Small Christian Communities
One of the first things that Christ did in his public ministry was gather a community around him. He left his followers with the presence of the Spirit and the gift of companionship. The early church embodied these gifts through the household church: meeting in small communities and distributing goods according to each person’s needs.
Campus RENEW creates the space to recognize the work of the Spirit in the community today. When we gather to reflect on the call of the gospel, we recognize that the same Spirit present in lives of our predecessors is living and active in our own lives. Our stories reflect the work of God in the world. As community, we support one another, but also challenge each other to be who we were created to be.
Small Christian communities stem from and return to the Sunday Eucharist. Meeting in small Christian communities enfleshes the cycle that should be part of our lives as Catholic Christians: the constant process of gathering as a community, hearing anew the Word of God as chastisement, challenge and commendation, taking up again our identity as the unified Body of Christ, and going forth to continue to live that which we have just experienced. As such, small communities foster mature faith, form lay leaders, and encourage active participation in the broader life of the Church.
In the words of one small community member, small Christian communities enable students to be able to hear the Word of God, "to talk about it, to share about it, and examine how it applies to our daily life among our peers."
Small communities promote the recognition of God at work in and through the stories and events of our lives. In reading and reflecting upon Scripture and Tradition, small community members correlate their own faith stories with those of our predecessors in faith, reaffirming the sacredness of all human experience.
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