Our Small Groups Director is regularly working to connect people to new or current groups. If you are interested in joining, fill out the interest form and David will connect with you directly (refugeabq.com/groups).

Possibly. We have an ongoing waitlist of people ready to join a group. We want to make participation in a small group as accessible as possible. Fill out the form, and let’s figure it out together!

Our hope is that Small Groups are a place for the whole family! Depending on the age of the children in your group, they may spend the time playing or engage with you in the discussion.

If you are a Small Group Leader looking for resources: our Refuge Kids program has a Small Group Discussion resource based on the Sunday Kids teaching. If you would like to receive it email amanda@refugeabq.com.

In the future we would like to make childcare available on Wednesday nights at Refuge Church for a small cost. Reach out to David if this is something your group would like to explore.

Each Small Group works together with all the members to coordinate a day/time and schedule that works for everyone. Here is a meeting template that could look familiar for most group gatherings:

Example: Weeknight meeting from 6-8pm
6:00 - Arrive & Mingle
6:15 - Give meal instructions, pray, eat
6:45 - Clean up, serve dessert, settle for discussion
7:00 - Group discussion using Discussion Guide
7:45 - Take prayer requests & pray
8:00 - Clean up together
8:15 - Go home

Short answer: Please use the provided Discussion Guide to shape your time together.

Long answer: At this time we have invited all Refuge Small Groups to orient their gatherings around fellowship (with food), sermon discussion, and prayer. There are many reasons we think using Sunday’s sermon as a launching point for discussion is helpful. Here are a few:

(1) This is the content that most group members are more than likely already engaging with and many members & leaders don’t have capacity for additional prep/study/homework. Using the sermon makes group participation more sustainable for most members and leaders alike.

(2) Many of us have often found that there is not enough time in our Sunday morning gathering to fully process how God is speaking to us or what He’s inviting us to do. The Small Group meeting then can become a safe space where we can continue to wrestle, question, doubt, and experiment with the encouragement, prayer, and support of others.

(3) One of the challenges of any Small Group (Community Group, Gospel Community, whatever you want to call it) is striking a healthy balance between control/guidance/support and freedom/responsibility between Refuge staff and Small Group Leaders. We want group leaders to be empowered to lead and make decisions that are good for the overall health and discipleship of a group. We also want group leaders to be given enough guidance by Refuge to where they can feel supported and that the entire burden of leadership does not lie on their shoulders. Since we started some form of groups in 2015 (then called Missional Communities) we have found that giving more (not less) direction and guidance in the area of curriculum/discussion makes group leadership more sustainable for most leaders.

(4) Warning: this one is going to be a bit philosophical. Ultimately, we think discipleship is more about the formation of our whole selves (hearts, minds, bodies) than it is about information acquisition. Although we are most definitely students of the Bible, and this comes out in our Sunday sermons and group discussions, we are first and foremost students of Jesus. We want to become more and more like our rabbi. We want our thoughts, our words, our actions, and our gut reactions to become over time like Jesus’. This is a life-long process that takes place as we spend time with God, discern His guiding/comforting/challenging voice, and then process and experiment in the context of a loving community. This means that when we gather as a small group for discussion, yes we care about what you think of the sermon and scripture passage, but as a means to our formation, we care more about what the sermon and scripture passage think of you. What is God saying? What is he revealing? What is he guiding you to do about it?

With all of this said, it is our deep longing that small groups would be a context for this kind of whole-self, life-long discipleship. If you think our Discussion Guides and overall format could be tweaked to that end, please reach out to David. We want to do this together.

We encourage groups to meet weekly if at all possible. We have found that although groups often suggest meeting on a different rhythm (every other week, once a month) to make the group more accessible, what typically happens is the opposite. With our busy schedules and things that come up (sick children, travel, etc.), we’ve found that groups that don’t try to establish a weekly meeting end up all being together once per month or less. This rhythm doesn’t seem conducive to building connection, trust, and mutual care for one another as we attempt to follow Jesus in community.

If you think your group should be meeting less than once per week, please reach out to David for discussion and support.

In short, yes! We want small groups to be based on relational connection. However, we know there will be instances where groups are at capacity and can’t reasonably fit more people (based on size of home, ability to have good discussions, etc.). If you are not sure what to do, reach out to David so we can support you!

Nope! We encourage groups to have a meal each week if possible. There is something that happens in relationship when we slow down and sit at the dinner table together. Most groups coordinate to either do traditional “potluck” style meals, or “build-a-meal” style meals.

Potluck is when the group divides up the meal based on main dish, sides, drinks, etc. “Build-a-meal” style is when the group divides up ingredients to create one cohesive meal (taco salad, loaded baked potatoes, burrito bowls, etc.).

If having a meal each week is not possible/practical, perhaps consider taking turns providing dessert or simple snacks.

No, you are welcome to work with your other group members to come up with a plan that works best for everyone. Rotate which house you meet at? Have another group member host each week? Meet at a coffee shop or diner? If necessary, reach out to david@refugeabq.com if you need support. We want to work with you to make sure space is not something that keeps your group from meeting.