Growth Groups
scroll down for a list of some current groups to connect with...
Mission and Vision
If you have been around E3 for any length of time then you have heard it said that our mission is to “make, mature, and mobilize, fully devoted followers of Christ.” This is a broad mission with a specific vision and we believe that Growth Groups play an essential role in the life of a believer by providing support, encouragement, comfort, friendship, and accountability, as we push forward to the call that God has on our lives.
Growth Groups at Element3 Church are small groups of about 5-12 people who meet on a weekly basis in a host home or at the church, if a host home is not available. They serve three basic and distinct purposes in the life of a healthy believer.
The first two purposes of a growth group can be summed up in the word “fellowship” but are separated into the areas of Connexity and Discipleship. Connexity in its essence is connecting people with Biblical community. It is the interaction we have through our common bond of Christ. “Doing life together” might be sharing a meal, some monumental life experiences or simply playing a game. Discipleship is the process of being trained to conform our lives to God’s will by submitting to His instruction. It happens as we read and hear God’s truth, listen to His Spirit’s guidance and then apply it to our lives by the power of the Holy Spirit. We open the door for God to change things in our lives that are not of Him or are not His best for us. We help each other on this journey and are accountable to one another as we seek to bear one another’s burdens and be molded into the image of Christ.
GGs should inspire and promote growth. This cannot take place in an environment that allows judgment and condemnation. We have to allow space for God to do His work and we are to do our work - extend His truth with unconditional love. We need to create an environment where people can seek out God with all of their heart, mind, soul, and strength and give them the grace that God does, as HE molds and shapes them into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Finally, Growth Groups also provide us the opportunity to exercise spiritual gifts that we do not get to use within the corporate setting of the church. God has gifted each and every one of us and we are to use those gifts within the Body of Christ. There are many different ways that these gifts can be used. You may have the gift of hospitality and so you open your home to host a growth group. You may have a gift of teaching or shepherding and so you assume leadership of a group. God may have given you the gift of encouragement and so you exercise that by coming alongside the people in your group with prayers, phone calls or emails of support. Regardless of the gift, each and every one is absolutely necessary for the church to operate in a healthy way so that we can all grow up into Him who has called us into fellowship with Himself, Jesus Christ.
I cannot stress enough the importance of this part of our spiritual journey as we seek to please God by creating a place where people can seek Him in spirit and in truth and come to know the love of our Savior in an ever deepening and widening way! Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.” - Hebrews 10:24-25.
For the glory of Jesus,
Pastor Dan Meyer
Check out one of these GGs or talk to Dan Meyer about starting a new one...
Mondays
Study: Going Deeper
Time: 7pm
Who: Larry and Mary Coffee
Location: 2536 Whisper Way - 32308
Contact: marycoffee@mye3.org
Study: Book of Galatians
Time: 7pm
Who: Rori Dunbar
Location: 1516 Glenway Dr - 32301
Contact:rori.dunbar@gmail.com
Tuesdays
Study: Going Deeper
Time: 630pm
Who: Michael and Robin Bateman
Location: E3 - 3540 Mahan Dr - 32308
Contact: rwbateman@comcast.net
Study: Minor Prophets
Time: 730pm
Who: Jonathan Divine
Location: 1826 Sharon Rd - 32303
Contact: 850.212.3093 - jad7845@gmail.com
Wednesdays
Study: Senior High Student Gathering (for high school students)
Time: 630pm
Who: Dan Meyer
Location: 1603 Carruthers St. - 32308
Contact: dan@element3.org; 850.212.2251
Study: Gospel of Mark
Time: 7pm
Who: Charlie and Jaye Vanture
Location: 2105 La Rochelle Dr - 32308
Contact: jvanture@gmail.com; 850.510.1010
Study: "Toxic Charity"
Time: 730pm
Who: Chuck Rolling
Location: E3 - 3540 Mahan Dr - 32308
Contact: cpr1558@gmail.com; 850.508.8946
Thursdays
Study: Going Deeper
Time: 7pm
Who: Michael and Martha Hanna
Location: Thomasville, Georgia - 3832 Lower Cairo Rd - 31792
Contact: mhtrio@gmail.com; 229.224.9531
Study: Going Deeper
Time: 7pm
Who: Paula Kapral
Location: 1555 Delaney Drive - Apt.# - 32309
Contact: abundantreflections@gmail.com; 850.339.1625
