Are you feeling connected? Are you feeling supported? Are you feeling inspired?
God wants this for each of us. That is why he calls believers to live in community. Community is when we do life together: support, encourage, learn, listen, comfort, celebrate, assist, and serve.
Here at Grace Capital Church (GCC), the primary way to join a community of believers is through Life Groups. It is where life takes on new meaning and vibrancy. We are not meant to go through life alone. Groups provide fellowship, encouragement, support, and growth. In Life Groups, we have “trust and lots of love for each other. We pray for each other and help where we can,” said Carol Clifford, a longtime group member.
Over the next four posts, you will read about a few types of groups being offered, and meet several group members. Two of the groups are Topic-Based (Financial Peace University and Emotionally Healthy Relationships), one is Message-Based, where members discuss the weekly sermon, and one is Journaling Based, where members share how they were impacted by the day’s scripture from a Yearly Bible Reading Plan.
So let’s get started…
Financial Peace University, or FPU, is a 12-week program that teaches how to pay off debt and save for the future. GCC bought 150 memberships allowing those who sign up to take this course for free (a $129 value). Offering the course for free is a tangible example of how GCC carries out its mission to help people get ready to meet Jesus face to face by reaching the lost, caring for the least and training the found. In the FPU Life Group, you will receive training on how to live life more freely. As a group member, Tina Greco experienced this first-hand.
Sign up for Financial Peace University today!
So when Pastor Mark announced that a new FPU session was beginning, she did not believe she needed a course in finances. Tina explained that by then “I paid my bills on time, had a small amount of debt and was saving money; I thought I was all set.” But God got her attention. “Don’t be a slave to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7) is the message God laid on her heart. “Though I felt I was heading in the right direction, I realized God did not want me to have even the smallest amount of debt,” she noted. So she took a step of faith and decided to try out the program.
Throughout her twenties and thirties, Tina lacked the know-how and willpower to be responsible with her money. She was an emotional spender. “If I wanted it, I bought it. If I was feeling any kind of emotion, whether celebrating or upset about something or even looking for something to do, I would find a reason to spend [money],” she revealed. FPU helped Tina do far more than get out of debt; it challenged her to the core as she asked herself “Who am I when it comes to money, and how do I think about money?” she added.
Tina learned that regardless of her salary, “my income can work FOR me. With discipline, you can use your income to get out of debt, save for a variety of goals, and give to others,” she emphasized. Tina realized she had believed “a lie that you cannot get out of debt. I’ve seen this come true in my own life”, she said.
The course also showed Tina how to save and give. Through saving she was able to buy a brand new car with cash. “I [also] had more ability to give, which is important to me,” Tina marveled.
Along the way, Tina has found inspiration in Matthew 25:23 where Jesus taught that when we are “faithful with a little, we will be set over much” and that she can “enter into the joy of our Master!” Since taking FPU, Tina has a better understanding of her finances and their purpose. “I’m seeing that when I’m depending upon God, He shows up, and in ways that I never expected. I’ve been on a journey that has led to freedom from debt as well as the ability to save and to give,” she testified.
Taking the Financial Peace University course will teach you, among other things, how to build an Emergency Fund, Pay off your Debt, Save, Invest, Build Wealth, and Give Generously.
Through the training provided in the FPU group, you can gain increased ability to carry out the second element of our Mission - Caring For The Least - as well as our Core Value of Practicing Generosity. In the Old Testament, we read God’s instruction to live below our means. He tells the early believers to leave the perimeter of their fields unharvested so anyone in need can come glean freely along the edges of their provisions (Leviticus 23:22). Just as Tina was set free from the pressure and misery of living beyond God-given limits, we each can trade in the stress that always follows careless over-spending for the carefree exuberance of a child who knows the boundaries and freely frolics with joy within them.
Join the community! We want to hear from you. Comment below to one of these questions:
Do you have any questions or comments about FPU or Life Groups in general?
Have you taken the Financial Peace University course? How was your experience?