God @ Work in Growth Groups

Here are some very encouraging testimonies of God @ work in Growth Groups from our Growth Group Leaders. Are you in a Growth Group yet? If not, why not?


College girls want to go deeper with other college girls and with their God. This is evidenced by how they want to pray with one another and hold up one another. Recently they held me up (their leader) as they graciously wanted to hear me tell the story of my Dad’s death. I cried, they cried. The closeness was indescribable. The group ministered to me. This wasn’t fully planned.

The Lord is moving among the men on our group (college men) gradually, but continually. I can see the Lord get a hold of their hearts. I believe the guys will reveal their hearts more in the coming months – more & more comfortable with each other.

My group has just really expressed a gratitude for being in the presence of other believers. One out of 7 girls has grown up in a Christian home and has Christian roommates while the rest became believers in college and have non-believing roommates. They just expressed that they feel like they’re with a Christian family.

We were blessed in our group by being able to pray for, encourage and lighten the burden of one of our members with a serious physical need. Even though she intended to not come first and then intended to not share, once she did come, we were all blessed to be able to minister to her!

A couple who felt “disconnected” from Grace church is now in their second growth group. They are connecting with people in the group and, as a result, are feeling a part of the church!

As a leader-getting to know your people well enough to know how to change a questions so that a quiet person will want to answer. God is allowing me and other believers in our group to be genuinely transparent enough to draw in the one non -believer and make him feel relaxed.

We are seeing life change in our growth group that is increasing from week to week. The life change is evident to all!

Mutual care is taking place. Others in the group are inquiring about someone in the group they were concerned about. A retired couple who had attended another church in SLO for 35 years and had never attended a small group before. The wife said “I feel as though I have been re-born”

God has forged a safe, loving environment that is encouraging transparency and honest sharing. For two older women members, it could be their only such sharing of the week.

I’m beginning to understand the value and blessing of community.

It is really cool watching people connecting with each other. Just getting 10-12 people together gives opportunity for love to be shown in words and deeds. I have seen one-on-one conversations where someone’s need was being met and this had nothing to do with my leading.

It is encouraging to me to see the whole spectrum of maturity of faith in our growth group. We have a new believer as well as others mature in their faith. The interaction is wonderful to watch and encourage.

Our Growth Group has enabled an intimacy to develop within our group. Specifically when we share during our prayer time, I have been blessed in knowing that person (who had shared) that much more.

Each week, relationships are continually developing/growing in a spiritual “church body” centered way.

Those not attending a Sunday School class get connected on a deeper level with fellow believers.

There are two couples in our growth group that are older and serve at the core of Grace Church. At first I felt intimidated but now I am greatly enjoying their fellowship and their example. I am feeling more challenged in my faith, to give more of myself to God. I am thankful to have Christian brothers and sisters that I can look up to.

We are “rallying” around one another. Perhaps to say that we are bearing one another’s burdens, not only in prayer but physically is a better way to put it. “Can I do this for you?” “How can we help you?”…that sort of thing. We are a family. The Lord is making us a family.