Small Groups Thriving, Not Just Surviving

For the past 18 months, a small group from Blueprint Church have been meeting together at a café in Central Wellington. The staff know their orders, they sit at the same table, and they’ve become ever-bolder in their approach to prayer in this busy public space.

Esmé Putt helps lead the group: “We talk about where we feel the rub of God calling us in our lives, and we hold each other accountable to where we are called to live differently. Most of us oversleep, so it’s become a bit of a tradition to eat cheese scones.” But for weeks now, quality barista coffee has been replaced by plunger, and Esmé can’t recall the last time she saw a cheese scone.

As Aotearoa rapidly moved from a life-as-usual approach to Level Four, Esmé’s small group were conscious of two different postures they could take towards this season. “It would be easy to believe that all God wants for us in this time is to survive, but we decided early on that the challenges of Jesus were as salient now as ever—perhaps even more so. We want more than survival, and we think Jesus wants more than survival, too.”

This small group, like many groups across the diocese, has moved to Zoom. They’ve embraced the awkward silences, the intermittent internet quality and the background noise of everyone’s housemates. They’ve chosen to go deeper together at a time where staying in bed might seem more appealing.

Using Blueprint Church’s lockdown guide, they are reflecting on how God’s invitation is often most clear to us on the road in the liminal spaces between who we were and who God is calling us to be. Through that lens, this time of discomfort has become a unique moment to hear Jesus again say, come, follow me. “We are meditating on scriptures together that bring both hope and challenge to this time of COVID- 19, and we can see God moving in our lives individually and as a body,” Esmé says.

“It’s moments like these that make us reflect on what’s most important and what actually sustains our faith when we can’t get together in person. What has become most clear to me is that the message is so much more important than the medium. I have been reminded of the importance of regular connection, as well as relationships of vulnerability and accountability that continue to challenge us and inspire us deeper into the way of Jesus.”

We’d love to hear about other small groups of house churches happening in the diocese. Get in touch at reception@anglicanmovement.nz