Love, Live, Move

Community Groups with The Village

As Christians, we're called to live life in community. Often times the Bible refers to the church as a "family" or a "household," implying that we should be involved in each other's lives beyond a couple of hours on Sunday mornings. In order to facilitate these open and authentic relationships, The Village has Community Groups that live life together and gather weekly for discussion, prayer, and Bible study.

What Are Community Groups?

Community Groups are families defined by love united in gospel mission. Here's what we mean when we say that:

• Families: Families eat together, pray together, and live life together. The church is a family that shares the same Father and same bloodline; we are adopted sons and daughters of a loving Father, and we are joined together by grace through faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

• Defined by Love: God's Word teaches that we could have all the knowledge in the world or do all the good imaginable, but if your motivation isn't love, then it's all for nothing. The world is supposed to know that we are brothers and sisters by the love we have for one another. Love should be the pervasive adjective that describes God's family.

• United in Gospel Mission: Community Groups should not only show love for one another, but for other people and the city at large as well. Families that live together and love together should be on mission together, serving in ways that matter to them, connecting with people outside the church, and being a light in the city. This can work itself out in a million different ways in each Community Group, but the point is that we are called to not only disciple one another, but to make new disciples.

What Purpose Do They Serve?

Community Groups serve as the front line of discipleship, shepherd care, and mission for The Village. They take people from "being the church" to "living as the church." In essence, they help us live like the family we already are in Christ.

• Discipleship: Growing in knowledge of the Scriptures, understanding of the gospel, and love for Jesus.

• Shepherd Care: Conforming to the image of Jesus in the midst of daily life, crisis, or celebration through loving truth and gospel guidance from group leaders and members.

• Mission: Intentionally serving, engaging, and loving people who are disconnected from the church so that they might see, know, and love Jesus.

Can I Join a Community Group?

Community Groups are open to everyone. You don't need to be a part of The Village or even know what you think about Jesus or the Bible in order to join. With that being said, know that if you want to visit a weekly Community Group gathering or live life together with a group, you can expect open discussions about fears and failures, prayer, conversations about Jesus, and a high regard for what God says in the Bible. Regardless of where you're coming from, we want you to know what you're getting into!

If you have any questions, concerns, or hesitations, feel free to send us a message. We'd be happy to help you better understand our Community Groups and anything else you'd like to know.

When Do They Gather?

We have a very intentional rhythm for our Community Group gatherings. They meet weekly on Wednesdays for three months in a row (January - March, May - July, September - November), and on the fourth month (April, August, December), there are no weekly gatherings. We do this in order to keep folks from getting burned out and to let them spend time with their families, friends, and neighbors.

Community Groups also refrain from gathering on the last Wednesday of the month. We devote this Wednesday night to living missionally with those in the community. Have a neighbor over for dinner, host a game night, go shopping with friends: we do something natural that lets us connect and build relationships with people who don't know the gospel or who aren't connected to a church. The idea is that we would be doing these things anyway, but this forces us to make it a priority and a regular part of our lives.

Interested in Coming to a Community Group Gathering?

We currently have 5 separate Community Groups. You can see them in the list below. We encourage you to seek out the Community Group that gathers closest to you for the sake of being able to connect with others in the group as easily as possible. Click here to check out where all of the groups gather on Google Maps.

Feel free to contact the group leaders if you have questions or if you just want to give them a heads up that you'll be attending.

Youth Community Group

Although children are welcome to any Community Group gathering, we have a separate Community Group for those youth who are in 7th through 12th grades.

Hamilton Community Groups

Lebanon Community Group

Trenton Community Group