Small Groups & Mentoring
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Small Groups
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| Learning in community with others is a
high priority at Saratoga Federated Church. There are
numerous small-group gatherings that meet at one time or
another on just about every day of the week to study the
scriptures or discuss some facet of the Christian life.
These gatherings are also times of sheer social
enjoyment as people share their lives with each other as
friends. If meeting with a small group of people (e.g. 4–14
people) who are interested in establishing relationships
of mutual trust and encouragement, who enjoy the company
of others, and desire to grow in their faith, is an idea
that appeals to you, you will benefit greatly from
joining a small group. |
| Various groups currently exist, and new
ones are being formed periodically. There are groups
with a focus on families with young children, parents
with teens, men’s groups, women’s groups, prayer
groups, groups studying the Bible, groups studying
Christian literature, etc. The focus and content of the
gatherings arises out of the needs and interests of each
group. What is common to all of the groups is a
commitment to caring for each other. |
| The community of faith is often best
expressed and experienced in these gatherings. Your
presence would be welcomed and valued. |
| Many mid-week classes, conferences,
seminars and gatherings are available throughout the
South Bay for people who are interested in expanding
their understanding of the Christian life. Below you
will find the opportunities available at Saratoga
Federated Church or nearby sister churches. |
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Spiritual Mentoring
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| Certainly, no greater master of mentoring
others has existed than Jesus Christ. Of all of the
different methods and strategies of training and
teaching men and women a new way of life or of educating
and modeling a new way to know God, Jesus chose intimate
oneon- one relationships and small-group settings as a
primary way to get the job done. It is amazing to ponder
that the Lord of the Universe intentionally chose
personal discipleship as the means to introduce the
"Kingdom of God" among mankind. |
| If you were going to announce the most
important news ever to burst upon the human race and
make provisions for this news to continue to have impact
on the world for the rest of time, would you have chosen
12 young, unknown and untested men to carry out that
responsibility? And that at a time of very primitive
technology and means of mass communication! Yet this is
what Jesus did, and the world has never been the same
since. |
| The power of an individual sharing his
life with another is potent. Jesus preached to the
masses, and he taught large groups ("held
class" so to speak), but his greatest work was done
one-on-one with his disciples. They literally hung out
with each other… all of the time. He spiritually
mentored them. They saw him teach and preach, they
witnessed him debate, suffer abuse, respond to enemies
and admirers alike, they watched him conduct business,
saw how he interacted with people socially, politically
and religiously. They saw the whole man. And, just as
importantly, he saw them in the same ways and contexts
of their lives. |
| Many men and women have made themselves
available to befriend others in the church as a
spiritual mentor. Their aim is to open up their lives to
others who are on the path to knowing Christ better, by
passing on what Jesus has taught them so far in their
journey. At it’s core spiritual mentorship is about a
mutual sharing of the journey to know God. It is about
finding a likeminded companion who is committed to
deepening their walk of faith with God. |
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PDF Documents
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Many of the documents on our website are in Portable
Document Format (PDF). To view these documents, you need
the Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer. This program
is free and can be downloaded from the Adobe website by
clicking on the icon below. |
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