A gathering of people who meet on our campus for short periods of time, to study the Bible, theology and practical application of the Scriptures to their lives. Many of these studies take place on Sunday morning and several others meet on campus during the week. Sunday School Classes are the most common but we have some others that meet in the evenings as well.

These classes, unlike most small groups meet for one or more semesters (fall, spring & summer) for a short and predtermined period of time. Most are lecture based rather than discussion based like most small groups.

Classes have a heavy focus on growth but we hope that all our classes will also have elements of our  Connect, Serve, Grow & Go vision in them as well.

For instance, we hope people will get connected to one another in classes. We hope the class might even consider serving together outside of their class time and that these classes would encourage those in them to live with gospel intentionality through out the rest of the week.

Below is what we mean when we say… Small Group.

WHAT IS A WILDWOOD SMALL GROUP?

A small gathering of people who meet regularly in homes, on our campus, or in public places… to Connect, Serve, Grow & Go together. They are our primary environment for growth and discipleship. Small Groups are a group of people we can call ‘home’.

How ‘small’ are small groups anyway?

Small Groups have at most ~ 14 people and as few as ~4. After small groups get beyond ~14 people they loose that small group dynamic.  We encourage our groups that get too large to consider themselves “FULL” while preparing to “Multiply“.

These groups prevent us from falling through the cracks. (which is easy with a church our size)

Small groups are where you can get to know God and be known by others and where you can have the Scriptures applied to your life by others who know you and love you well. There is a real sense of family that develops!

Small groups are where you can be invested in and investing in others; where you can laugh, learn, discuss, pray and be missed when you are gone. They are valuable communities, where living life together, through the ups and downs, supporting one another and spurring one another on, is normative.

What is the overall goal of small groups?

In a word…discipleship. Small groups are environments where people grow,  leaders are developed, and new groups can be birthed from. They are vessels for discipleship and multiplication. Healthiest groups will raise up future leaders and multiply themselves; thus creating sustainable room for others to find valuable community and discipleship.

Each Small Group is a team… on mission.

We don’t have to live the great c0-mission alone more. We can team up with others to serve shoulder to shoulder in our church and in our community. We can aid and encourage one another as we all attempt to reach out to lost souls with gospel intentionality.  We don’t have to share the gospel with lost souls alone any more. Your group is with you literally in person or at least backing you in prayer.

LOOKING FOR A GROUP? Start your search on our GROUP FINDER today.

LOOKING FOR A GROUP? Start your search on our GROUP FINDER today.

 Wildwood Church has many different types of Groups (small groups of various kinds, Classes/Studies/ and even restoration groups)…however we hope all our groups are growing towards each of the ’4 Elements’ below. 

1. CONNECT:

Connect with  God and others through meaningful relationships. (Acts 2:42) ( Hebrews 10:24-25)

 2. SERVE:

Serve our church, our community, our Partners and our world; together as a group. (Mark 10:45) ( John 13:12-15)

3. GROW:

Growing mature and multiplying disciples of Jesus (discipleship) through intentionally investing in one another. We hope each person grows in their understanding of  Scripture,  experiences a deeper relationship with the Lord that transforms their heart and moves them to apply the Scriptures to every aspect of ordinary life. (2 Tim.3:16-17) (1 Thess. 5:11) ( Col. 3:16) (2 Tim. 3:16)

4. GO:

Go as a team into our community;  neighborhoods, workplaces and third places in Tallahassee with gospel intentionality;  loving our neighbors well through sacrificially living out your faith and sharing the gospel with them in word and deed. Encourage and train everyone in your group to live on mission. (John 17:18) ( Matt. 28:19) (Matt. 5:14-16) (2 Cor. 5:20)

Consider downloading the Growing in the Gospel workbook and go through it with your small group.

The following thoughts come from our Growing in the Gospel Workbook which you can download now by clicking here.

Gospel Transformation: First things first, we need the Spirit to transform our hearts before we can live with any form of gospel intentionality.

When our hearts are truly moved by the gospel and we are being transformed by the Holy Spirit; every aspect of life begins to be shaped around the mission of God. We begin to reorient our lives around Jesus rather than ourselves and the trivial aspects of life that normally consume our minds. We begin to minimize the temporal things of life and maximize our efforts for what matters eternally. When we have transformed hearts, gripped by Jesus and moved by the gospel; living with gospel intentionality in every aspect of life grows more normal for us.

