We’re not meant to be alone. We have a basic need for friendship and Jesus taught that God designed us this way. It’s in our Life Groups that we make time for each other, we share the ups and downs and  practice living the way that Jesus did.

It is often in these smaller groups that the real work of transformation (what is sometimes called spiritual formation or becoming more like Jesus) takes place. That is why we value Life Groups so highly.

These smaller groups of people meet regularly mid-week. As we grow we hope to begin more and make them increasingly geographically based so they are easy to access and can focus on reaching out and serving their local area.

If you’re exploring being a part of Hope we’d recommend you try one out as soon as possible. We say ‘find home, share hope’. It begins here, welcome home.

Spiritual formation is the incredible process where we can become more like Jesus. This happens over time and because of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives, and we increasingly think, feel and act more like Jesus.

In short we become people of love, joy and peace.

This involves a degree of intentionality, of creating fertile conditions for growth. Jesus himself modelled various spiritual practices which promote transformation such as prayer, silence and solitude, engagement with scripture, rest, celebration, generosity with finances. For centuries the church has used and developed these practices and we want to do everything we can to foster spiritual formation at Hope Vineyard.

We incorporate spiritual practices into our diet of teaching within our Sunday Services (See our previous talk series on ‘silence and solitude’, ‘hospitality’, ‘prayer’, and ‘sabbath’)

And we commit to encouraging each other to develop these rhythms in our Life Groups, as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus and step into our God given potential.