We just released our latest Resurgence book, Community Group Guide, by Pastor Brad House which works as a companion to his book, Community. Find out more below about how this guide can help your small group.

Developing a small group from the ground up can seem impossible. Many of us have had small group experiences that are old and stale. These groups are often socially awkward, and attending them week after week feels more like a chore than the life-giving experience that it could be. Or maybe we have no experience with real community and don’t even know where to start.

The goal of this book is to examine what it means to live out our faith in community in a way that bears fruit in our own backyards and glorifies the name of Jesus. This may require some rethinking of what it means to be a small group. I want to give you permission to shake the Etch A Sketch of small groups and find the freedom to reimagine life in community. Challenge yourself to realize that community is a gift from God to support us during life’s trials, sustain us during life’s triumphs, and seek him as we live out his will here on earth.

Why You Need This Guide

This study has been designed to help you and your small group experience the transforming power of the gospel through life together on mission with Jesus. Use this guide as simply that, a guide. As you work through these materials, be open to what God is calling you to as a small group leader and disciple.

How to Use This Guide

Before you gather each week, read the corresponding chapter in Community: Taking Your Small Group Off Life Support, and review the section introduction. When you gather together, start with the Scripture reflection, and then launch into group discussion and prayer.

Use the time between your group gatherings to prayerfully consider how God demonstrates to you the power of the gospel in the context of small groups. Then communicate to your group your personal reflections and what you’ve learned, and be mindful of how to continue bearing fruit as a small group leader.

Prepare

Pray. Pray that your heart would be open to hearing God’s call for you as a leader within your community. God may reveal things to you that you did not previously consider; this is a time to humbly embrace God’s truth in your life. Pray for the conversations you will have with your small group members, and pray for their hearts as well. Pray that God would speak clearly through the materials and group discussion. Pray that this experience of learning and growing would be faith-driven, fun, and fruitful.

Read

You want your community to be affected, and the best way to make use of your time is to be prepared beforehand. Have your group members read the corresponding chapter in Community before your small group gathers to discuss the material.

It’s All about Jesus

Nothing in your small group is as important as the person and work of Jesus and being a community that enjoys his goodness, together. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection make it possible for us to even be in community together. God is glorified when we come together to pursue him. So delight in God’s glory as you work through this guide together.

Diagnostic

Appendix 4 of the study guide is a survey to assess the health of your small group. If you are using this study to “re-launch” your group, then use the assessment before you go through this workbook. That way, you’ll be able to make first things first by setting benchmarks for your community’s health. After you complete the survey, revisit this tool every six months or so to mark your progress. If you are launching a new group, use this tool every six months and have each member fill out the survey. That way, leaders will get a fair assessment of the health of the group.