Christians have always met together, from the earliest beginnings of the church we can see that members of the community of faith have gathered in both small and large groups in many different settings. No matter what structures are employed it is the values at the heart of the model that are important. The aim is to embody the experience of the early church community expressed in Acts 2.
Pastorates generally meet every two weeks. In a pastorate people can take turns hosting the evening, to lead ministry and to give talks. Pastorates look unique to its members, but a typical pastorate meeting might be:
- 19:00 Food
- 20:00 Welcome/notices/feedback
- 20:05 Worship
- 20:20 Talk and discussion in small groups
- 21:10 Prayer Ministry
- 21:30 End
We encourage people to meet in small groups on the week in-between pastorate meetings for Bible study, more intimate prayer and greater accountability. As people in the pastorate make friends, they will naturally meet outside the pastorate and small group setting. Social events can also be organised to invite others from outside the pastorate, especially non-Christian friends.