More about Community Groups
What are Community Groups?
As the gospel calls us to love the people and the place around us. Our community groups aim to do that in neighborhoods all over the District while serving as one’s “primary community” within Grace DC. That is, it will be the first and main place people can go to work the gospel into daily life, build mutually supportive relationships, invite friends who are looking into Christianity, and serve the needs of our local neighbors. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to commit to a group in your home neighborhood or, if you live in Virginia or Maryland, to “adopt” a neighborhood in the District.
- Micro Communities. Our community groups are intentional gatherings of 10-20 people designed to nurture three sets of relationships: our relationship with God; our relationship with one another in the church, and our relationship with our city and those who live in it.
- Life-sharing Communities. A community group is a group of people that are sharing real life thoughts and experiences together. Each group’s community life centers upon a 1.5 to 2 hour-long weekly meeting held in a home or apartment in the District. Group members often also meet at other times and places during the week to strengthen individual relationships.
- Holistic Communities. Each mini-community gathers for spiritual nurturing, intimate relationships, Christian discipleship (“inwardly growing”), and evangelism, mercy/justice, and serving our local neighbors and neighborhoods (“outwardly facing”).
- Neighborhood Communities. At least once a month each group serves its local neighborhood in creative ways, because the gospel calls us to love the people and the place immediately around us wherever we are.
Individuals are therefore urged to attend a group in their home neighborhood, and those who are not residents of DC may “adopt” a neighborhood by joining a group that meets in an area where they long to invest their time and energy.
“I instantly felt at home as we chuckled about life… [and] connected very quickly.” read more testimonies…
As with all community events at Grace DC, our groups are open to people of various dispositions towards Christianity, including the “convinced” Christian, the “unconvinced,” and the simply curious. All groups are co-ed and are led by trained lay members of Grace DC who receive guidance and support from the pastors and elders. Johanna Montague, is our Community Group Coordinator.
What is done in the Community Groups?
Our community groups engage in the following four core activities through which we expect the grace of Jesus to flow to us and through us:
- Study. Our groups seek to be transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ revealed in the Bible. Each week we reflect on the previous Sunday’s sermon together, discussing its implications for our lives as well as for our city and culture. You can listen to the sermon and access the sermon discussion guide to be discussed in your CG online here.
- Prayer. Each group prays for our individual needs and circumstances as well as for the needs of our city and world.
- Relationships. Group members develop meaningful relationships with one another, sharing their lives and engaging in mutual care, leisure, and accountability. Our groups also strive to build relationships with those outside the Christian community, inviting friends, colleagues, and local neighbors to various community activities.
- Service. Group members serve the physical, material, and emotional needs of their neighbors inside and outside the group. Compassion is extended between group members (e.g., babysitting, help with moving, etc.), neighbors, and neighborhoods through neighborhood service activities conducted at least monthly.
While all of these core activities may not receive equal emphasis at any one gathering, a balance among these is expected over a series of CG meetings.
Questions?
For more information about community groups, contact our Community Group Coordinator, Johanna Montague.
Find & join a group
Find & Join a Community Group
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