NT Groups (church-wide)

NT Groups is a key part of our ministry strategy at North Terrace.

Here’s why:

Life was not meant to be lived alone. When we look at the early church, we get a picture of small communities of people who followed Jesus together. The book of Acts, especially Acts 2:42-47, gives us a picture of the early church and the components of the biblical community. This community encompassed both the “temple courts” and “house-to-house.”

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” - Acts 2:42-47

Today, small groups are often viewed merely as a program or a fellowship ministry within the church. Student ministry, has been particularly guilty of this! But for the New Testament church, this was a way of life. Their relationships with one another were critical to their pursuit of Jesus, their growth in Christ, and their ability to share with those around them. It would be impossible to experience a biblical community apart from spiritually significant relationships with other believers. Small groups, therefore, are an integral part of “being” the church and not just “doing” church.

At North Terrace, small groups are vital to our church and provide a safe place to experience life the way God intended it—in a community. Small groups help create a community where people can pursue the immeasurably more God has for them and grow in their mission to reach out to people far from God in our immediate communities. 

In student ministry, our goal with small groups is to (1) create community among students,  (2) minister to each students’ unique needs, (3) provide students with pastoral care, (4) empower students to be kingdom workers and (5) integrate students into the life of the church as a whole.

To accomplish this, we have two main kinds of groups that meet weekly called Community Groups & Covenant Groups. We also have 2 additional group types that can meet during unique seasons to cover specific topics.