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 book studies, weekly sermon discussion guides, online classes and more below to help your Hope Group thrive!
Join a Group
Book Studies
Sermon Discussion Guides
FAQs
Join a Hope Group
Hope Groups can form at any time throughout the year, but there are three main events that help start the process: Hope Groups Kickoff, Apprentice Series, and Alpha. These 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!
This four-week class is for anyone wanting to connect to a small group. Hope Groups Kickoff is offered in February, May and October
Mondays, Oct. 14 – Nov. 4, 6:30-8:00 pm
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.
Mondays, Oct. 28 – Dec. 16, 6:30-8:30 pm
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!
Group Resources
10 for 10 Group Study Guides
Groups are invited to take a look at Hope’s 10 for 10 Vision, and select a goal that interests them. From there, groups can download the corresponding book to study together! Hope has also created the study guides below with discussion questions to help facilitate group conversation around the topics.
Book Studies
Groups can use book study resources to facilitate their conversations. Each book study comes with teaching videos and a digital study guide that can be printed at home. Books are available for purchase at Café Hope at the West Des Moines campus.
The book “Everybody Always” by Bob Goff is a part of the small groups campaign, Find Your Community! In total there are five teaching videos from various Hope pastors. Download the free printable study guide here.
In “Get Your Life Back,” New York Times bestselling author John Eldredge provides a practical, simple, and refreshing guide to taking your life back. By practicing a few wonderfully simple practices—or what John calls “graces”—you can begin to recover your soul, disentangle from the tragedies of this broken world, and discover the restorative power of beauty. Download the free printable study guide here.
Seeing yourself as God sees you is essential to overcoming your deepest struggles, having healthy relationships, living in freedom and fulfilling your life purpose. In “Discover Your True Self,” pastor and author Chip Ingram wants to open your eyes to your true self, the “new you” that God sees, the person who is immeasurably valuable and beautiful. Download the free printable study guide here.
In “Forgiving What You Can’t Forget,” discover how to move on, make peace with painful memories and create a life that’s beautiful again. Download the free printable study guide here.
This book study is of “The Third Option” by Miles McPherson! Full of practical takeaways and exercises to help us understand the points of view of others, this book inspires, encourages, and equips us to make positive changes in our racially divided country—starting with ourselves. Download the free printable study guide here.
“The Homes of Hope Story: It Matters to This One” is a book about servant leadership, loving people unconditionally and obeying God when you don’t know what the ultimate outcome will be. Download the free printable study guide here.
This is the book study of “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” by John Mark Comer! Teaching videos by Hope pastors and teachers will be released each week. Download the free printable study guide here.
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 Tuesdays.
- Nov. 16 & 17 | Connect to a Church With a Heart for Community
- Nov. 9 & 10 | Catch God’s Clear Vision for a 21st Century Church
- Nov. 2 & 3: Celebrate 30 Years of the Miracle Called Hope
- Oct. 26 & 27: Inside Out 2: Finding the Heart of Faith
- Oct. 19 & 20: Spider-Man No Way Home: Identity Meets Mission
For previous sermon discussion guides, please email [email protected].
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!
Online Classes
Hope’s online classes are offered in two formats: on-demand classes to do at your own pace, or classes you join online at a specific day and time. Take any of these with your small group or as an individual! Check out the list on our online classes page.
Contact Us
Eric Peyton
- Connections Coordinator
- 515-422-9166
- [email protected]
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.
Hope Groups Kickoff is a four-week class specifically for people who are looking to join a Hope Group. If you’re not in a group, or if your existing group has gotten small and you’d like to add new people, please join us! Once the class is over, new Hope Groups will be encouraged to continue meeting together on their own.
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 Hope Groups Kickoff. 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 Hope Groups Kickoff, a class held three times per year at Hope.
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 Hope for Hope Groups Kickoff, 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!
During Hope Groups Kickoff, groups will meet on Tuesday evenings. After the class, 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. If you’re not in a Hope Group yet, you can take Hope Groups Kickoff, a four-week class for people looking to get into a Hope Group.