Christ Church has incorporated the concept of small prayer groups on alternate Sunday evenings. In order to better explain how this works, here is some information offered in a question and answer format:

What is a Prayer-Fellowship (or P-F) group at Christ Church?

P-F groups are small gatherings (usually between 6 to 20 people) of Christ Church which meet in homes on the second and fourth Sunday evenings of each month. The groups are hosted by a Christ Church family and led by an elder or his designate.

Members of Christ Church are automatically assigned to a shepherding group under the care of one of our ruling elders. The shepherding groups double as P-F groups and are geographically assigned as much as possible. Most of the members of Christ Church live in Katy and are distributed into three groups at this time: East Katy, Central Katy and West Katy. A good number of our members live in the area north of I-10 around Highway 529 and Barker Cypress Road. These members constitute the Northside P-F group.

Shepherding elders for these groups are: Lane Joffrion (East Katy), Daryl Brister (Central Katy), Neal Hare (West Katy) and Steve Mathis (Northside).

What happens at a P-F group?

Typically there is a time of singing, a short devotional or discussion (perhaps related to the sermon of that Sunday morning), sharing of prayer requests and a time of prayer. Often, we end the time with light refreshments.

Can children come to a P-F group?

Children are welcome and usually enjoy being able to participate in choosing songs, sharing prayer needs and even in entering into prayer. In fact a P-F group can reflect and stimulate the kind of family worship we want to have each day in our homes.

Do I have to be a member of Christ Church to attend a P-F group?

No. Everyone is welcome. We encourage you to attend the group meeting nearest your home. What better way to get to know the people of Christ Church if you are considering becoming a member? The times and locations are published in the church bulletin on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month.

How important is it that I attend a prayer-fellowship group at Christ Church?

It is very important for all who take seriously our purpose as a church. At Christ Church we are committed to making mature disciples who will worship, know, and serve Christ so that His Church and Kingdom are powerfully extended in Katy and beyond.

What is a mature disciple and how do we make them?

A disciple is, by definition, a learner. However that is not all. Jesus said a true disciple is one who not only knows and believes what his Master teaches but also abides in His word. In John 8:31-32 we read: "So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Jesus knew that those who heard Him had an immediate response of faith in His message and in His person. But He warned them that the proof of the reality of this apparent faith would be long term abiding, or continuing in His word.

The disciple learns of Christ and His word. The true disciple proves his faith by continuing in His word. Jesus illustrated this with the parable of the sower (Mark 4:1-20). The seed was all equally good but the nature of the soil on which it fell determined the degree of fruitfulness. The seed could be eaten by birds, wither up, be choked out, or bear fruit depending on what happened to it after it hit the ground.

At Christ Church we seek to orient everything we do corporately around the objective of making mature disciples. Worship (whether Sunday morning or evening) - including the preaching of God’s Word and the administration of the sacraments - is essential to being a mature disciple. Christian education classes contribute to our knowledge of Christ and our maturity in discipleship. In one sense our Prayer-Fellowship groups cover all three of the categories of things we do as mature disciples. In our prayer fellowship groups we worship Christ, grow in the knowledge of Him and serve Him by serving one another.

Are you asking, "Why should I attend my prayer-fellowship group?" The short answer is to strengthen you in your maturity as a disciple. The slightly expanded answer is because:

1. My P-F group provides one of the best opportunities for me to serve others by bearing their burdens [and allows others to help me bear mine]. (See Galatians 6:2)
2. My P-F group provides opportunity to discuss practical ways to apply the truths I am learning in other settings of our church (sermons and classes). Notice how the disciples discussed Jesus’ earlier public teaching with Him in private (Mark 4:1, 10).
3. My P-F group stimulates me to love and good works by providing a more relaxed and casual setting for conversation (Hebrews 10:24).

I want to be sure the seed is falling on good ground in my life. I want to be sure that I am a mature (or at least maturing) disciple of Jesus Christ. My P-F group is a key to this. Have you discovered this too?

In our fast-paced life in 21st Century suburban Houston, getting to a P-F group on Sunday evenings will not be easy for most of us. It will require careful planning from Monday to Saturday in order to give the Lord His day on Sunday from morning to evening. But in a society which has largely lost the distinction of a weekly Sabbath day of rest and worship where most professing Christians consider the hour or two given to church to suffice for a token fulfilling of the fourth commandment, let us be a light in a dark place. Let us seek to be mature disciples, those who abide in His word, and in whom His word abides and bears much fruit.