Small Groups

The overarching reason is to grow in relationship with God and others. Additionally, see below our “ABC” response to this question:

AUTHENTIC COMMUNITY

To foster greater connection, care, and unity within our church family. Small Groups are a great place to connect with others, care for one another when the storms of life hit, and grow deeper in your relationship with other believers. Remember that it is not all about what we get out of a Small Group, but, what we get is a blessing indeed.

We see the early Church demonstrated life-on-life community. See Acts 2:42-47. Also, Jesus prayed to the father that we would love each other in such a way that the world would see it and believe in him. See John 17:20-21. 

To help us combat the enemy’s attempts to isolate and destroy us. We need each other. See Ecclesiastes 4:9-12.

BIBLICALLY BASED MODEL

To be in community the way God intended it and displays it throughout Scripture. Small Group interaction is taught throughout Scripture – Old Testament and New.

To follow Jesus’ example. Jesus modeled Small Groups with his 12 disciples and an even closer inner circle of a few.

There are 50+ “one another” passages throughout the Bible.

CULTIVATE DISCIPLES

It helps us achieve our mission to develop followers of Jesus Christ. Develop meaning bringing into reality (outreach) or making stronger (discipleship). Wherever people are in their relationship with the Christ, we want to help them take a step closer to him.  

To be obedient to Jesus’ command to disciple others. See Matthew 28:18-20. We think Small Groups are the ideal environment to find and foster discipleship relationships.

To pursue spiritual transformation and help others towards it. Small Groups provide a great place for life transformation. We are wired to change when we confide in others and ask for intercession, accountability, and forgiveness when we fail. See Proverbs 27:17.

Our Small Groups are made up of people just like you who meet regularly in groups of 4-12 to dive into God’s word together, make time to worship and pray together, and continually lift each other’s eyes to the one who truly transforms us, Jesus Christ. They’re little communities within our church where you will be challenged to discover and use your God-given gifts to serve him and others, as well as be encouraged and encourage others in your group to take the gospel OUT of your group to the world around you.

We have two types of Small Groups you can join:

• Community Groups are relationship-building groups that meet to work out how to apply Sunday’s message through five discussion questions, prayer and encouragement. You can join an open Community Group at any time throughout the year. They are your easy on-ramp to finding community here at TBC.
• Core Groups are discipleship-focused groups that come together to pursue spiritual transformation as they venture through biblically rich curriculum. Core Groups launch each fall and are closed for one year. Find others looking to go and grow deeper in a Core Group at TBC.

Both types of groups are made up of approximately 4-12 people who come together to grow in their relationship with God and others while living out our five values of word, worship, connect, serve, and share.

We understand that various stages of life are busier than others. We have Small Groups that meet weekly, bi-weekly, and twice a month. We suggest finding a group on a day/time that you can commit to attending most regularly.

No. Our Small Groups are one-year groups - with the option to recommit to another Small Group each fall. 

Our Small Groups are primarily for Bible Chapel members and attendees to grow in their relationship with God and one another – a place where our five church values of Word, Worship, Connect, Serve, and Share are lived out in community.

If you do not attend The Bible Chapel but are interested in learning more about who we are as a church - or ways to get connected - we invite you to 1) attend any weekend service and stop by Starting Point to meet a member of our Connections Team and/or 2) come to Discover TBC – our monthly event where you will learn more about our church, ways to get involved, and meet some of our staff/pastoral team! Register for Discover TBC here. We're excited to meet you wherever you are in your life, and whatever your faith experience has been.

We want groups to be small – anywhere from 4-12 we think is the sweet spot. We model this after Jesus – who himself had a small group of 12 disciples – and an even closer inner circle of a few.  

Our Community Groups walk through five discussion questions based on the message given the weekend prior. Our Core Groups utilize a variety of biblically rich curriculum, which has been vetted and approved by a Pastor and/or Elder.

We look for leaders who understand and believe in the vision of Small Groups at TBC, as well as meet certain criteria set forth by biblical standards. We equip all our leaders with training, coaching, and ongoing support. We also have a Shepherding structure where each Leader is assigned to a Shepherd who coaches and supports them throughout the year.

We encourage you to join a group that you can most regularly attend. If you’d like help in finding a group, please email [email protected].

The process to join a Small Group is simple. Visit biblechapel.org/smallgroups and click the “Join a Group” button. If you have any questions or would like help along the way, please email [email protected].

We recommend joining one Small Group to be a part of per year; however, if you can make the commitment to live out sacrificial community and our five values in more than one group, we do not prohibit it.

Where the group meets is up to the group/group leader’s discretion – but we recommend groups to meet in their homes/communities (see Acts 20:20 direction to meet together publicly and in homes) – whether that is in the leader’s home, a host’s home, or you rotate through each other’s homes.

Each Small Group has different childcare needs (ages, number of kids, etc), and considerations (size of home, babysitter access, budget constraints, etc). As such, the best childcare solution is not a one-size-fits-all for all. We provide every leader with strategies around navigating the childcare needs for their group – as the best solution will differ group to group. See some suggestions here.