What is a Method Group?
Method Groups consist of 3-5 people that meet at least once per month for the purpose of methodical accountability and watching over one another in Christian love. The meeting format is based on John Wesley’s General Rules for Methodist Societies, and the early Methodist band meeting.
What is its purpose?
The purpose of a Method Group is to experience freedom from sin as we grow in holiness of heart and life. To be “holy” simply means to be set apart from the world for God’s service. Method Groups help to cultivate a heart of joyful obedience to Jesus as we follow Him together.
Why should I do this with a group?
Some may try to follow this method on their own, but there is no such thing as a solo disciple. We need to be able to speak the truth in love to others, and have it spoken to us if we are to grow in our walk with Jesus. This requires trust and permission-giving within the group, which is built over time spent together.
Are the General Rules religious legalism?
Wesley’s General Rules are not an attempt to create a checklist of behaviors by which we earn standing before God, but rather a way to get specific about the things that help us form a closer walk with Jesus—both in the things we do, and refrain from doing. The General Rules give Method Groups a rule of life to aim at, and a template for accountability—outward behaviors that lead to inward transformation.