So, what is living with gospel intentionality in ordinary life?

Everything about the gospel is intentional. God intentionally created, we intentionally rebelled, God intentionally sent His Son, Jesus willingly died, and Jesus was intentionally raised from the dead. Jesus intentionally won victory over sin, death and the Devil. Jesus is both intentionally and relentlessly advancing His Kingdom mission today through us. Everything Jesus did had purpose and intentionality behind it. This was His lifestyle. So as we grow in Christ-likeness, so does our gospel intentionality as Christ followers.

                  It is a lifestyle not a light switch!

Gospel intentionality means joining Jesus on His mission in every aspect of ordinary life. In other words, we ask the Lord to help us refrain from turning off our gospel intentionality and live on mission rather than on  the world’s auto-pilot.  We live awake, open, aware, prayerful and intentionality looking for opportunities to advance God’s Kingdom in our ordinary lives. We wake up with purpose and walk with Jesus throughout our day.

What does this kind of lifestyle look like? 

  It looks like washing the dishes, going to work, sharing meals, getting the mail, raising your kids and so on…with a mission. We do these ordinary things with an intention to talk about Jesus and His work in our lives and we help other believers grow by shepherding one another with the gospel.

“We pastor one another at the kitchen sink. We evangelize by talking about Jesus over a meal.” – from Total Church -Chester & Timmis

What are your thoughts on all this? Contact Craig.Stewart@wildwoodchurchonline.org

Two respected pastors from the past saw the importance of a ministry to children; one as
he reflected on his long pastorate, and the other as prepared to lead the church to a return of Biblical theology.

After the observation and experience of a long life, I have come decisively to the
conclusion, that, if I had my life to live over again, I would pay ten times as much
attention to the children of my charge, as I ever did when I had a pastoral charge. If I
were now about to undertake the care of a new or feeble church, I should consider
special attention to the children and young people of the neighborhood as one of the most
certain and effectual methods of collecting and strengthening a large flock that, humanly
speaking, could possibly be employed. (Samuel Miller 1860?s)

When I preach, I regard neither doctors nor magistrates, of whom I have above forty in
my congregation. My eyes are on the servant maids and the children. (Martin Luther
1500’s)

In many churches today an emphasis is being placed on ministry to children within her doors. This emphasis can be seen at the Sacrament of Baptism when the congregation is asked the following question, “Do you promise to support these parents as they rear their child in the love and discipline of the Lord?” This promise, this vow, this attitude we have toward children is rooted in the concept of covenant. I want to briefly lay out for you the Biblical basis of why we minister to children, why there is such an emphasis to be placed on children. As we think about children’s ministry, let’s go back to when you were in Sunday School.

My testimony is a Timothy Testimony; that is, I have had the privilege of knowing the

Scriptures since infancy. There were many people that inculcated God’s Word into my life, but there are two teachers that stand out in my mind: Mr. Bolin and Mr. Walker. Mr. Bolin was my fifth grade Sunday School teacher and had an obvious love for his class. I do not remember what exactly we learned that year, but I do remember a man who loved me and cared for me, even when I requested to sing, They Will Know We are Christians, for the umpteenth time. The other was Mr. Walker who had great gadgets in my Senior High Sunday School class. I can remember going down to the beach and writing our sins in the sand, and then the waves washing them away, and then sitting around a campfire and listening to the story of Jesus’sacrifice in a whole new light. He also had this black box hooked up to the television, a Betamax (Does that take you back?) that made Josh McDowell appear on his screen at will. These two men, along with many others members of the church, assisted my parents in building into my heart a love for God and HisWord.

I remember those godly men as I walk into the classes I teach today. I can remember a
three–year-old class in which a little boy named Timmy would ask the most off-the-wall
questions and make the most irrelevant statements in the middle of my lessons. “Pastor
B, Pastor B, yesterday my sister went poop in her pants.”“Pastor B, Pastor B, We saw a helicopter on the way to church today.”“Pastor B, pastor B, do you think God likes apple juice?”There were times when I would wish that he would not show up so I could actually get through a whole lesson. Then a wise woman in the church, Heidi, made this statement to me;“You know, one day when you are old and gray and sitting in the pew, little Timmy may be your pastor and may be serving you communion.” Wow! There was an eye opener. From that day forward, I really began to enter the classroom with a long-term vision, a perspective of eternity.

