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More than a Meeting

Christine Colliar April 15, 2026 0 0
More than a Meeting

 

Christine Colliar shares the gifts and challenges of leading an online Connect Group in this moving blog post.

 

It would be easy to assume that an online group cannot become a place of real connection. Our Connect Group suggests otherwise.

I began leading an online Connect Group during Advent 2022. At that stage, it was simply a space to reflect on Scripture together in the weeks leading up to Christmas. There was no long-term plan and no clear expectation of what might follow. Yet we did not stop meeting. What began as something temporary slowly took on a life of its own.

Almost immediately, the group became a women’s group. That was not the initial intention, but it has shaped the way we speak and listen together. There is a particular openness when we talk about family life, faith, fears about the future, and the state of the world. There is a real gift of trust, and a responsibility to hold that carefully.

One of the challenges of leading a Connect Group, particularly online, is learning not to fill every silence. Silence can feel uncomfortable and something to be resolved quickly. I have discovered that it is often the most important part of the conversation. When space is left open, people begin to speak more thoughtfully about what truly matters to them.

This calls for a different kind of leadership. It is less about directing and more about allowing space. It involves trusting that God is already at work in each person, and that insight will come in its own time. The psalmist writes, ‘Be still, and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10), and we have found that stillness is not empty.

Meeting online brings its own challenges. Over time, the group has drawn people from seven countries across Europe, while I am based just over the border from Geneva in France. There is no shared physical space, no informal conversation over coffee, and no visible cues beyond what a camera allows. At times there are interruptions or technical issues. It would be easy to assume that relationships formed in this way are limited. That has not been our experience. Week by week, through regular gathering, prayer, and conversations where people can speak honestly about their lives, real friendships have formed. There is a consistency that allows people to come to know each other. We have seen one another through joy, uncertainty, and grief. The absence of physical proximity has not prevented that, and in some ways, it has helped us to listen more carefully to one another, with some of the group reflecting that the online setting allows them to speak from a place of greater ease and honesty.

The New Testament speaks of the Church as a body in which each member has something to offer. ‘The Spirit’s presence is shown in some way in each person for the good of all’ (1 Corinthians 12:7). I have seen this clearly. Each person brings a perspective, an experience, or a question that opens the text in a new way. Scripture does not remain static, but becomes something we encounter together. The material we use each month provides a thoughtful framework for this, offering space for reflection while allowing the conversation to take its own shape.

Prayer does not end when the meeting finishes. We pray for one another during the gathering, and we carry those prayers into the week. There is an awareness that we are being held before God by one another, even when we are apart.

Sharing Communion together has taken on a different depth online, where it is received personally and quietly, yet still held within the life of the group.

I have come to see that this group is not something I have built, but something I have been invited into. Each person is there for a reason. The practical work of organising and leading remains, but I see it differently. The group is sustained not only by effort, but by grace.

One of the most striking aspects of the group is the joy that has emerged. It is the joy rooted in God’s presence -  ‘Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice’ (Philippians 4:4). That joy is alongside serious conversation, lament, and uncertainty. It does not take difficulty away, but is present in the middle of it.

If there is a lesson in all of this, it is that meaningful ministry can take place in ways that might once have seemed unlikely. An online group can become a place of belonging. A regular meeting can become a community. As we listen to Scripture together, we also hear God speak through one another.

Looking back, I can say that I have rarely felt so consistently blessed in a context of Bible study. Each Tuesday brings something new, yet also something familiar, as people come to listen, to pray, and to walk together in faith.

What began as an Advent group has become something lasting. It is, in simple terms, a Connect Group. It is also a reminder that the Church is not defined by walls or distance, but by the presence of Christ among his people - ‘For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them’ (Matthew 18:20).

Christine Colliar

 

We offer our sincere thanks to Christine for writing this insightful piece and to all those leading our independent Connect groups, building community and discipleship. Discover more about Connect and explore this month's Connect Bible Study After The Cross.