Small groups are at the core of life here at Pathway. It's never been more evident than in our present culture how important and relevant true community can be. Small groups serve those following Christ as an environment to share life together. Small groups serve those not yet following Christ as an environment to build relationships through shared experiences with the ultimate goal of pointing them to Jesus. 

What is a Small Group? 

A small group is a group of people who get together with the purpose of growing community both within the church and outside of it. The means through which that is done, though, will vary from group to group. Some groups meet for Bible study, some meet to do activities (cycling, softball, etc.), some meet for service projects, and some meet for support concerning life circumstances (think parenting, singles, age groups, gender groups, etc.) 

How do I join a Small Group? 

You can join an already existing group (check out the list here), or be a part of a new one. Contact the office at info@thepathonline.org or by phone at 276-PATH (7284) if you need any help finding or putting together a community group. 

What are the guidelines for having a Small Group at Pathway? 

1.) You need to meet regularly. It doesn't have to be weekly or even at a consistent interval, but we want to offer something that will build community and if your group is inconsistent or cobbled together all the time, it makes it hard for people to get to know each other and grow. Have some semblance of a plan on when you're going to get together. 

2.) You need to be open to the public (within reason). The whole goal is to bring folks in so your group needs to be open for people to do so. There will be size limits, sometimes gender limits, and sometimes circumstantial limits, but generally speaking you need to be open to having people join.

3.) You need to have a leader that church leadership can interact with. If we need information or have questions about the group, we need to know who to go to. Also, church leadership aims to communicate with community group leaders in a variety of ways to help them make the most of the opportunities in their group. For all of this, we need someone we can go to, that's your leader or leaders. 

4.) What your group is doing can't violate any of our core values. The small group structure allows a lot of freedom in what you do to grow community. However, we don't want to do it the wrong way.