Thrive in the Morning: Ann Isenberg, Jeanne Oostdyk (center), and Melissa Robinson (right)
Lisa Marshall, Thrive At Nite
Jeanne, let's start with you. What is Thrive, besides a cool name?
J: Thrive is a weekly gathering place for women! A great place to enjoy friends, make new ones, participate in meaningful discussion around a particular teaching each week.
Lisa, anything to add to that?
L: Thrive is definitely about relationships with other women and with our awesome God! We have fun together and we learn together too. We will kick-off this semester with an eight week study entitled "Ephesians: A Study of Light."
OK, great, studying a book of the Bible, just in time for one of David Dwight's practical goals for 2010!
When and where does Thrive meet?
J: Thrive meets Thursday mornings from 10-11:30 at Hope in the multi purpose room. A new session is beginning Thursday Jan 14 and will run until May 6th. There is also a night group of Thrive meeting 7-8:30pm Jan 14-March 4th. We encourage you to join us for the entire semester, but this is an open, drop-in kind of group too. In the mornings, we also have childcare for your little "sprouts"...so that you can take a little break and just relax with other women.
How did you two get involved in this ministry?
J: I became involved with Thrive at its beginning 4 years ago. Moving here at that time from Pittsburgh, the experiences with women's ministry that I came with matched well with the vision for Thrive so it was a good fit. It's been a wonderful way to know women at Hope and experience God's faithfulness as this ministry has developed.
L: I started out as a Thrive participant in 2007. It was definitely a highlight of my week! At the time I had two-year-old twins at home, so Thrive was my spiritual pick-me-up. I wanted to get involved and help provide the same experience for other women. On a whim, I offered to take on Thrive @ Night this semester. I feel very passionate about this ministry and am so excited to see it grow.
Sounds like you both have personal reasons for your passion. What do you hope women will gain from experiencing Thrive?
L: I want women to connect to each other and to God. I feel confident that what we are learning on Thursday evenings, we will be able to use throughout the week. Personally, I experienced a spiritual transformation and my desire to learn more continues to grow!
J: My hope is that women will be encouraged by their participation at Thrive- that they would experience warmth and genuine interest through connection with other women, that they would have a greater and growing awareness of the love that God has for each of them by looking into His Word and that they would be spurred on to serve God and grow in their relationship to Him. That's alot to squeeze in a Thursday morning! But that's why we love the habit of consistently meeting together!
So is it a bible study? Or a connecting group? What exactly happens on a Thursday morning or night?
L: We usually start with a short opening-a fun game, a testimony, music, ministry spotlight-you name it, we've done it. Then there is a thirty minute lesson, prepared by our very own teaching team. We conclude in small groups where we have a chance to dissect the teaching and discuss real life application. There is always coffee brewing too!
Whew, that's a packed and fun schedule! Jeanne, anything to add?
J: One important aspect of Thrive though is variety! So come and see!
OK, so what do I do to sign up?
L: Visit us at the women's ministry table (across from the coffee) at church on Sunday; or come any Thursday and check it out! Thursdays at 9:45 we have the coffee ready and childcare open. At night, we begin at seven. Just come and see.
So, what if I'm a little nervous? Anything else you can tell me?
L: I guarantee that everyone else has had a similar fear about something at some point in their lives. But fear holds you back. There is no need to feel nervous about Thrive. We are just a group of women dealing with the same issues as you are on a daily basis. You don't need to be a Biblical scholar to come to Thrive. Some among us may have gone to seminary while others may not even own a Bible. ALL are welcome! You will find that the atmosphere is warm, casual and friendly.
J: That's what I would add: although at Thrive we study the Bible, there is not typically homework per se -- besides some food for thought or personal application opportunities. So it's easy to join or bring a friend anytime.
Thanks, ladies, for that great info! Thrive is certainly the highlight of my week, I love that we can gather to learn about choosing the good life together.
For more information, contact Jeanne at fiveoos@comcast.net, or Lisa at lisamarshall812@yahoo.com!
Next up: Shelly tells us about the upcoming RE:Treat, March 19-21!
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