Trellis

TRELLIS MINISTRY

The Trellis is a CSD Ministry designed to help educate and foster healthy and continuous discipleship under Jesus Christ for members of CSD and Littleton, with Trellis meetings taking place weekly in a home setting, per a 3 Term format:

January-May = Term I
August-December = Term II
January-May = Term III

VISION

For all members of CSD and Littleton to be community of believing disciples (apprentices) in Jesus and His Way of Life in place of any other, learning how to create and maintain a “Trellis” for their own lives while participating in and/or leading Groves

MISSION

We are creating a space for groups (called Groves) for Adult Christians to take a fresh look into learning (all about) and practicing (in all ways) Jesus’s “way of life” by discipling under Him together.

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

Mark 8:34-35

WHY DO WE NEED THIS?

A trellis is the support structure that you use in a garden; It’s what keeps your tomato plants off the ground! Without a trellis, vines can technically still grow and be somewhat healthy, but will lay helplessly on the ground, because without the support it needs it does not have the strength on its own to stand. Being on the ground and away from the other branches, vines, etc leaves it alone, shielded from direct sunlight, and exposed to many more perils than it would be in the air. Many Christians, both in ministry and outside, often feel like the vine on the ground– they’re committed to Jesus, but they feel alone, stepped on, tired, and lacking support. Jesus says that His yoke is “easy” and His burden is “light”- so I got to thinking, maybe we need to take a look at our own lives and see how we can arrange or rearrange it around Jesus’s rhythms, Jesus’s habits, His Way of Life, because I believe the ways He lived, those 9 values, CREATE an amazing support structure!

In the Trellis Ministry, we plan to do this through utilizing the “Practicing The Way Course,” a set of teachings, questions, scripture, and practices derived from and centered around Jesus’s Way of Life as set forth in Scripture. (The course has broken Jesus’s Lifestyle into 9 core rhythms that Jesus lived by on Earth)

Grove Schedule Breakdown

Each Grove is a little different, but follow the same structure for meeting times:

Most Groves will meet weekly, every Friday.

3-Part Semester Schedule:
January-May = Term I
August-December = Term II
January-May = Term III

Practice Schedule:

January-May = Practicing the Way course and 2 practices*
August-December = 4 practices
January-May = 3 practices and a end of term event
*there is a 4 part course for each “Practice”, 1 for each of the 9 values we’ll be
introduced to first when we go through the Practicing The Way Course in Term I

Active Groves

Gardeners

Sponsor Trellis Attendees

JESUS’ 9 CORE RHYTHMS

SABBATH
Practicing a weekly Sabbath (A Day of the week to stop, rest, delight, and worship in God, who made you to be with Himself)
SILENCE & SOLITUDE
practicing Silence and Solitude (Regularly returning to the “Eremos,” Greek word for the quiet place Jesus often retreated to with His Father)
PRAYER
Talking, Listening, and Being with God in Prayer
FASTING
Embracing Fasting in the appropriate seasons
SCRIPTURE
Realigning our minds with God’s through Scripture
COMMUNITY
Surrounding oneself in Community
GENEROSITY
Walking in Generosity towards others
SERVANT
Being a Servant of all
WITNESS
Operating as Witnesses by inviting all people to apprentice under Jesus with us

FAQ

Is there a difference between Trellis and Home Groups?

Yes.

The main difference lies in that home groups traditionally review the previous Sunday’s sermon, whereas Trellis is focused on learning and practicing discipleship according to 9 specific core values presented in Practicing the Way.

We are currently working on creating a Trellis packet for Home-Groups to go through if they should desire to! Please stay tuned.

What if I want to join a Grove but I can’t knowingly commit to all 3 Terms of this Ministry?

Join anyway!

The minimum requirement is one term at a time. Attending all 3 terms is the most recommended method, but not required. While we will stay on course and maintain structure, Jesus didn’t force people follow Him or not let them join Him because they weren’t there at the beginning or a “convenient” time. However many terms of the 3 you can attend, PLEASE DO! You are welcome to join during Terms I, II, or III and we are blessed to walk with you and Jesus for as long as life allows!

Do I have to be a CSD attendee, Littleton citizen, or even a Christian to join?

No!

While its quite possible the primary group of people will more than likely be a combination of Christians, CSD attendees, and people from Littleton, Jesus’s
invite to believe in Him and disciple under Him was open to ALL peoples from all walks of life, and the same is true of the Trellis Ministry.

Mark 1:17 “Come, follow Me” (NIV)

What exactly is a “Gardener” and how can I sign up to be one?

Check out the Gardeners Page