else to to this?" I asked him what he meant and he said that he has been to Rock Bridge worship service and was wondering what was the next step?   On a larger scale he was asking, "What do we do with all of these people once they come to church?" These questions are powerful and have forced me to wrestle with the way I think of church.

We typically and traditionally have thought of church as a place to go and a spot on the weekly calendar.  But church was given to us by God and is one of the main ways He works in our lives. How? Because true church is community, it is spiritual family, it is people.  And God works through people to work in and on our lives.

One of the ways we try to leverage this principle is through small groups.  I tried to explain to my friend that you haven't really been to church unless you've experienced community in a small group.  Small groups are where we leverage the teaching from our services and learn how to live out the Word of God in a practical way. Groups are not an addition to the worship service.  Groups are where we can really BE the church, instead of merely "doing" one hour a week. This is what we see in Acts 2 -- people joined together by the Cross and doing life together in Jesus' Name.

So how about you? Are you really experiencing church? Are you being the church?