Small Group Guide: Week of 1/18
To view this guide as a PDF, click here.
We Will Be: A Year of Becoming
Dear friends, now we are God’s children, and it hasn’t yet appeared what we will be. We know that when he appears we will be like him because we’ll see him as he is.
Opening Discussion
It’s the first small group gathering of the semester (and the year)! Be mindful of new folks in your small group and work to make them feel welcome by recognizing them and orienting them to the group and other members.
Introductions & check-in
Introductions: Share your name (and pronouns if you’d like) and if you’re new or a returning member.
Icebreaker suggestion: Share holiday/beginning of the year highlights! (This week’s icebreaker may run a little longer than usual, but feel free to use it as a catch-up!)
High/Low exercise
Give each member a chance to share their highest points and lowest points of the past week/month.
Additionally or alternatively, you can invite the group to share a word, emotion, or phrase to describe how they’re coming into the group this week.
Digging Deeper
As it’s the first gathering of the semester, you have some options to (re)orient folks to the small group space. Below are some categories that could be helpful to shape your first (and second) gathering. You will not have time to get through them all in one gathering, that’s not what they’re listed for! Choose what might be most helpful as you plan your first couple of meetings.
Beginning of the Semester
Spend a few minutes orienting folks to the small group.
Share your vision/hopes, and identify discipleship as the purpose of the small group and the aim of keeping Christ at the center.
If helpful, this could include thoughts you’ve had about how the group is cultivating Worship, Community, and Mission.
It may be helpful for newer folks to hear about the history of the group.
Share your plan for the semester (following the sermon series, reading a book, etc.).
(Re)Introduce any shared leadership/hosting practices (snack signup, facilitation rotation/signup, etc).
Reflections
Take some time to reflect with your small group on what the semester might bring. Invite members to share as they are comfortable. Make space for the conversation points that you feel are most helpful for your group. Use some of the following prompts if helpful or facilitate your own. As you arrive at the beginning of a new year (and leave a tumultuous 2025 behind):
What is hopeful for as you look ahead?
What are you grieving as you look behind?
Can you see growth as you look back on 2025? What have you learned?
Where did God meet you this year?
Other questions to consider for sharing:
What are you hoping for this small group semester?
Where are you now, where do you hope to be in your spiritual journey at the end of the year?
How would you describe your current pace of life? When, or in what season of your life would you say you lived at a pace that felt life-giving? What did that pace look like?
SPIRES
Introduce your group to the SPIRES Plan, a tool to step into more intentionality and awareness of God. You could use group time to
chat about each person’s SPIRES,
discuss how it might be helpful for the year,
break into partners/groups,
or introduce it and come back to it at another point in the semester.
Community Care Practices
Take some time to remind the group of your community care practices (group norms, rules of engagement). If helpful, open the floor for a conversation around what the group might want to add or articulate around how to care well for one another during group discussions. You can find the full Community Care Practices document here; some things to consider with your group:
Your community care practices should include ways to address these foundational values:
Engagement: commitment to attending and participating in the group
Confidentiality: nothing is shared outside of the group without permission
Generosity: a posture of seeking to understand even in difference
Listening well: validating others’ experiences and avoiding a posture of “fixing” (ie. unsolicited advice)
Inclusion: recognizing and making space for everyone, especially folks who might
experience marginalization (this can include more specific practices or boundaries addressing topics like racism or LGBTQ inclusion)
Some other things to consider:
What to do with silence
Awareness of different conversational & processing styles (ie. introverts & extroverts)
Technology use
How practical care happens in the group
This doesn’t have to be a one-time conversation! Work together to name your group’s community care practices and name them consistently in your gatherings.
The Sermon Series So Far
You may not even get to this part of discussion this week since there’s a lot of orientation that needs to happen. If you do, here are some prompts to reflect on and discuss our series “We Will Be”.
As you reflect on the last few sermons in We Will Be…:
What resonated with you?
What comforted/challenged you?
Did you learn something new?
What might the Spirit be prompting you to remember and consider?
Formation Is Never Neutral
We’ve been reminded in this series that fear, culture, power, and habit are always shaping us. What do you notice forming you most right now and how is that influencing who you are becoming?
We Will Be What We Seek
Drawing from the Magi and Jesus’ call to seek the kingdom first, Pastor Justin’s sermon asked what we are orienting our lives around. Where are you most tempted to look for security, meaning, or control? How might God be inviting you to seek differently?
Another Route
Pastor Matthew’s and guest preacher Kat Armas’ sermons show how God often works outside places of power, from a house instead of a palace to Gideon in a winepress. Where could God’s presence be showing up in a way or place you might not expect?
Do Not Fear, I Am With You
Pastor Matthew’s sermon named fear honestly while returning again to God’s promise of presence. How have fear or anxiety been influencing your choices? What would courage rooted in God’s presence look like right now?
Go in the Strength You Have
The last two sermons invited us to notice the inner work that precedes outward liberation and to take faithful steps without waiting to feel ready. What internal patterns are coming to the forefront of your awareness? What is one small act of faithfulness you sense you might be invited into?
Prayer
Praying for one another regularly is an essential part of small groups. You’re welcome to design your gathering however you’d like, but encourage you to include prayer time each week.
Prayer Requests
Give the group a chance to share prayer requests. If it’s helpful, utilize categories like praises/requests.
Spend time praying for one another and the requests made.
Depending on the group size, it can be helpful to break into smaller groups to share requests and pray for one another.
Some groups use prayer partners throughout a semester.
Community Updates
Center Down: A Day of Prayer, Practice, and Rest
Take a pause and enter a day of quiet, intentional reflection. This ond-day retreat offers shared prayer, guided practices, and generous time for personal reflection, rest, or prayer. Come as you are, there’s no expectation to participate in any particular way.
The day will be held at a local retreat house in Brookland and includes two shared meals and the option for spiritual direction. No prior experience is needed. We ask for a $25 donation to help cover costs, but full scholarships are available for any need, no questions asked. Register at go.christcitydc.org/retreat.
Miner PTO
In one of our longest standing partnerships, Christ City is continuing to work with Miner Elementary to provide childcare during their monthly Tuesday PTO meetings. This allows Miner parents to attend and be engaged at the school and in their child’s education.
We’re hoping small groups can mobilize to provide childcare from 5:45-7:30p. Christ City will provide craft materials and pizza! Once you choose a week with your group, sign up HERE.
