How Groups Stay Connected During the Summer

“Are you in a small group?”

You probably heard that question a few times early in your time at Faith Bible Church. That’s because we’re a big church and depend on small groups for our closer relationships. Almost everyone who calls Faith home is part of a smaller group meeting regularly to know God, His Word, and one another – and also to be known.

Bill Mullins has co-led his current Growth Group for about 6-8 years. He is thankful for the robust support that small groups have at Faith Bible Church, both from church leadership and the congregation as a whole.

“We have been blessed because the DNA of this church started out with small groups right from the beginning,” Bill says. “That’s just what we do. You don’t have to convince anybody.” Groups grow and multiply because the people who enjoy the blessings of a group are motivated to invite others.

But what do groups do when summer comes along and they aren’t structured as they are during the school year? The answer is easy for Bill’s group: They just keep meeting weekly as usual.

Howard Amland has also led a year-round Growth Group for many years. In the summer, he prepares discussion questions in place of the Growth Guides the church provides during the rest of the year. He emphasizes that all ages are welcome, as well as new and old Faith members. Howard says their group is designed to “do life together; be there for each other, disciple one another, and encourage each other.”

Not all groups have the ability or desire to continue the same way all year round. Here are several ways they work to stay connected to the body and grow in Christ all summer long.

Fun and Fellowship

The most common form of summertime Growth Group meetings is having meals or fellowship gatherings, without a study topic or agenda. The season of outdoor barbecues and pool parties is not just for fun: It’s a chance to grow in affection for and enjoyment of our family in faith.

At the end of the regular year, Dustin Erbeznik’s Growth Group had members sign up to host potlucks, two per month, so that they would meet in different homes for fellowship throughout the summer. It was good for the members to take initiative and open up their homes, and meeting at different places helped share the work of hospitality.

Many groups employ a similar strategy, and some take advantage of the chance to do particular activities, such as sports or crafts or game nights.

The “post-college” group led by Zack Barrett even has a traveling role of “minister of fun,” in which different members volunteer to organize various activities for the group. That’s on top of regular volleyball, pickleball, tennis, paddleboarding, and other activities the group has enjoyed regularly during the summers.

Shelby Wolfe, a member of that group, is an elementary school teacher. She prizes the fellowship and encouragement from her group during the school year. But summer is when she has the most free time, and “Summer Shelby” needs face time with her brothers and sisters. She often hosts the group in her home or plans outdoor activities with friends from the group.

“Living together, you’re cooking food out there, eating together… It’s a different dynamic.” Dustin Erbeznik

Some groups take fellowship a step further, choosing to share some of their summer vacation by going camping together. The Barrett group camped this summer at Leavenworth with about a dozen people from the group. Planning meals and living together for several days develops a new level of collaboration and appreciation of each other.

Dustin’s group were also invited to their family’s annual camping trip, and while not everyone could come, they had a good time together. Last summer their camping group was nearly 30 people, and “we actually did our own little Sunday worship service,” he said. They grew closer in their personal relationships, as “living together, you’re cooking food out there, eating together. It’s a little different. It’s a different dynamic, just enjoying one another.”

Grace Swart takes a selfie with friends from the post-college group on their summer camping trip.

Book Studies

As there is not usually a summer Growth Guide from the church, one opportunity the summer presents is for groups to choose their own material to study and discuss together. Many groups choose a “book club” approach, reading the same book and getting together to discuss chapters or sections.

Dean and Christine Pyle have hosted book studies for several summers, and they usually invite people who are not part of their Growth Group to join them. They share a potluck dinner and make use of the pleasant evening weather to sit outside if the group is too large for their small living room.

Christine says they choose books that aren’t too long and each chapter is manageable. Past favorites include The Secret of Spiritual Joy by Bill Farley and Loving Jesus More by Phil Ryken. When they meet, they go around the circle for each person to share their thoughts, giving everyone a chance to speak, not just the more talkative ones. It helps everyone get to know each other.

Dustin says last summer his group, which during the year met at church on Wednesdays, decided to do a weekly book study at one member’s home. A man who was working in Spokane just for the summer connected with him on a Sunday at church, and Dustin invited him to the summer study. Regardless of what they studied, continuing to meet regularly gave them a natural way to minister as a group to a new person who wouldn’t be there during the rest of the year.

“He messaged us a few months after he went back to Arizona, just saying what a blessing it was to be meeting with us.”

Bill says that even though God’s Word is always the focus and basis of the group, the strong Bible teaching from the pulpit at Faith allows their group to focus on how to apply it in their own lives, sometimes with a book to guide their discussions. This summer, they read Trusting God by Jerry Bridges.

“It’s important for all us believers... to be as connected as we can to the church.” Josh Gilchrist

Doxa, Faith’s college ministry, met on Thursday nights about every other week, first at the church and then at Faith members’ homes. The meetings started with dinner and fellowship and ended with a message and discussion.

The leaders of Doxa garnered inspiration for the discussions from Right Thinking in a Culture of Chaos: Responding Biblically to Today’s Most Urgent Needs, edited by John McArthur and Nathan Busenitz. Like the title suggests, this book dives into the falsities pushed in American culture and how to respond rightly—equipping the young adults in Doxa with wisdom and boldness.

“It’s important for all us believers, whatever age we are, to be as connected as we can to the church,” resident college pastor Josh Gilchrist said.

Summer-only Groups

Speaking of book clubs, summer offers an opening for new groups to assemble, with one way being by discussing a book together. Even when the books aren’t directly related to Christian growth or Bible study, the fellowship and the discussion with others on a regular basis is a means for accountability and pushing one another forward toward shared goals.

This summer, Faith’s reading challenge encouraged people to read the same book and meet to talk about it. Pam Gallion decided to undertake the challenge and invited two other ladies to read the same missionary biography and meet to talk about each section. Anticipating that discussion made the experience of reading richer and more memorable – plus, the meetings provided helpful deadlines to motivate regular reading.

The ladies of Doxa college ministry were invited to participate in a Sunday morning Psalms study over the summer. Led by Lydia Kinne, Tanya Cammack, and Hannah Weber, this group dove into the wisdom of these songs of praise. The group also read Jen Wilkin’s Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds alongside the Psalms. Through this in-depth study of the Psalms, these women grew their knowledge of the Bible and in relationship with Christ.

Shelby and a few other women from the post-college group invited others to join them for discussion of a book about wisely using digital tools and technology. Some ladies from other groups joined them, so they benefited both from the subject matter and the opportunity to know others from the church on a deeper level.

Just Do Something

Each of these strategies looks different from group to group, but most people express appreciation for any time they can meet with people from their groups during summer break. Without making some effort, we can easily miss each other for weeks or months, especially if we go to different Sunday services or have offsetting vacation times.

“It’s really hard to have personal conversations with people when you just don’t see them,” Dustin says. “Seeing people, being in contact with people, really helps with even just being mindful of them.”

Emphasizing the value of continuous fellowship and discipleship, Josh recalls Hebrews 10:24-25: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Bill reminds himself and his group that God gives His good gifts through His people meeting together for singing, prayer, teaching God’s Word and fellowship, primarily on Sundays and then in small groups. That’s one reason their group has chosen to meet all year round.

“This is our family. This is our brothers and sisters in Christ, and God has given us to encourage one another.”

Lynn Yount

Lynn and her husband, Doug, lead a Growth Group. Lynn serves as a writer and editor for Living Faith magazine and other church communications.

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