Vinnie is wearing the blue flannel shirt towards the back of the group in the middle of a chaotic moment at his home group.
Keith Cabral sat down with Vinnie DeBoer and asked a few questions about what it's like being part of a small group at BridgePointe. The following is a transcript of their interview.
Groups start up again the week of January 21st. Check out our Groups page for more information and to sign up.
What were your first thoughts about joining a small group?
When I was first asked about joining a small group I was kind of hesitant. I’ve been in church my whole life, I grew up Christian, and none of the churches I’ve been to ever did this kind of small group ministry. The idea of joining with a bunch of people at someone’s house who you don’t know too well and just sitting down and talking, I wasn’t sure it was for me. I wound up going ahead and doing it, and sticking with it, and found that it was really enjoyable. It was time well spent.
What did you find when you joined a small group?
I found a community of believers in Jesus that just want to follow Jesus together. It’s great not to go through Christianity on your own, not to have to go it alone. It’s great to find like-minded people. They share their experiences when times are tough. The Bible says you weep with those who weep, rejoice with those who rejoice. They’ll be there for you in the tough times and they’ll be there for you in the good times to share those as well. It wound up being a great experience just to talk with people who want to follow Jesus together.
What has small group meant for your faith personally?
Personally, it’s showed that I can help others in their difficulties. It's showed me that I do have something to offer helping others through their struggles and encouraging them to stick with it, to continue following Jesus. I can help others know they’re not alone, that this is something we’re going to be in for the long haul, together.
What has your small group meant to you?
It’s been like a small fellowship, just like Jesus had with his twelve disciples. Those twelve, they followed Him everywhere. They were a tightly knit bunch of individuals and that’s how I feel with the small group. We talk about our faith, we talk about Jesus. That’s why we’re here. We talk about leading others to Jesus, because that’s so important, and we talk about how we can accomplish that. This is our fellowship, just like Jesus had His. We still have these small fellowships today and we can band together to do our best to reveal the best of the Kingdom of God to this world around us.
What would you say to someone who’s on the fence about joining a group?
If you are not sure about joining a group but you think just maybe, then give it a shot. If you don’t like it just don’t come back, but you might wind up finding that it’s a real blessing to you and to your spiritual life in Jesus. What do you have to lose? Just give it a shot.