Welcome #2 – The Pattern: Welcome One Another - Impact Groups

Ready for Impact (10 minutes)

Catch up on how things have been since the last time your Impact Group met. Allow anyone new to introduce themselves. Then ask group members:

If you were marooned on a desert island, which celebrity or well-known figure would you least want as an island buddy?

Ask for a volunteer to read Romans 15:1-7 to the group, praying a short prayer that – however much they’ve come to know Jesus, they’d know him better as a result of your time together.

Watch

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Impacted by the Word (15 minutes)

Suggested questions to help your discussion.

What strikes you about Paul’s words to ‘strong’ Christians in verses 1-4?
In light of this, what does Paul pray for them (verses 5-6)?
What would a community with the mindset of Jesus look and feel like?
To ‘accept’ someone (verse 7) means literally to draw them to your heart. Why does Paul say we should accept each other in this way?
How does verse 7 challenge our unwillingness to welcome other Christians?
What might it have looked like for the strong and weak in Rome to accept each other?
What principles can we take from Romans 15 as we prepare to welcome new students?

Romans 14-15 addresses two groups of Christians in Rome: the ‘strong’ and the ‘weak.’

Some of the Jewish Christians in Rome apparently believed that the Old Testament laws were still authoritative for Christians – that Christians should avoid certain meats and observe Jewish holy days. They thought that such practices were essential to avoid becoming spiritually unclean. This group were apparently the minority.

The majority of the church – mainly Gentiles – considered these laws a ridiculous hangover from Judaism. They were probably belittling the Jewish Christians when they referred to them as ‘weak.’ For their part, they prided themselves on being ‘strong.’

Paul makes it clear he agrees theologically with the ‘strong’ (see Romans 14:14; 15:1). Christians are not under the law (Romans 6:14). Paul himself did not always follow the practices of the Jewish law (see 1 Corinthians 9:19-23). However, his overriding concern is not with who is right and who is wrong. He is much more concerned about unity. For Paul, these issues are not worth dividing over – and certainly do not justify the lack of love the strong were apparently showing the weak.

To Paul, Christian freedom is a wonderful thing – but love for brothers and sisters is a greater thing still.

Impacting Our Hearts (10 minutes)

Friendships are great – but not if they cause us to avoid welcoming others, either intentionally or unintentionally. Discuss:

Which Christians do you default towards being around without much conscious effort? (think about nationality, ethnicity, church background, personality, age etc.)
How would adopting the mind of Jesus move you out of your comfort zone?
How does God need to change your heart to not only welcome those you find easy?

Confess together where you’ve failed to welcome other Christians in the past. Then pray that God would make you want to welcome others more than to stay comfortable, especially with an eye on autumn term.

Impacting the University (15 minutes)

Use these questions to consider how you might best welcome the range of Christians who’ll arrive at your university next term.

Brainstorm ideas for welcoming new arrivals next term. Consider the resources you have available to you in these categories: time, money and possessions, local knowledge.

e.g. inviting a group of new students into your flat for an evening // showing them your favourite coffee shop and buying them a drink // delivering a meal for them to eat with their flatmates
CUs are made up of students from a range of different churches. Discuss what you could do as an Impact Group to encourage new students to engage with church community.

e.g. host a Sunday lunch for new students with another CU member from your church // each aim to invite a new student to walk to church with you each week for the first four weeks // point them in the direction of someone else in your Impact Group who goes to a different church // run a church search event

Here are some ideas to start thinking about now!

As international students arrive at our universities, we have the opportunity to welcome the nations. Could you get in touch with Friends International or your SU’s international office to see how you could be involved?
Local churches are the main place students will be discipled and cared for throughout the rest of their lives. How might your CU welcome season help new students to find a new church family?

Wrap-up

Find out who’s in your university city this week. Who’d be up for a walk or meeting socially?
Who else could you invite to join your Impact Group next week? These friends don’t need to be followers of Jesus and may really appreciate being invited.

You may have people in your Impact Group who are new to reading the Bible.

Ensure that they know there’s a role for them in welcoming new students too!
Let them know how much you’ve enjoyed having them, and encourage them to keep coming to your Impact Group!
Invite them to explore Uncover, a set of sessions in John’s Gospel, allowing them to investigate Jesus for themselves. Make it easy for those who are keen to opt in.

Confirm the time that you’ll meet next week, and ask someone to close your time together in prayer.

Taking it further – links you might like to share with your Impact Group

Awesome Cutlery’s song We Are The Church might be pitched at people slightly younger than us… but it will get stuck in your head and excite you about God’s vision for church.
Carol Lee gives four biblical reasons a university student should join a church where they’re currently living.
Ray Ortlund talks about the power of welcome in local church life… there are plenty of implications for CU life too (and watch Ray model this kind of welcome).
Coventry CU’s video shows students of all nations that they’re welcome in CU!