I started coming to Globe a few months ago. I moved to London in September to study Political Economy at King’s College, and since joining The Globe Church, the midweek small group Bible studies, Focus, has been a priority…

It’s not just because that’s how I was raised (“if you’re a part of something, you stick with it”), it’s because I LOVE going to Focus. Over the past term, I’ve learned so much about the Best. Year. Ever! In the last session of the term, we looked back and talked together as a group about the main thing we learned, but I honestly could not decide!

Every week, I learnt or was reminded, of some amazing part of God’s fantastic plan. Working our way through Luke 4–6, we was saw that the Best Year Ever is now (we experience the first fruits) but not all of it yet (fullness). I learned what it means to live under God’s smile in His blessing. I saw the difference between a life built on the rock of Jesus, and one built on sand. The more I learned about what God has in store for us, and the more I saw Jesus carrying out that plan, the more excited I became about serving Him today.

Focus is helping me see the amazing place church community can make in our personal faith. I never quite saw it before, but I realise now that I have always thought that faith was something I did on my own. One of the main things I have been trying to wrap my head around at Globe is that we all love and worship the same God I love! I know that might sound pretty straightforward, but for someone who is not used to being part of a loving, supportive and Jesus-filled community, The Globe Church is like Candy-Land.

I’m discovering a whole new dimension of faith. I see it when we worship together in church, or when I see Jonty and Phil preach so passionate about (my) God. And I see that even more in Focus. I see my friends in my Focus small group talking about God as enthusiastically as I do, and that’s just fantastic!

Focus helps me realise that church is about so much more than listening to the teaching on Sundays, it’s about community and about helping each other see more of God. I just love how when we discuss a question during Focus, my answer is often quite different from what my friends say. We’re all different people, and although we love the same God, our unique personality makes us attuned to different parts of Him. If, say, we are talking about God’s justice, I am highly likely to compare how the Christian view of God’s justice is so much superior to that of the philosopher I have most recently been studying, all the while forgetting to take a breath and approach it in a less theoretical manner. Then a comment from someone else around the table about what God’s justice means practically, or how they have seen and experienced it helps me get out of my bubble and look from their perspective.

Focus brings all kinds of different views together, allowing us all to see (and love) more of God than we could on our own. Isn’t that amazing?!

I have grown enormously because of Focus, and it’s been a joy watching my Focus friends grow as well. I can’t wait for the next term!