A Circle of CARE is a small group of 8 to10 people who gather regularly in the home of one of the Circle participants and who band together around the promise to grow in love for God and for others. Each group uses a common Study Guide, formed as practical life application focusing on the weekly message. It also contains challenging questions for self-reflection, exercises for listening for God's call and opportunities to serve together.
Care, nurture and support are central to the gathering time with the expectation that Christ is experienced among the gathered community. A Circle spends time in fellowship and hospitality; meditation/centering; reflection and study; worship and prayer. Each Circle is committed to growing deeper through the Crossroads core mission of a transformational journey with Jesus ... Inward, Outward and Together.
Circles of CARE are defined by a four-point covenant:
CALL It is in the community of small groups that we discover our call -- God`s plan for how people use their gifts to make a difference in the world and to reveal the character of Christ in our personal lives, families and communities.
ACCOUNTABILITY Being held in a bond of grace-filled confrontation that keeps us conformed to the character of Christ
REFLECTION - spending time practicing the spiritual disciplines that help us create inner sacred space in which God`s voice becomes distinct and clear; studying scripture with the aid of the Circles of CARE Reflection Guide as a group, and with the Crossroads Daily Guide on an individual basis.
ENGAGEMENT Learning to be the hands of Jesus to the church through ministry and to the world through mission
THE ROOTS OF SMALL GROUPS
The early church was a diverse group of people who were committed to following Jesus through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. They followed the model that Jesus initiated and lived by sharing in deep, authentic Christian community.
Over the centuries the church became institutionalized and conformed to a one-hour-a-week, once-a-week-worship format. The clergy and a physical building became the centerpiece of the life of the church, a model that was replicated in the Americas. The early church and its transforming approach to discipleship, community, witness and service did not align with the practices of most mainline denominations.
Jump forward several hundred years. Due to the spiritual nurturing in the Wesley home some 300 years ago, John Wesley experienced the foundational value of being in spiritual practice with others in his family. After leaving home as young adults, John and his brother Charles duplicated the small group environment they experienced at home by forming the "Holy Club" at Oxford.
John went on to be ordained in the Anglican Church of England from which he eventually was called to address the needs of the uneducated and poor of English society. Many common folks were converted through his preaching and discipling method, lived out through personal and community spiritual disciplines within small groups. The "methodical" spiritual formation in these groups was the basis for the Methodist movement that transformed English history during that era.
A TRANSFORMATIONAL EXPERIENCE
For any one of us to experience the transformational nature of small groups, we must:
Transform our Heads -- Change our thinking and worldview so we see through Jesus' eyes
Transform our Hearts -- Change the way we feel through inspirational and community worship
Transform our Hands -- Change the way we act and focus on making a difference in the world
Transform our Habits -- Change the way we behave by practicing the spiritual disciplines and entering into genuine Christian accountability through small groups
LOCATE A CIRCLE OF CARE
Right now we are forming the following Circles of CARE:
- Meet on Fridays from 12 noon until 1:30pm for lunch
- A Sunday afternoon Circle of CARE
- A Circle of CARE in the Reston/Herndon area
If you are interested in joining a Circle of CARE your next step is to contact Jean Boren, 703-729-5100, Ext. 133 or by EMAIL and she'll work on matching you up with either an existing Circle of CARE or maybe even develop a new Circle of CARE with others like you wishing to join the Crossroads Community.