That perspective of eternity is the essence of the covenant. Our Lord, the sovereign of
the universe, has entered a relationship with His creature through no merit of our own by His own holy decision. There are many threads we could follow through the Bible, but if we follow the development of the covenant, we notice how important children are in the economy of God.

Let’s take a look at a sampling of Biblical passages:

In Genesis 1:28 we read that “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and
increase in number…”What we see in this passage is that one of the foundational purposes of marriage was procreation, was children. It is important to note that children were not a result of the Fall, but were part of God’s original plan.

In Deuteronomy 6:4-9 we read “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” As the nation is assembled and addressed, the Lord takes special emphasis to tell the people that they must instruct the children, not just the adults in their midst. It is important and necessary for the adults to know God’s commands, but equally as important that the children be given instruction as part of the covenantal community.

In Deuteronomy 31:12-13 we read, “Assemble the people — men, women and children, and the aliens living in your towns — so they can listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” As God prepares the people to enter the promised land, he takes special care to remind His covenant people to obey His laws, not just the adults, but the children as well must learn the law.

In Psalm 78:1-8 (printed on the front cover.) we see the eternal perspective of one
generation passing on to the next generation the things of the Lord. Unless we intentionally pass on our faith, humanly speaking, Christianity is only one generation from dying out.

In Joel 2:16 we read, “Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the
elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast…” Again, as God gathers His
covenantal community for Worship, all the members of the community are included, not just the adults. Children learn from our model, as well as from our words, perhaps even more so.

In Jeremiah 32:38-41 we read, “They shall be My people, and I will be their God; and I
will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.” Take a minute and re-read this passage. Note all the things that God said He will accomplish for His people. But, note that it is not only for His people but also for their children, the generations to come that He will accomplish these things.

In 2 Timothy 3:14-17 we read, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and
have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. In God’s providence Timothy was mentored by Paul to become a leader in the early church. But, Paul did not start with a blank slate, but rather Timothy had been taught the Scriptures since infancy. Our training of children must begin at an early age!

In Psalm 8:1-2 we read, “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have
ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger”, and then in
Matthew 21:15-16 we read, “But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. ”Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’?” In this passage Jesus uses the praise of the children to silence His enemies, just as the Psalmist declared. It was not the praise of the adults, but of the children that Jesus pointed out. Our children must be given that opportunity to praise the Lord.

In Genesis18:17-19 we read, “And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am
about to do, since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? “For I have chosen him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice; in order that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.” In this passage the Lord points out the promise that He has made to Abraham to bless him and all the earth. Interestingly, one of the reasons that he was chosen was to command his children. An integral aspect of the covenant is so that our children will be taught the ways of the Lord.

From this brief reflection on your past experiences and an overview of Scripture, I hope
the point is clear: Children are an integral part of the covenantal community, not simply an add on or the future church. As such we design the children’s ministry to ‘come alongside’parents as they seek to fulfill their covenantal obligations to rear their children in the love and admonition of the Lord. The Children’s Ministry seeks to provide opportunities for children to engage in worship, be given instruction in God’s Word, be involved in fellowship, and give expression to their faith. Our responsibility to children is not simply babysitting, but to minister to them, for they are part of the covenantal community.

Our goal is to use this blog to share insights, thoughts, encouragements, and inspirations with our church family.

You can expect things like extra considerations of the past Sunday’s sermon; challenging devotions, engaging articles from other ministry websites, or insightful thoughts on how to serve the people in your third places.

We hope this space proves to be a helpful resource to you in your own walk with God, and that it compels you to journey deeper in your faith.

In Wildwood’s Small Group Leader Handbook one of the values our group leaders need to have is the willingness to multiply… “Multiplication”. In other words, we need to be willing to multiply our small groups when they get above 12-14 people and a leader has been raised up.

This presupposes a commitment to multiplying leaders (raising up apprentices in your groups) in order to see them reach their potential as leaders who will invest their lives in others for the sake of the Kingdom. The end result is that we will multiply the number of disciples being made. Why? If we have more disciple-making leaders being developed then more groups can be birthed and thus more unconnected people can find community and growth.

