Spiritual Formation with Koinonia at JRHS

Koi·no·ni·a or κοινωνία

/ˌkoinəˈnēə/

Noun Theology

Christian fellowship or communion, with God or, more commonly, with fellow Christians.

On Wednesday Oct. 14, we had our Koinonia kick off for the 2020-2021 school year. Koinonia is a long standing practice within the JRHS community where students gather together with a Koinonia leader in a time of fellowship, prayer, and studying of scripture to focus on spiritual formation outside the realm of academia.

There are 8 Koinonia groups led by amazing leaders composed of parents and alumni who seek to encourage and mentor students in their walk with God. Each group consists of four to six students of various grades and will spend Wednesday mornings together studying the Word of God and growing together. This semester, we are focusing on 2 Timothy 2 as inspired by our theme verse for this school year, 2 Timothy 2:20-21. Broken into six sections to carry us through to December, the students and leaders will be focusing on subjects like our role as God’s children, determination in suffering, and living honorably.

Koinonia highlights many of the Expected Student Outcomes for JRHS, but it especially accentuates Spiritual Formation and Formative Relationships. Koinonia at its core is about fellowship around Christ. Through this time together, students learn the importance of peer relationships as leaders not only speak life into them, but students are encouraged to do so with each other. It is not uncommon to have recent alumni rejoin their groups on occasion, showing just how significant the relationships formed in the group are. Koinonia also allows for prioritizing a personal life in Christ and pursuing their identity in Christ as they lean into the Word of God and apply it to their lives.

We are blessed to have the leadership of Pastor Joe Cyr from Life Church in Manchester to head the program, along with the 8 small group leaders who contribute their time, talent and heart to the cause of mentoring our students towards a committed walk with Jesus. Koinonia, along with Chapel and Devotions, is the heart of Spiritual Formation at JRHS.