Home Fellowship Groups

Our Fellowship Groups are small communities of believers meeting in homes in throughout Contra Costa County and surrounding areas during the week. They are centered upon the study of the Bible, but are more than Bible studies. They are the primary vehicle for mutual ministry and edification at GBC. Our group meetings include prayer, fellowship, accountability, mutual care, opportunities for serving, and interactive spiritual nurturing. All groups are led by trained leaders from the congregation who receive continuing oversight and support from the elders.

Why are Fellowship Groups Important?

In many ways Fellowship Groups are the central place for body-life to be developed and matured through focused relationships, one to another. Because of this, it continues to be our prayer and desire that every member of Grace Bible Church view participation in a Fellowship Group as an integral part of their privilege and responsibility of being part of this local church. It is also our desire that these smaller cross sections of Grace Bible Church will provide a place where everyone can minister their gifts and have the love of God ministered to them.

What do home Fellowship Groups provide?

A place for learning and growing We are committed to the sufficiency of Scripture and a firm belief in its authority for our lives. All of our home fellowships are intended to increase the knowledge and application of God's Word in the lives of His people. We need the help of others in order to accomplish this. The implications of God's Word and grace are so broad that we cannot hope to understand or perceive all by ourselves.

A Place for Caring and Sharing

Many of the biblical commands related to fellowship have become increasingly difficult to fulfill in our disjointed contemporary society. These especially include commands for Christians to minister, encourage, build up, and love one another (Hebrews 3:13, Galatians 6:2; Colossians 3:16; James 5:16; 1 Peter 4:8-9; Ephesians 4:32; etc.). The very "one anotherness" of these commands necessitates Christian fellowship contexts small enough for our ministry to become truly mutual. Fellowship Groups are the first place that many of our members turn to in order to find such mutual care and concern. As a result, Fellowship Groups play an integral part in the pastoral care of GBC.

A place for exercising spiritual gifts

We are told in Scripture that God freely distributes spiritual gifts to His body as He wills for the purpose of edification, so that we might become mature in Christ (Acts 20:32; Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 14:12,26; Hebrews 2:4). Fellowship groups are a place for these gifts to be discovered and developed. Members are encouraged to invest themselves in relationships with others as stewards of God's multifaceted grace (1 Peter 4:10) not merely to "attend" or "consume."

Where do They Meet?

The Groups meet in various locations throughout Contra Costa and surrounding counties. There are groups that meet in Clayton, Concord, Lafayette, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Walnut Creek and Benicia, and we plan to add more to more fully minister to as many members as possible. For more information about a group that meets in your area, please call the church office at (925) 676-1584 or send us an email.