The people of God has always practiced meeting regularly with each other for fellowship and teaching.

Acts 5:42 says, “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.”

Acts 2:42-47 says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer... praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

At HDC a small group consists of 6-20 individuals who meet together regularly to encourage and remind each other of the mission God has given us. In the early church we see ve practices that occurred when Christians met in their homes. These practices are found in Acts chapter two. At HDC we call these the 5 W’s of a Small Group.

The purpose of our small groups is to build meaningful relationships that better prepare people to change their worlds for Christ.

Small Groups aren’t just a check box on a list of church obligations. Small Groups are a critical support system that can help you weather the storms that come your way in your walk with God, and in your ministry. Storms will come. Things will get difficult. And that is why a community of believers is so important to long term effectiveness. Even Jesus built a community of believers around Him when His ministry started.

HERE ARE SOME COMMON TRAITS OUR SMALL GROUPS SHARE AT HDC.

Sermon Based Curriculum: By talking through the weekend message with your Small Group, the weekend is enhanced, and our study of God’s word is deepened. The majority of HDC groups use the questions we print on the back of the sermon notes, but we do have some groups that use a different curriculum (for example, the women’s small groups on campus).

In Homes: Most HDC Sermon Based Small Groups meet in homes across the High Desert. We believe a comfortable environment helps us listen, learn, and build healthy meaningful relationships.

Kids and Students: We have small group opportunities for every age group on every campus. While each campus handles the details a little differently, the bottom line is that your child or student will have the opportunity to build healthy and biblical friendships.

Types of Groups: We have groups for men, women, married couples, young adults, singles, and mixed (with both married couples and singles). If you are interested in joining or starting a Small Group, click on the location near you to find out how.

We think having rhythms in life make all the difference and part of those rhythms mean pausing from our normal routines. That’s why schools have summer breaks and you take vacations. We have a natural break for our small groups at the end of May.

We hope this helps. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at smallgroups@highdesertchurch.com.

While Small Groups are important and beneficial to your walk with Christ, remember that Meaningful Relationships are only one of the Three Meaningfuls. There is great benefit in participating in Meaningful Worship through a weekend service, and serving through a Meaningful Role.