About a year and a half ago, our family moved to Indy from Charlotte, North Carolina for Kasey to become a Pastoral Resident at College Park. In Charlotte, we had a wonderful Small Group of folks we loved talking to about what was going on in our life and what God was teaching us. We hoped to find this same community at our new church. But we had no idea what community would look like in a new church.

Trying Out a Group

During the Small Group promotion in the early fall of 2019, we noticed that there was a Small Group forming just five minutes north of where we live. We had tempered expectations, but we decided to try it out once or twice. Little did we know how much we would desperately need this community in 2020.

We quickly fell in love with the diverse and caring people in the group, and we have been able to experience a lot alongside them. We love our Small Group, and we want to tell you a few reasons why.

1. They Point Us To Jesus

There have been a lot of trials in 2020. Physical and spiritual trials have abounded, and it has been a blessing to have a group of people who consistently share Bible verses with us, pray with us, and challenge our hearts to trust Jesus more.

Our bi-weekly gatherings, where we discuss the sermon and pray for each other, have been refreshing times we’ve looked forward to. Though our trials have drawn our hearts to look inward for help, our Small Group has drawn our hearts outward and upward for help. We love our Small Group because they point us to Jesus.

2. They Love Us Like Jesus

When you read the Gospels, especially Mark, what do you see? You see Jesus going around and serving everyone he can! He looks on people with compassion and meets their needs right where they’re at. The church is called to resemble this heart as well.

The Apostle John states Jesus’ command: “[T]his commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:21). While this is a command from Jesus, our Small Group has shown us that it is also a delight to serve each other.

Here are a few ways our Small Group has served us:

• Delivered meals and provided childcare during Emily’s pregnancy
• Passed down children’s and maternity clothes
• Gifted zoo tickets and financial gifts
• Delivered cookies during COVID
• Donated a spare phone after water destroyed Emily’s
• Offered a spare car after Kasey’s broke down
• Taught new skills (like coffee pour-overs!)
• Prayed for us constantly

We love our Small Group because they have loved us like Jesus time and time again.

3. They Are Fun

It would be a huge gap if I didn’t mention that our group is a lot of fun! We have been able to go through some valleys with each other, but our group has been a beam of joy in those hard seasons. And we’ve been able to celebrate, play, worship, laugh, and eat meals together that have woven threads of joy into our lives. Here are a few ways we have had fun together:

• Gender reveal party
• Game nights
• Superbowl party
• Sunday in-home church service gatherings (during COVID)
• Labor Day cookout
• Online baby shower (and in-person baby shower!)
• Marco Polo chats during COVID isolation
• Play dates
• Impromptu dinners
• House moving help
• Evening jogs

We’ve been able to do a number of things together, and it’s been a ton of fun!

Your Own Reasons

As we have compiled these lists of what we’ve been able to experience with our Small Group in less than a year, we have been “wowed” by the ways that God has used these friends in our lives. We love our group, and we hope that you love yours too for your very own list of reasons.