What is a Hometeam?
A Hometeam is a family of 10-14 people who meet together weekly and strive to grow closer to God and each other. Each Hometeam is committed to meet for a duration of 18-24 months. During this period, they will pursue authentic community, gospel transformation, and missional opportunities with each other. Each team is committed to helping start a new Hometeam at the end of the 18-24 months. Anyone can join a Hometeam if he or she is committed to prioritize meeting together weekly with the group.
When and Where do Hometeams meet?
All over the place! Each team decides the location (usually someone’s home) and the time when they will meet. It’s your responsibility to join a team that you can commit to.
Who leads a Hometeam?
Each Hometeam has a leader who will help keep the team on track. This individual is held accountable by staff to help push the team to fulfill its responsibilities of: authentic community, gospel transformation, and missional opportunities. However, this person is not the teacher of the group. Everyone within each team will be responsible to help lead discussions during Bible studies.
What can I expect during a typical Hometeam?
Teams usually meet for about 1.5 to 2 hrs. The time is usually composed of a time of fellowship (sometimes with food), Bible study, and prayer. Once a month we encourage teams to break away from the norm and have a party just for fun. We also ask all our teams to serve their neighborhoods or cities in some way once a month.It should also be mentioned that all Hometeams are “closed groups.” This means that once a Hometeam is formed and full (14 people is full), no new members join the team. Teams that have less than 14 people can add additional, committed people only if everyone in the Hometeam is comfortable and agrees with the addition. Our groups are closed to allow members to share their lives with each other in a trustworthy environment and to prevent group ADD. Group ADD occurs when groups constantly introduce new members, and other members constantly leave. In this scenario, no one can ever really trust anyone else, and the group fails to fulfill its purposes of: authentic community, gospel-transformation, and missional opportunities. This is why our groups are “closed.”
What curriculum do you use in your Hometeams?
All Hometeams begin with an 8 week study named Community. The focus of the Community curriculum is to help newly formed Hometeams really get to know each other and to help them better understand what their Hometeam will be like. After the Community curriculum, Hometeams consult Curriculum Help to help them decide upon their next curriculum. The list of approved curriculum is being expanded all the time and provides quite a bit of freedom to each team. Once a year all our Hometeams will usually study the same curriculum together at the same time.
How do Hometeams handle childcare?
Each Hometeam handles childcare in its own, unique way. Some Hometeams are designed for those who don’t currently have kids or who can leave their kids with a baby sitter. Still other Hometeams trade duties amongst the team and take turns watching kids about 1-2x a month. Still other teams will hire a sitter to come to the home where they are meeting and watch the kids during the team. When a new Hometeam is started, the leader will communicate the childcare strategy for that team.
Why should I join a Hometeam?
Joining a Hometeam is a requirement for all 24church members. It will help you to become a part of the body of 24church, rather than just an attender of 24church. Additionally, joining a Hometeam is one of the best ways to meet good, lifelong friends who will help encourage you to grow in your relationship with God. In Acts 2:42, the Bible demonstrates the pattern of both meeting together in a large group setting - “they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching,” and meeting together in a small group setting - “they were continually devoting themselves to...fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” At 24church the large group setting (the apostle’s teaching, i.e. - the Bible) is the Sunday morning service and the small group setting (fellowship & prayer) is a Hometeam. Hometeams are also one of the methods through which we are trying to impact our communities. The more that Hometeams serve their communities, the more that the people of the church will act like the missionaries that we are called to be. In this way Hometeams help us fulfill our primary mission of spreading the gospel (Matt 28:18-20).
How do I join a Hometeam?
To join a Hometeam, you need to attend GroupLink. GroupLink is a two hour event that allows anyone interested in joining a Hometeam to come meet other people interested in joining Hometeams. During the event, participants will get a chance to casually meet other people, hear from the leaders who are beginning Hometeams, and join a new Hometeam. We currently have about 4 GroupLinks a year, so sometimes people may have to wait a couple of months to join a team.
What if I’m not happy with my Hometeam once I join?
All our Hometeams go through a curriculum called Community when the Hometeam first begins. Community is an 8 week study. At the end of the Community curriculum, if the Hometeam, for whatever reason, is not meeting your needs, or is not a good fit, then you are free to quit that Hometeam and look for a Hometeam that is a better fit. However, you are required to stick it out for the full 8 weeks before determining to leave the group.
How do I become a Hometeam Leader?
Hometeam leaders go through about a month long training process to make sure they are qualified and to help equip them to lead a team effectively. More information about the requirements of being a Hometeam leader and the training process can be found at the information center in the lobby.
Things to Remember:
