Bloom Connect Groups
Community | Encouragement | Connection
Find Your People
Meet The Group Leaders
LaRosa Tate
LaRosa and her husband Albert launched Fellowship Church, a gospel-centered, multiethnic, intergenerational community, in January 2012. She studied Industrial Engineering at Mississippi State University and has served as leader of Mom’s ministry and Women’s events at her church in Los Angeles County. LaRosa is passionate about Jesus, her husband, and her four kids as well as encouraging women to live their lives fully in Him.
Sheila Brown
Sheila lives in Jackson Tennessee with her family and her adorable Goldendoodle Mylo. She loves to gather friends and family around the table for food and great conversation. Sheila and her husband Jeremy planted Journey church 12 years ago. She knows firsthand how crazy this church-planting journey can be. She is looking forward to connecting with YOU as we navigate everyday life and ministry together!
Monday, June 5th @ 12pm EST
Ynette Colyer
Ynette is on staff at Ciudad de Gracia in Albuquerque, NM where she coordinates various outreach ministries. She is currently employed full time as Partnership Director of Shine Partnership, a faith based non-profit serving schools and families experiencing poverty. Ynette also enjoys participating within Bloom’s Prayer Team, discipling women and increasing her physical fitness with her husband. She is passionate about prayer and building strong relationships.
Julie Stegman
Julie is a co-pastor at Resurrection City Church, which she planted with her husband 4 years ago in St. Paul. In her role, she does a little bit of everything but really loves investing in leaders and helping them grow. She has a passion about connecting with other women in church planting and can’t wait to meet more women on a similar journey! Things that bring her joy include gluten free baked goods, reading, and going for walks with her husband and dog.
Tuesday, June 6th @ 10am EST
Alicia M. Lytle
Alicia is the lead pastor of Excel Church, a multicultural nondenominational church that she planted along with her husband. She is a compassionate and transparent pastor, as well as a dedicated wife and mother of four. She motivates and inspires women to advance their callings as ladypastorpreneur. Alicia looks forward to using her wisdom and abilities at her Bloom Connect Group to encourage you along your church planting journey.
Shelby Bettis
Shelby and her family recently moved to inner city Charlotte, NC to start Queen City Vineyard. She loves reading, trying new foods, and a good nap. Shelby is currently the mother of two energetic toddler boys and co-dreamer with Nick, the planting lead pastor. She delights in a good meal with friends, deep one-on-one conversations, and taking walks with her family.
Wednesday, June 7th @ 12pm EST
Kerry Smith
Kerry has been married to her husband Darin for 16 years and together they have two boys; Harrison and Hudson. She is the Director of Women and Children at Good News Church, a 6 year old plant in Powell, Ohio. Kerry is a Masters educated teacher. She is passionate about helping women live courageous lives through the power of Jesus and impacting kids to love Jesus.
Wednesday, June 7th @ 8pm EST
This Year's Theme
As we reflected back on our theme of “Press Refresh” in 2022, the Bloom Team sensed that a fitting theme would be one that builds on the foundation of rest we have been practicing. We believe DELIGHT is just the theme for the job! As Tish Harrison Warren explains in, Liturgy of the Ordinary, “We must be formed as a people who are capable of appreciating goodness, truth, and beauty.” It doesn’t happen overnight—it is a continuation of noticing. What a beautiful invitation!
Scripture tells us to: “Delight yourselves in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” –Psalm 37:4. We’re also told by Jesus himself that “My yoke is easy and his burden is light” —Matthew 11:28 and encourages us to learn the “unforced rhythms of grace” (MSG). Those practices indeed sound delightful!
Delight, however, starts with the Lord.
In Psalm 18:19, David wrote that “He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me”. And in Zephaniah 3:17, the writer prophesied:
The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.
Now, some may instantly resonate with this idea of Delight, and for others, the image of a carnival just floods the mind and results in a “hard pass”. However, the delight that we seek to understand is much sturdier, a much heartier variety than a ride on a Merry Go Round.
Much faulty theology and the creep of Toxic Productivity Culture have muddied the waters when it comes to Delight, Enjoyment, and Desire. Together, we will seek to learn the “Craft of Discernment” which Warren alludes to, which C.S. Lewis encourages by reminding us that “one must walk before one can run…[We] shall not be able to adore God on the highest occasions if we have learned no habit of doing so in the lowest.”
We want to notice! We want to be a people of celebration, whether that be in the quiet stillness of your heart, or the loud expression of your lungs—All are welcomed here and we are so excited to journey together!
Join a group
Please register below by completing the form. We look forward to seeing you in the next session of Connect Groups!
QUESTIONS?
Let us know! Email us at [email protected] with any questions or concerns regarding joining a Bloom Connect Group.