Small Groups
Groups come in all shapes and sizes—married couples, singles, men, women, have kids, don’t have kids, workplace, under 20, over 40—the list goes on! No matter where you are in life, there’s a group for you.
Ready to dive in or have more questions?
What are small groups?
They are groups of three or more people who meet to talk about life, the weekend message, and what God has been doing in their lives. There’s no set formula for it; it’s simply finding a circle of friends who will be there for you through life’s ups and downs.
Do I have to be a Christian to attend a small group?
No, you do not. Small groups are a great place for you to build relationships while exploring Jesus and his teachings. You can ask questions and be open about any doubts you have — anyone is welcome!
Do I need to bring anything to a small group?
Your small group host will let you know if there’s anything you need to bring. Sometimes it’s just a Bible, notebook, and pen.
How long does a small group meeting last?
An average meeting lasts about an hour and a half, but often includes a time of chatting and eating snacks.
Do small groups provide childcare?
It depends on the group! Some groups pull money together to hire a babysitter for an evening or rotate parents to watch the kids in another room, depending on the kid’s ages. We think your kids can really benefit from watching you invest in a healthy community of people!
Featured Small Groups
- Saddleback Singles ZtoZ
- Saddleback Bay Area Extension Womens Group
- Saddleback Bay Area Extension Mixed Group
Small Group Guidelines
- Clear Purpose
- To grow healthy, spiritual lives by balancing the 5 Biblical purposes
- Group Attendance
- To give priority to the group meeting time (call if I am absent or late)
- Safe Environment
- To create a safe place where people can be heard and feel loved so we will be careful with being judgmental, giving quick answers, and offering our simple fixes to complex situations
- Be Confidential
- To keep anything that is shared strictly confidential and within the group (unless someone states they are going to hurt someone else or themselves)
- Conflict Resolution
- To avoid gossip and to immediately resolve any concerns by following the principles of Matthew 18:15-17, which begins with going directly to the person with whom we have an issue
- Spiritual Health
- To challenge and encourage one another to live a healthy and balanced spiritual life that is pleasing to God
- Limit Our Freedom
- To limit our freedom by not serving or consuming alcohol during Small Group meetings or events to avoid causing a weaker believer to stumble and not showing up intoxicated (1 Corinthians 8:1-13, Romans 14:19-21)
- Welcome Newcomers
- To invite our friends who might benefit from this study and warmly welcome newcomers
- Building Relationships
- To get to know one another outside of the group time and pray for each other regularly
- PEACE Motivated
- To work towards understanding how our group can effectively do personal, local, and global PEACE
- Shared Responsibility
- To work with each other and develop group ownership as each one of us helps with group responsibilities (rotate homes, study facilitators, snacks, drinks, collect prayer requests, etc)
