Bethany Community Church

Small Groups are communities of 6-18 people who commit to meeting together for at least one year. Each Small Group is unique in style and focus, but all groups aim to incorporate study, prayer, care, service, and an opportunity for new leaders to emerge in order to move people toward an ever-deepening relationship with Christ.

Bethany small groups are a place for our community to grow closer to Christ and to each other. This is a blessing not only to all the individuals and groups, but also to our church as a whole. The more we have healthy relationships, the healthier our entire church becomes and the ramifications of that are exponential.

The role of small groups is to facilitate relationships that allow people to encourage one another and candidly discuss who we know God to be. The role of a small group facilitator is to create an environment where this can happen: inviting, shepherding, caring, welcoming, following up, and using whatever gifts are specific to that particular facilitator.

A quarterly training is offered in September, February, and June through the Community Groups Catalog.

Contact: Nancy Eckardt

There are many theories about the best way to ‘do’ small groups out there, and we have chosen the model that we feel best fulfills and expresses Bethany’s mission statement: to invite people to God, community, and wholeness. We believe that there is great value in bringing groups of people with various life experiences and perspectives together, which is why anyone, at any stage in life, can join a group.

Small group curriculum is not dictated by Bethany’s leadership. However each group wants to provide a place where people can connect in community and grow closer to God and each other up to them. Some groups do a book or Bible study, others discuss the sermons, pray together, do service projects, etc.

Small group covenants are a contract between group members that defines the direction of the group and the commitment required to meet group goals.  Since groups develop their own covenant, each group has its own personality and can meet the needs of the people involved.
Guidelines to construct a group covenant.

All small groups include elements of study, prayer, care, and service. Not every element will be present in every meeting, but the goal is to incorporate each element into the life of the group in some way.