Small gatherings of followers of Christ meeting on their own, facilitated by a host, are not a new phenomenon. In fact, in the first few hundred years of the church these kinds of groups were all that existed – they were pretty much the only way to experience church.Luke describes this kind of group in Act 2:42-47 and throughout years of church history the value of these types of groups hasn’t changed. At church you’ll find the same healthy, independently functioning, leader-facilitated, small groups of people that Luke wrote about 2,000+ years ago. We call them Small Groups.

You’ll find a combination of three elements present in any healthy Small Group.

• Spiritual Growth – Each person grows (usually in many areas of life) to be more of who God made them to be as a result of being around the others in the group.
• Relationships – Meaningful relationships develop and the group figures out how to support and take care of each other.
• Community Impact – Groups influence their community by taking it upon themselves to solve problems and nurture long-term relationships that develop others.

Why do you call us Small Group Hosts?
Our desire is to have as many people as possible involved in Small Groups. Therefore we see being a Small Group Host as the entry point to leadership. We are looking for two characteristics in our Hosts.

1. Spiritual Warmth: If you have a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, YOU can be a Host! We aren’t looking for people who have all the answers, just an obedience to Jesus Christ.
2. Relational Warmth: People like people who like them. Likeability goes a long way in becoming a Small Group Host at Harvest Time. We like to ask the question about our potential hosts, “Where does this person fit in the it-would-be-fun-to-have-dinner-with-you scale?

A Host’s role is simply this: find a location to host the Group and facilitate the discussion with the materials that we provide.

Why are the Groups Short-Term?
It’s simple math really. Our existing Community Groups typically meet 1 time a month all year long which comes to 12 meetings a year with a long-term commitment. Our new approach of short-term groups will actually increase the number of times a group meets while decreasing the overall amount of time each member must commit to the group throughout the year. Our hope is that more people will commit to Small Group life at Harvest Time. We want to create a rhythm of life that allows for spiritual growth and gives our leaders a break.

Short-Term groups will launch three times a year (Fall, Winter, and Spring) and run anywhere from 4-6 weeks in length. Each group will commit to meet for 4-6 consecutive weeks. At the end of that time-frame group hosts and members will be given a few options.

1. I will continue in this group.
2. I will be taking a break.
3. I will try a new group.

Ultimately it’s up to the Host what will happen to their group overall. Flexibility is our friend. There is no expectation of continuing beyond the original commitment. (Which means there’s no guilt trip if time simply does not permit your group to continue.) For some of our more ambitious Hosts, they can actually continue to meet outside of our Fall, Winter and Spring focuses on any topic they should choose, on any timeline they choose.

Why are the Groups Sermon-Based?
It all goes back to our Hosts… We want to make it as easy as possible for people to connect in groups and to host groups. This way a new host does not have to worry about finding and implementing a curriculum they have already heard what we’re talking about in the Sunday Service. We will provide the materials and the discussion questions all our hosts have to do is well… host.

One of the great advantages of a sermon-based model is that it exposes people multiple times to a passage, principle, or spiritual truth. And it happens simply because the process makes everyone listen more attentively, encourages note taking, causes most people to review the sermon once again, and then ends in a spirited discussion with friends.

Refreshments
We find that these ten to fifteen minutes before the meeting are often some of the most important minutes of the meeting—not in terms of content but in terms of setting the tone for what happens next.

Sharing
Once the meeting starts, most groups spend about fifteen sharing prayer requests and updating one another on what has been going on in their lives.

Study and Discussion
The next part of the meeting is dedicated to the study and discussion of the previous weekend’s sermon. It’s designed to last somewhere around thirty to forty-five minutes. To improve the quality of the discussion, we work hard to make sure that everyone comes with their answers to the study questions already filled out. One of the most effective ways we do this is by having our hosts periodically ask people to read what they’ve written down, especially if it appears that someone is deviating from their original answer. We also provide an optional DVD for Hosts who would like other options to help spur on the discussion.

Prayer
The last thing we ask every group to do each time they meet is to end with a time of prayer. In most groups, the prayer component takes about five to ten minutes. We ask everyone to use sentence prayers (one person praying for just one item at a time). This shuts down the long-winded dominator and enables those who are new or more introverted to pray out loud much more easily. Of course, if someone doesn’t want to pray, they don’t have to.