Note: Great videos and resources on Multiplication and Discipleship found on Francis Chan’s Multiply Movement.

Growth happens best in community:

At Wildwood we want to see all our members in small groups because we know that “Growth happens best in community”. This is an important piece of discipleship at our church.

Healthy things Multiply:

In order to see this goal take place,  groups need to be multiplying and birthing new leaders and new groups; thus multiplying the number of disciples for the glory of God. This comes from a simple belief seen in the order of creation that “Healthy things multiply”. Things that do not multiply become ingrown and eventually die out because there is no new offspring and an increasing lack of concern for those outside the group.

Multiplication Vision: Imagine a church where everyone was connected to a small group where they were experiencing  growth and community. Imagine seeing disciple-making leaders being raised up and discovering their potential as leaders and who could multiply more disciples and groups for the Kingdom of God!

Bottom line, if we want to be ‘good for a few and eventually not exist’ then don’t multiply but if we want to be “great for the majority and sees exponential and sustainable growth for the future” then multiply both leaders and groups.

Below are some reasons why multiplication is both healthy and kingdom focused.

• Multiplication is the most effective way to welcome more people into Christian community.
• One of easiest ways for the Kingdom to grow is for groups to multiply.
• Any species that doesn’t give birth to a new generation dies. This is true in the biological world as well as in the small-group world. Groups that don’t multiply will eventually die or become stagnant.
• When a group has multiplication as its goal, there is an energy and an intentionality in that group that his difficult to achieve other ways.
• Multiplying new groups is the reason for apprentices. Future leaders may never achieve their full potential or find their role as shepherds if groups do not make multiplication an important responsibility.

So group leaders…

• How do you think your group will respond when it comes time to multiply?
• When do you think your apprentice will be ready to lead their  own group or have them take over leadership of your group so you can plant a new one?
• People in our groups will not naturally gravitate towards multiplication. The vision will have to be cast repeatedly, the need will have to be seen, and loving others more than ourselves will have to become a reality. This is not easy but it is healthy.
• So feel free to contact me to help you learn how you can shepherd your group towards multiplication.  craig.stewart@wildwoodchurchonline.org

Some info above adapted from:

http://www.smallgroups.com/articles/2009/castingavisionforgroup.html

Front Yard BBQ:

The general idea is simple. It is simply using your home (or more specifically your front yard) as a tool for mission. It can be done as a family or as a small group.

Here’s what you do:

1. Pray: for those who you want to invite (Pray with your small group in advance)
2. Invite: Invite your neighbors, co-workers or other “Pray For One” people to come over to your house for a BBQ. (consider taping friendly fliers to mail boxes.)
3. Grill: Bring out your grill, invite others to bring a side and start cooking in the front yard.
4. Listen: Get to know their stories and look for ways to love and serve them well after the BBQ.
5. Create Community: Do this monthly if possible, and keep developing relationships through out the year with gospel intentionality. Eventually consider inviting folks into your home for dinner or maybe even to your small group.

Questions, comments or help organizing a Front Yard BBQ:

Contact Craig.Stewart@wildwoodchurchonline.org

“My wife and I started doing this Front Yard BBQ’s in our isolated neighborhood 3 years ago and we can honestly say that the culture of our neighborhood has changed. We also started getting our small group to come help us and invite some of their friends. In doing this, we have met and are developing relationships with most of the folks on our street and they are bumping into Christian community and the gospel. ” – Craig Stewart

“Connecting to those outside the Christian faith means that we seek through our lifestyles and environments to purposefully move toward, befriend, and enter into the lives of people who may not believe in Jesus Christ. Rather than being afraid of people, or judging them, we can learn to love them without a man-made agenda.” -Pastor Bob Evans

Did Christ tell us to sit back and wait for people to knock on our doors and ask us to tell them about Jesus? No.  We were sent by Christ as His ambassadors right?( John 20:21, “…As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you,”)

Easter Sunday is one of the few times a year when we will have way more guests visiting than normal. We need extra help on our FIT team to welcome guests to our church family . Would you be able to come 15 minutes early and stay 15 minutes late after our services? 

