Tuesday Morning Group

The Tuesday morning house group meets in the church prayer room from 10.15 am to 12:00 pm, in parallel with the Toddlers group. The group started in January '08, with the objective of providing a time for bible study, prayer and fellowship for those available during the day and also to meet alongside the toddler session so that mums with small children could also attend by taking it in turns to supervise the little ones.

Over the last year we have used a wide range of study material, including a York course; a Spring Harvest bible study; the Life-builders series and the E100 Bible readings.

There are ten people in our group (with a very good mix of ages), with an average of six people at each meeting. We start with coffee and chat for about 30 minutes; have 45 minutes for bible study, leaving the remaining time for sharing and prayer.

We welcome anyone who would like to attend. Jo Gibson is the contact for the group.

Campion Drive House Group

The Campion Drive house group meets on Tuesday evenings (during school term time), starting at around 8 pm. We have about sixteen people in the group with an average of eight to ten people per meeting. We like to study variety of topics for example: the names of God; E100; Encountering Jesus; Angels; Psalms; Lords Prayer; The Sermon on the Mount; Daniel etc. We typically start the meetings with refreshments and have a time of prayer either before of after our study time. We like to study the bible in order to understand how to apply this in our daily lives. We also aim and have two to three social events per year.

The Meadows House Group

The Meadows housegroup meets in the Fishlake Meadows area on Tuesday evenings at 7.45pm. We recently studied the E100 series of readings which were well received. The group has a relaxed feel as we seek both to learn from and also support each other. A typical evening will see 8 to 10 people meet and we will take the opportunity to share (chat) over drinks and biscuits or when an excuse arises . . . cake. We would then move on to a time of prayer and bible study. In addition to our ‘normal’ evenings we also periodically meet to enjoy social time together.

Sylvan Drive House Group

A warm welcome awaits everyone at Sylvan Drive in North Baddesley on Thursday evenings from 8-10pm. We meet, term-time only, to chat, share, pray, read and study the Bible together. The majority of the group are in their 20s and 30s, but by no means all. Some can come every week, some once or twice a term. Our style is quite relaxed and chatty, which leads to a very supportive environment as we strengthen and walk alongside each other in our Christian lives.

The first half of 2011 saw us joining the whole church in following the E100 material – reading through 100 essential passages of the Bible, giving an overview of, and the big picture of, God’s story. We’re now working through a study on angels – finding out what the Bible has to say on the matter, and contrasting that with the opinions of popular culture. So far it has been challenging, illuminating, and very relevant!

Mill Lane House Group

We meet weekly on Thursday at 8pm in the centre of Romsey for bible study and prayer. As a group we often choose a topic or book of the bible to study. In the past we have studied a variety of material including 1 & 2 Timothy; John; Titus; Habakkuk and Joel; the Open Doors material on the persecuted Church; Seven Women of the Bible and the Essential 100 bible readings. Currently we are looking at the 10 commandments using J. John's Just 10 material.

We also seek to encourage and pray for each other and for the wider world. Afterwards we have fellowship over coffee and homemade biscuits. We also get together socially twice a year; the summer BBQ and a Christmas get together.

If you would like to try a housegroup please feel free to come along.

Silverwood House Group

The Silverwood house groups meets together each Thursday evening at around 8pm for a time of prayer, bible study and fellowship. Most of the 10 people in the group are “40 plus” (all ages are welcome to join!) and have the objective of supporting and encouraging each other in their spiritual walk with God. We have covered a variety of topics and events during the year, which included David Stone sharing a series on ’My Father is the Gardener’, Alun Richards series on selected Parables of Jesus, and Steve Pittis teaching on the work of the Holy Spirit. Barry Davis visited to speak about his trip to Kolkata and share his experiences.

In the spring we held a bluebell walk and in June we spent a superb evening enjoying the beauty and fragrances of the roses at Mottisfont. Many supported the Walk for Water and we enjoyed a full day out walking over the hills from Corfe Castle to Swanage, took a swim, ate fish & chips followed by ice cream then took the steam train back to Corfe to pick up our cars.

Food is typically high on the list of priorities for the group and we look for every opportunity to share meals and enjoy each other’s company. Our vision for the future is to explore ways to serve the local community as a house group.

The Wills Way House Group

The Wills Way housegroup meets at the home of Mike Wetherall on Thursday evenings at 7.45 pm and, as far as possible, we meet throughout the year. Our group comprises a fairly regular and enthusiastic attendance of 9, and evolved from four of us who attended the first of our Romsey Baptist Alpha courses; this perhaps explains why we could be regarded as ecumenical, coming from various churches, but this does help in generating an interesting variety of discussion! We aim to study and learn from the Bible and each other via issues that have become important to us. Fellowship features strongly in our group and we enjoy occasional activities on other evenings e.g. visiting different churches and other events or social gatherings. We have also had the privilege of preparing and serving the traditional Christmas Alpha dinner. Following a period of study and debating we usually complete our evening with supper, song, a reading from Word for Today, and prayer. The studies have included Esther, Old Testament Characters, Praying Through Life (a Lent study), Angels, following the TV series ‘Nativity’, various DVD 'fill ins' e.g Theory of Evolution, God's Healing Powers, the E100 series and currently The Seven Laws for Life [Selwyn Hughes].

Youth Cell

Youth cell is a group run for young people in years 10 and above. They meet in North Baddesley on alternate Tuesday evenings from 8:00 until 9:30 (during term time). Over the year we have been challenged by the Lord during our sessions as we grappled with a wide variety of issues, ranging from school/college life to bullying and trusting in God rather than our possessions. We have enjoyed prayer and worship, not to mention a few impromptu sketches linked to our topics.

Weekly Group for parents with young children

There are a group of mums with babies and young children who meet each week to chat, share the joys and woes of parenting, and to have a short connect-with-God time. Though not a 'housegroup-proper' this group is a wonderful opportunity for parents of tinies to get together. Most of the morning centres around fellowship, with refreshments for all and toys for the children, but we always end with a short bible passage and a question to think about, followed by any prayer needs the group has and a time of prayer (children permitting!).

The group meets on alternate Mondays and Wednesdays from 10.30am in homes within the Romsey area. New people are always welcome, please check the BITE newsletter for further details or contact the church via our e-mail address.