Small Groups
We’re Better Together
God created us to live in community with one another. Small groups, or what we like to call Hope Groups, are people who meet regularly off-site (in homes, coffee shops, etc.) to pray together, connect in Christ-centered relationships, grow in their faith, and serve the world around them. Anyone is welcome to join a Hope Group and check out resources like weekly sermon discussion guides, online classes and more below to help your Hope Group thrive!
Join a Group
Group Resources
FAQs
Join a Hope Group
Hope Groups can form at any time throughout the year, but there are four main ways to get connected to a group: Group Studies, Apprentice Series, Alpha, and Interest Groups. These groups and group-based classes are often where people meet and then they continue to get together once the class is over. If you’re interested in joining a group but don’t know where to start, please fill out this form and we’ll get you connected!
Group Studies are offered throughout the year that you can join to form and join a new small group. In these classes, you’ll meet new people, form a group, go through a study together, and make a plan for continuing on together once the class is over.
This group book study uses a collection of four books as the foundation. The book studies can be taken in any order and are offered consecutively between September and May.
This course is for anyone looking to explore Christianity, grow in their faith, meet new people or form a group. Alpha is offered three times a year in January, April and September.
Interest groups are groups that meet regularly around a shared interest. Check out the groups you can join, or let us know what group you’d like to see and we’ll help get it started!
Apprentice Series
The Apprentice Series is a small group experience where participants study a series of four books by James Bryan Smith:
- The Good and Beautiful God
- The Good and Beautiful You
- The Good and Beautiful Community
- The Good and Beautiful Life
You’ll be placed into a group that’ll read, pray, discuss and participate in weekly spiritual exercises to help you engage with each chapter. As you work through the books, you’ll discover your heart being shaped by the truth of Jesus Christ – and your life being changed. All four books can be purchased at Café Hope in West Des Moines.
Check the calendar to see when the next Apprentice Series class starts!
Group Resources
Sermon Discussion Guides
Online Studies
Resource Library
Sermon Discussion Guides
Sermon Discussion Guides are resources for you or your group to discuss the past weekend’s sermon. These guides will allow you to explore the sermon on a deeper level and break down the Bible reading through discussion questions and prayer. New weekly sermon discussion guides are posted on Mondays.
- Aug. 23 & 24 | What’s Wrong With Reading the Bible Wrong?
- Aug. 16 & 17 | Does the Old Testament Still Matter?
- Aug. 9 & 10 | How Can We Make Sense of the Bible & Is It Reliable?
- Aug. 2 & 3 | How Can We Bridge the Gap Between Gen Z & God?
- July 26 & 27 | Does Faith Take All the Fun Out of Life?
For previous sermon discussion guides, please email [email protected].
Group Studies
Small Group Book Study
Practicing the Way
“Practicing the Way” is an ecosystem of group resources that begins with an 8-session book study on the book “Practicing the Way” by John Mark Comer. A study guide and video teachings are available through an online portal after groups register.
Once a group finishes the initial 8-session book study, there are 9 practices, or mini-studies, that can be taken in any order. Each practice is 4-sessions long with video teachings and study guides as well to help groups facilitate this study together.
After registering your group, you’ll be added to the online portal and receive a welcome email to log in and access the resources.
Group Study
The Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount is one of Jesus’ most influential and impactful teachings. In this 10-week study, we will dive deep into Matthew 5-7 by watching video teachings, engaging in group discussion, and practicing spiritual disciplines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hope Groups (previously known as Life Groups) are small groups of 8-12 people who meet regularly off-site to pray together, connect in Christ-centered relationships, grow in their faith and serve the world around them.
We were made to be in community with one another. The Christian life isn’t an individual journey. Instead, we need each other for spiritual growth and together we form the body of Christ. Hope Groups give us a place where these needs can be met.
Every group is different. Some decide to meet indefinitely, others for a year, still others for less (like the length of one study). You’ll have an opportunity to discuss this with a new Hope Group at a Group Study meeting. If you’re already in a Hope Group, we’d encourage you to have that conversation with your group members so everyone is on the same page.
If you’re already in a small group, whether you call it a life group, care group, small group, home group or whatever group, it can be a Hope Group! Hope Groups is the name we’re using to refer to all small groups of people at Hope who meet for connection, growth and service.
Ask your friends, neighbors and those you are already in community with to join you in becoming an official Hope Group that meets regularly to pray, connect, grow and serve!
Register and attend a Group Study.
If you have an existing Hope Group and want to add someone new, feel free to invite them. There’s no need for them to register through Hope in order to join your Hope Group.
Each Hope Group can decide what they study on their own. We have a library of resources available for groups to borrow from (email [email protected] for the list) and from time to time, we do all-church group studies that your group can join.
Hope Groups typically start by meeting on-site at a Group Study, but once the class is over, groups are encouraged to continue meeting together on their own in homes, coffee shops, libraries, restaurants … wherever they want!
Each group can choose a day/time that works best for them!
Absolutely. Each existing Hope Group gets to decide when and where they meet. The resources to take the studies are flexible and can be used at any time.
Contact Us
Eric Peyton
- Groups Minister