Sign Up by  CLICKING HERE.

Goal:

In short, the goal of the First Impressions Ministry Team (FIT) is to proactively welcome our guests, communicating that we are glad they came, and to help them get connected so they don’t fall through the cracks. We are the tip of the sword on Sundays. Our bigger picture goal is to create a culture at Wildwood that is warm, friendly, caring and others oriented.

Questions: Contact Susan.Park@wildwoodchurchonline.org

The 2013 Northside Community Easter BBQ will be held March 30th , 11am -2pm.

This is an incredibly fun, family friendly, community-wide outreach event featuring, hayrides, live bluegrass music, world-class BBQ, bouncy rids, and of course…egg hunts for the kids! It’s a great time for our church to come together and not only enjoy community with each other, but it’s a great service to our larger community. In that sense, it can be a wonderful outreach opportunity.

If you’d like to participate in our fundraiser, or simply donate to the BBQ, click here.

CANDY-FILLED EGGS: Please donate 2-3 dozen candy-filled (wrapped) Easter eggs to be used for our egg hunts. We’ll have egg drop baskets available in Connection Central every Sunday leading up to the event. We can’t have egghunts without eggs, so help us collect as many candy-filled eggs ahead of time as possible!

Our Easter egg hunt schedule will be available online soon so you can begin making your plans to join us.

Every member of Wildwood is called to join Jesus on His mission to seek and save the lost in our every day spheres of influence (John 20:21). This flows naturally from hearts transformed by Jesus. Seeing us all on mission with Jesus is the goal of our Pray For One effort (Pray–>Move–>Share). This event can be a great place for you to meet a new Pray For One person or to  get to know someone better while enjoying the festivities. Or you might even be able to share the gospel with a guest at this event. How might God use you to further His Kingdom at the Northside Community Easter BBQ?

INVITE:

Go ahead and invite your friends, co-workers, and neighbors to this fun community outreach! We will have invitations in Connection Central soon for you to hand out, as well as emails you can forward to your friends. Click here for directions to the BBQ.

SERVE:

Since this is such a large scale event, we will have many service opportunities for our church members. We need your help! Sign up to serve on our various teams:

EASTER BBQ Opportunities to serve:

1. Food Team (Prep, Service, cooks)
2. Welcome Team (Signing in our guests)
3. Tables & Chairs  Team (Before & After)
4. Egg Hunt Helpers (Set Up Egg Hunts)
5. Tent set up Team  (Days before and after event)
6. Parking Team  (Parking cars in an orderly fashion)
7. Face Painting
8. Roamers (Roaming around striking up conversations with our guests)
9. Clean Up Team (After event)
10. Carnival Attendants (Bouncies, Slide, Cotton Candy, etc.)

EASTER SUNDAY Opportunities to serve:

1. Childcare Team
2. First Impressions Team (Welcoming guests)
3. Parking
4. Roamers (purposefully seeking out talking with our guests)

To volunteer or for any questions, contact craig.stewart@wildwoodchurchonline.org or visit Connection Central.

FUNDRAISER & DONATIONS

In the meantime, Wildwood is providing a special Smoked Meats Fundraiser in advance of our Easter BBQ.

Johnston’s will be catering this event, and they’ve offered to help us with this fundraiser by offering a selection of smoked meats for sale, of which a portion of the proceeds will go to offset some of the event expenses.

Your can choose from Smoked Boston Butt, Smoked Picnic Ham, or Smoked Sausage. Each meat is $30 and feeds up to 10 people. Pick up your smoked meats at the event on March 30th from 11am -1:30pm, at the Northside Community Easter BBQ.

Click here to purchase one more more smoked meats. If you would prefer to purchase your meat with a check, write it out to Wildwood Church with “Easter BBQ”  & what type of meat you would like in the memo line, so we can follow up with you.

Would you like to donate to this event without purchasing a meat? Simply donate an amount, regardless of whether you purchase a meat or not online or you can write a check to Wildwood Church and write “Easter BBQ Donation” in the memo line and drop it in the offering plate.

DIRECTIONS:

This outdoor event is at our New Property at the entrance of Oak Grove Rd. off of Meridian Rd. The address is:

8018 Oak Grove Road
Tallahassee, FL 32312

Input your address below the map for directions to the location.