Discipleship
Church is most definitely not just about the buildings we worship in! Discipleship is about how we grow in following Jesus, learning more about God's love for us and the gifts he has given us to serve and build up the church and community though the power of the Holy Spirit.
We grow best in faith best as a community, helping each other to live out our love of God, self and neighbour well. Across the Deanery, there are a variety of ways we look to grow in God at different stages of life.
Growing in faith as families:
Church Tots groups connect little ones + carers with bible related stories, prayers + crafts to teach God’s word from a young age
Our churches run holiday clubs and regular family activities like Messy Church to teach the bible in fun and relatable ways to children and their carers
We go into all our local schools regularly, teaching in assemblies and supporting staff in Christian education
Youth groups at East Thirsk, Sowerby St Oswald’s and Northallerton All Saints continue faith exploration + discipleship in teenage years
The Diocese of York offers a huge wealth of ideas in helping Christian families grow faith at home, we support families in this through our activities locally too
Growing in God as adults:
Small groups, home groups or bible study groups running midweek in between services are a fruitful and important way of helping Christians to wrestle with the bible and its application to every day life. These groups are integral to the pastoral care of our churches, building fellowship and prayerful support of our congregations.
Groups run in the Hillside parishes, Sowerby, Thirsk, Carlton Minniott and Northallerton. “Digging Deeper” is a group which meets at a pub in Northallerton on Tuesday evenings to discuss the previous Sunday’s sermon.
Our Churches run regular courses like 'Start' and 'Alpha' to help people to explore the big questions of faith. If you'd like to ask questions yourself, please email us and we can put you in touch with someone local to you can have a coffee with to chat further.
For details of discipleship specifically for the 20-40s, contact revmaryrolls@gmail.com or davidjohnsonihs@gmail.com
Supporting Older people:
If you or anyone you know cannot attend church regularly, we will be very happy to support faith in the home through pastoral visiting. Many of the local churches take communion + short worship services into residential care. Please contact us or your local church if you'd like to be supported in this way.