Vision for Groups

Imagine a group of people in an authentic community, loving each other honestly, covering each other’s sins with forgiveness, prayer, confession, and encouragement, and serving and supporting each other genuinely.

When we dream of a small group of people dwelling together in unity, we begin to see the supernatural work of God within our relationships. Thank you for facilitating life change by hosting or leading a sermon-based small group, our prayer as your pastors is that you would experience God’s grace by building a life-giving culture.

1. Connect

This is a time to personally connect, introduce yourself, and share a bit about who you are. Each week you are together, go a little deeper and more personal. This is a time to catch up from the last time you met and ask about their family, relationships, work, hobbies, and anything they spend time on. This helps our hearts connect so they can be formed later through the Word and the Presence of God. Everyone wants to belong somewhere.

2. Worship

You can take some time and play a few worship songs on a speaker or TV that facilitates a focus on God. Take time to thank God for who He is. Before asking or seeking, just be grateful, and tell your soul that it’s time to bless the Lord. (Psalm 103: 1) If you don’t have any music use one of the Psalms, and read prayerfully through that. You can pray with an attitude of thanking God for His nature. Psalm 8, 40, 65, 98, 145, 146, and 150.

3. Summarize

Take turns summarizing the message in your own words, and allow everyone to participate in translating the message. This is not a personal application yet, only taking turns summarizing the news and building it in its entirety. Make sure you, as a small group leader, are filling in any gaps; the main point, scripture, and the end of the message.

4. Make It Personal

In this section go deeper and be sensitive to God’s activity in people’s lives. Ask questions and facilitate conversation about the message.

  • What did you get out of the message, and why? 
  • Go over the primary scriptures from the message.
  • How will this influence your soul (mind, will, heart, and emotions), work, and life?
  • What is God asking you to be or do based on the message?

5. Application

Take this time to ask what everyone will do with what they heard from the message. What will you do with what you have heard? What is God asking you to be, and/or do, with what you heard?

6. Pray

Take some time to pray with and for each other.