A FAMILY OF BELIEVERS

Interview with the Vicks

“Be Brave.” That’s the advice Connect Group leader Katie Vick gives to church members who are hesitant to lead or join a connect group. Katie and her husband Travis Vick have been leading a group at FBC Midlothian since 2011.

“There’s something harder about walking into someone’s house than a Sunday school class. For people that are willing to [take] that step of faith and courage, I think God honors that. There’s an authenticity and a vulnerability that you get only when you walk through that door,” Travis said.

The authenticity and vulnerability are what drew the Vicks to the small group model when they first found it at a church they attended in Waco.

“Personally, it was transformative in my relationship with Jesus,” Travis said.

He grew up in a church with the “Sunday School model,” which he credits with a good background in Bible training and Bible knowledge.

“But I don’t think I got a lot of good discipleship out of [Sunday School],” he continued. “So when I got to live life and walk very closely with just a few guys or couples in a connect group, it was much more authentic and I felt like it was just much more transformative in my walk with Jesus.”

Katie and Travis brought their passion for connect groups to the FBC Midlothian’s church body when they moved back from Waco. However, according to Travis, “it was small and it was needing some kind of leadership.” So the Vicks connected with the pastors and leaders who were a part of it. “We’ve been passionate about leading a group ever since,” Travis said.

In the seven years since starting their Connect Group at FBC Midlothian, the Vicks have developed a model that serves the needs of their group members. The first 45 minutes is dedicated to eating a meal together. Then, they move to the lesson—which over the years has been books, that week’s sermon, or a book of the Bible. But every once in a while, their meeting takes a different path.

“There are times where we really just feel the Spirit leading us that we just need to spend the time worshipping and praying for each other.”

“So we’ll just dim the lights, put on some worship music, pray, or read Scripture. Sometimes those are the most moving meetings that we have, when you allow God to lead you where the people in your group need to be. That’s the nice thing about a group. You can go whatever direction is needed.”

Occasionally, there is a need within the group that needs even more direct attention. “When you have a direct need, everything needs to stop [so we can] lay hands over and pray for that person or couple, that’s what you do. That’s how groups stay together for years and grow to bring people in as we see that change happen. But if you don’t walk in that door, you won’t ever be able to experience that,” Katie said.

At the end of each meeting, the group has intentional time of “life updates,” which Travis describes as a deeper version of prayer requests. “[We talk about] where you’re at with your relationship with Jesus, or what you’re going through with your family, your job(s), and your kid(s). That way we know how to pray for each other,” Travis said. “That’s what we try to replicate—a place where we don’t just want people to come in and go through the motions of church. We really want them to be honest about where they’re at, good or bad, and help them figure out what the next step is in their path of following Jesus.”

Travis and Katie see this discipleship model as a reflection of the church in Acts, where Christians met in homes and broke bread together.

“Really Christianity is not intended to be private,” Katie emphasized. “It’s supposed to be played out in community. That’s how we grow the Kingdom, grow the church, and how we support one another.”

Their connect group—though it has changed over time with couples moving, changing jobs, or branching off to lead their own Connect Groups, has continued to disciple and minister to its’ members.

“Being with some of these families for years, we’ve seen adult believers in our group become baptized. Everyone has had children, loved ones that have been lost, infertility struggles, and experienced job changes,” Katie said. “There are so many things that we look back through our prayer requests and we see that through the prayer and the spiritual growth they’re leading groups and talking to people at work.”

The church motto, “Living and Loving like Jesus” has always been at the core of the Connect Group ministry, according to the Vicks.

“We really try to focus a lot on [the fact] that this is your core Christian community — but how are you pulling in the people that you work with, see, and are neighbors with?” Katie asked. “That’s how we need to grow the Kingdom. Our job is to impact the community around us with the support of our [Connect Group.]”

Travis added that although there are many ministries within the church, connect groups have to unite on two types of ministry. "One is the type of ministry to the body,” he said. “We minister to each other. When someone has a baby, we’re the ones bringing meals and going to the hospital. We minister to the members of the group to fill needs that they have—spiritually, physically, emotionally, or financially. Secondly, we talk about finding an intersection point of ministry and needs outside of the church.”

The Vicks’ Connect Group has found this “intersection point” through various ministries in the com

munity. They have assisted Gloryland Express on summer days to feed and minister to the children. They have also served at Brookdale Senior Living in Waxahachie by bringing gifts and praying with the residents. During these outings, they use it as an opportunity to showcase how to live and love like Jesus to their own children.

“We want to be Jesus to the people in our group,” Travis said. "We want to be Jesus to the people outside of our group.”

Katie added that, “you want an outward focus in the group. Through service and loving others, that’s how you really grow spiritually and connect as a group.”

Want to Get Connected?

The church is currently growing the Connect Group ministry mainly through word-of-mouth and couples showing interest in leading or joining a group.

You can express interest on the connect card, by contacting Kevin Phillips directly at 972.775.9078, or going online at fbcmidlo.com/connect-groups.