Ministry Groups
Ministry groups are one of the things that make The Water's Edge unique. (see our FAQ's for others)
Ministry groups are designed to encourage and equip you to minister at home, at church, and out in the community and thereby advance God’s Kingdom by growing in Christ yourself and by helping others to do the same.
(Mark 10:43-45, Matthew 5:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, James 1:22, Ephesians 4:11-16, Acts 2:42-47, James 5:16, 2 Peter 3:18)
Ministry groups will help you to grow in the following three areas by encouraging and equipping you to…
Home – grow in your personal relationship with the Lord and your relationship with your spouse and children.
Church – care for your ministry group, care for your care group*, and use your God-given gifts and talents to serve the church.
Community – reach out specifically to the people God has already placed in your life who do not know Him and to reach out generally to those who don’t know Him by serving the community.
* A care group is a portion of the TWE flock not yet ready to commit to a ministry group, including visitors and new attenders.
Ministry groups will…
1) be comprised of 6 to 12 adults, will be multigenerational, and will be formed based on geography, relationships, and availability.
2) meet every other week to care for each other by asking the question, “How are things going at home, at church, and out in the community?” and then responding with Biblical encouragement, admonishment, and prayer. Group members will also be encouraged to share what they are learning from an ongoing group study done outside the meeting as well. Meetings will be in homes, may include a meal, and will usually last about 3 hours. Each group will handle childcare as they see fit.
3) use the weeks between meetings to minister to their care group and to reach out to the community in an intentional way. This could look any number of different ways and may or may not be done together as a ministry group.
4) seek to encourage and equip each other outside the scheduled meetings as well by ministering alongside, praying for, and being there for one another.
5) be led by Godly, dedicated men, who have received both prior and ongoing training.
6) be ready to add new members and/or divide to form new ministry groups as the need arises.
7) not be solely comprised of TWE members. Though all TWE members will be in a ministry group*, you do not have to be a member to be in one.
8) consider taking some time off from regularly scheduled meetings during the holiday and summer seasons.
* There may be rare occasional or seasonal exceptions to this.
Ministry group leaders will…
1) lead their members to care for their families, each other, their care groups, and those who don’t yet know the Lord in their lives and community both individually and as a group.
2) be members, will be chosen by Pastor Erik, will go through the equipped small group leader training materials, and will spend time as an assistant leader before leading a ministry group themselves.
3) gather monthly with other group leaders and assistant leaders to discuss group progress, sharpen each other, and pray.
4) be in regular contact with Pastor Erik.
5) be in regular contact with their assistant leader, will provide them opportunities to serve and lead the group, and will give them feedback regarding their leadership.
6) take a big step toward becoming an elder at TWE (if the Lord were to lead that way) since all TWE elders will be required to “prove themselves” by leading a ministry group well.
* There may be occasional exceptions to this based on circumstance or need, e.g. our first group of leaders will never have been assistant leaders.