House groups begin, Collide cut to once a month

Following a new approach to the concept of fellowship, Campus Ministry will coordinate house groups at Pepperdine, replacing the weekly Wednesday night Collide worship service and making it a monthly affair.
House groups consist of 12 groups made up of 10 to 12 students who meet in a faculty member’s home around campus once a week. The groups are modeled to be small, intimate church communities based around a meal. This semester there are more than 130 students already involved.
Campus Minister Thomas Fitzpatrick spent a large portion of last year’s fall semester preparing the Collide members for the change in group worship by emphasizing the teachings of the Bible on the early church.
“He talked about how communion (a meal) was shared, how members shared their resources fully, how each member of the church contributed rather than listening passively, how people met in homes and modest places of worship, all in comparison to some modern-day conceptions of ‘the church,’” said senior and Campus Ministry Intern Amy Barber.
After finishing his discussions about the early church, Fitzpatrick announced that Collide would become a monthly event, and instead students would attempt to find “relational, intentional and meaningful community” through weekly house group meetings.
During these meetings, students ideally share a meal together and have a discussion where they share their struggles and stories about their faith.
After the trial period last fall, the groups continued successfully into the spring semester, finishing with 13 house groups and 150 students.
“I truly believe people found these groups to be the intimate, transformative, challenging and encouraging groups they promised to be,” Barber said. “There was a really amazing feeling that we were a part of something real, that we were needed and wanted in our groups, and that powerful things were happening in our weekly meetings.”
One of the things Barber found most touching was the level of commitment some students were showing to the house groups.
“Making a conscious decision to say no to things, to make room to be fully present with these people in my group, and watching people around me reach levels of commitments to their groups is an incredible testament to the power of these groups,” Barber said.
The house groups hit a small bump in the road last spring semester when Fitzpatrick announced that he was leaving Pepperdine.
“He was really concerned about what would happen to house groups without him behind them, but was really committed to making sure they continued and were given the opportunity to grow,” Barber said.
Barber and fellow senior Greg Pinizzotto were hired as Campus Ministry interns with the focus of carrying on house groups in Fitzpatrick’s departure.
Over the summer, the university announced that Fitzpatrick was returning to Pepperdine, and with that announcement Barber rejoiced.
“Thomas is an incredible blessing to Pepperdine, and we are so beyond blessed to have him back,” she said.
As for the future of the house groups, Barber explained that they are hoping the groups “will be able to look more and more outward, serving the campus and the community through actions and prayer,” as people become more comfortable with the house group model.
Collide will meet the first Wednesday of every month during the semester. Students interested in participating or getting more information about house groups can contact Amy Barber at amy.barber@pepperdine.edu or Thomas Fitzpatrick at thomas.fitzpatrick@pepperdine.edu.