The single most important way to become — and remain — a vitally-connected, growing part of our church is to join a mini church. These small groups of 8-18 adults are designed to help individuals develop a deeper relationship with Jesus and other believers, to grow in an understanding of the Bible, and to impact others for Christ.
Mini churches generally meet in members’ homes or in some other relaxed setting where group members study the Bible, pray together, care for one another, and help each other navigate the ups and downs of life. Each group has the freedom to determine its members needs, so each group looks a little different in terms of meeting dates and times, study topics, and meeting style. All groups, however, maintain a mutual commitment to authentic community. Truly knowing others — while allowing others to truly know us — is the single best way to grow to be the people God desires for us to be. Learning to embrace, love, forgive, and relate to other imperfect Christians equips us to do the same things in our lives outside of the church.
Here are some specific things a mini church can do for you:
Does this sound like something in which you would like to take part? To learn more about mini churches or to register to join a group, please contact our church office.
Our group is currently open to new members.
We meet every week as scheduled - Every other week on Friday or Saturday evening in members homes in Richardson. Weeks in between we have Sunday lunch after church.
"I would say the core motivation of our group is emotional support and encouragement of one another. I’ve made it a point to make building interpersonal relationships among us our top priority, which, I hope, manifests itself in prayer, service and support. We do focus on study as well, which, in the past has been some type of book or video study session. Currently we are following the pattern of discussing what was taught from the pulpit on the previous Sunday mornings. We are light on service projects (though there’s been talk of doing more). We do, however, devote an entire meeting to a service-oriented project at Christmas rather than throw ourselves a Christmas party." - Gary Anderson
"The only thing I would add to our "when" is that we do try to meet every week. One ‘meeting’ is the typical 2.5-3 hour gathering that usually involves breaking bread together, some life sharing, a lot of prayer and some type of study. Our off-week ‘meeting’ is lunch after church on Sunday." - Gary Anderson
Contact info: select Gary or Karin Anderson from the catagory drop down menu on the contact list page.
This group is currently open to new members.
We meet the 2nd and 4th Saturdays on each month here at the church from 6:30-8:30pm in the Fellowship Cafe.
"We are a group that focuses on study, sharing and praying. The group selects each study series, and we split the meeting time between studying and sharing. We have a social event about once a month. They tend to be low key and focused on hanging out together." - Mark Gerner
Some other things you might like to know about this group. "We meet for dinner at 6:00pm if you like; everyone bring their own food. We also all pay in as a group to cover childcare costs as a group." - Mark Gerner
Contact info: Mark’s cell 214.205.0247, Debbie’s cell 214.676.6393 or via email select Mark or Debbie Gerner from the catagory drop down menu on the contact list page.
Contact info:
Contact info:
This group is currently open to new people.
This group meets weekly as scheduled by the group - We normally meet in the Thames’ home (in far north dallas close to the church) on Friday evenings from 7-10pm for regular meetings. We often get together for lunch on Sundays and outside regular meetings as life allows. (Note: "This semester, we are scheduling as much as we can through December due to family requirements in both the Layton and Thames schedules." - Angelia Thames
"We do life together. We fellowship together usually sharing a meal, we discuss the Bible, we choose studies as a group, we serve together, we support one another and we share and pray together. Our goal is to help one another grow to be more like Jesus and offer love and grace to each other when we fail." - Angelia Thames
Something else you should know - "We currently can handle babies or kids who are to be supervised by a parent." - Angelia Thames
Contact info: select Doug or Susan Layton, Marc or Angelia Thames from the catagory drop down menu on the contact list page.
Contact info:
This group is currently open to new people.
We meet on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month in members homes in Richardson from 6-8:30pm.
"The core focus of our group is to support the Christian spiritual journey through fellowship, sharing, prayer and discussion of sermon series." - Lalla Shackelford
Contact info: John’s cell 972.979.1929, Lalla’s cell 214.929.4784 or via email select John or Lalla Shackelford from the catagory drop down menu on the contact list page.
This group is currently open to new members and would specifically like to add a male member or a couple to the group.
We meet twice a month as scheduled by the group typically on Friday or Saturday evenings around 7pm in members homes in Richardson.
"Our current study m.o. has been sermon review questions although we have done other studies in the past." - Joe Spencer
Contact info: select Joe or Pegi Sue Spencer from the catagory drop down menu on the contact list page or call 972.918.0217 home
This group is currently open to new people.
We meet every other Saturday typically at the Thomas’ home in Richardson.
"We are currently studying: gospelinlife - Grace Changes Everything by Timothy Keller." - Kathy Thomas
Other information you’d like to know - "We currently have no kids in this group." - Kathy Thomas
Contact info: Mark or Kathy Thomas 972.690.0820 home