+ What do they do at City Group?

City Groups exist to help us follow Jesus together, we focus our time on four practices: sharing a meal, sharing life, studying, and prayer.

Studying: Most of our meetings will primarily focus around the study of God’s Word in coordination with our previous Sunday’s sermon or going over a specific book or study that the City Group leader has chosen. The goal of this time is to hear from God as we study the Word together, share our observations, and help one another to apply the text to our lives. Our hope is that through our study the Holy Spirit will implant the truth of God’s Word in our hearts and it will take root in our day-to-day experiences and relationships.

Sharing Life: Each week we want to see group members sharing what is happening in their lives—joys, sorrows, sins, struggles, places where we feel like God met us or spoke to us, or places where God feels distant. Some of this will happen during the study, but most of it will happen in informal conversations before the meetings start. We also try to facilitate space for sharing by hosting family meals together. Meals slow things down and bring us closer to one another. We see these meals as an opportunity to create space for us to encounter the Spirit of God. In fact, we think that the conversations at family meals can help create the kind of relational depth needed to apply God’s Word to one another’s lives.

Prayer: Prayer is an essential piece of Christian faith and community. Our City Groups are dedicated to spending time in prayer for one another and our city.

+ Is there childcare?

Children are invited to participate in family meals, but childcare needs to be arranged during sermon discussions. How childcare looks can be very different depending on whether your group has two children or 20 children. Childcare options should be a group decision.

As they look for childcare solutions, all of our leaders are guided by these principles:

Children are a part of the group—they are not a burden but a blessing that we must steward. The childcare solution must promote safety. Childcare isn’t only the parents responsibility but that of the whole group.

+ What about teenagers?

We desire to see middle school and high school students all over the metro be transformed by God’s grace and grow to understand what it means to love and follow Jesus. Student Ministry has weekly meetings on Sunday nights in the Citylight West Council Bluff church's basement. The evenings include both large group and small group discussion. For the smaller group times, students divide by age group and gender for specific application. These times are led by teams of adults who have demonstrated godly leadership at our church, and feel a specific calling towards leading and serving young people.

+ When and where do they meet?

Most of our Small Groups meet on weeknights for 1-2 hours, starting around 6:30 or 7pm.

+ Is there a required commitment?

Joining a group costs something— presence and participation. It might take a few tries before you find the group that fits you best. Our hope is that you will find a group that you can develop friendships in for many years to come.