Dan Lebo

Joyful Noise
10:40am | Green Campus

I am in a Community Group for a number of reasons. We can focus on good, sound Bible study time and have fellowship together. Those are accurate in my case and sound like the “right answers,” I suppose. Beyond that, however, The Chapel becomes a much smaller church when you join a Community Group.

For me, the best part over the past year has been getting to know the people better and appreciating them far more. You don’t really know people until you’ve spent time with them. The greater the repertoire of activities you can all collectively partake of in a Community Group, the better your group will be and the closer you will all be drawn together.

My Community Group is saturated with proven life experiences, expertise and also humor. You can learn a lot from one another in a Community Group. The person who seems gritty may actually be an amazing overcomer of life’s obstacles, once you get to really know them. The old adage “don’t judge a book by its cover” is exponentially true in a Community Group setting. There are some rare, priceless jewels to reap from one another if you are willing to take part and rub shoulders with one another. I am a far deeper person and a far more compassionate person as a direct result of having been in Community Groups and ABFs for the past 20 years. I cannot imagine going to The Chapel or really any local church without being connected to a smaller group for deeper fellowship.

I have seldom laughed more in my life than I have the past two years in Joyful Noise. They have blessed my proverbial socks off. While myself and a few very dedicated others have led this Community Group, I have had my own spirit fed dozens and dozens of times by the humor, candor, humility and maturity of those I serve.