By Karen McBride
Published by Dunndeal Publications
September, 2015
Although there are over 9,000 people attending services at their four campuses, Grace Family Church can still feel like a close-knit family. The church encourages their members to attend small groups to build personal relationships. There are groups for men, women, married couples, singles, people that have gone through a divorce and many more.
The women’s ministry, Beautiful, has several sessions in order to accommodate for the variety of schedules. Women can choose to attend the weekly study on Monday nights or Tuesday mornings at the Van Dyke campus or Wednesday evenings at the Waters Campus.
The men’s group, Courageous, meets on Tuesday nights at 7:00 in the main sanctuary at the Van Dyke campus.
A co-ed bible study is held on Wednesday nights at 7:00 at the Van Dyke campus. The group is open to all adults, in all stages of life and will be studying 1 Corinthians during the fall session, which begins the week of September 12, 2015.
The bible studies begin with a main speaker, and then the attendees (sitting at a table of 8-10 people) are given a list of discussion questions to review the lesson. These roundtable discussions help to make the large church feel smaller and more personal.
When asked how they determine the bible studies for the upcoming semester, Pastor Mike Moore, Executive Pastor Family/Creative Ministries, said “Normally we try to determine what our community needs based upon a combination of what’s going on in our world, community, where their current stage of life is, what publishers are producing and, of course, have a pulse on what God is doing at this moment.”
Home bible studies are offered as well, for the opportunity to learn God’s word and to bond with fellow Christians in a more private setting.
Each fall, the church holds a Women’s retreat. This year, the retreat will be held September 24-26 at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater. The uplifting event consists of daily general sessions and then attendees can select from several smaller breakout sessions. The annual event is a great way to connect with other Christian women. The people that are on the event committee go out of their way to make each person feel comfortable.
The men’s group will be having a Man’s Camp October 22-24. The event is an opportunity for men to come together in fellowship, to enjoy the outdoors, and to learn God’s word.
Grace Family Church has four campuses. The main campus is located at 5101 Van Dyke Road, Lutz, FL 33558. The other campuses are located in Tampa, Ybor City and Temple Terrace. For more information about the small groups, go to http://gfconline.com/next-steps/groups/
