At CH Hernando, we believe groups are one of the most impactful ways to live out our mission to help people find and follow Jesus. As believers, we’re called to make disciples. While gathering as a church body is essential for spiritual health and the teaching we receive on Sundays is hugely beneficial, we believe we grow healthiest and most effective when we engage in active, intentional discipleship with other believers. This discipleship happens in various ways: through LifeGroups—doing life together and unpacking truth—and, more personally, through smaller discipleship groups (D-Groups) or one-on-one relationships. These intentional spaces help us grow deeper in God’s Word, apply teaching from our large gatherings, and walk in truth under the guidance and authority of church leadership.
Our LifeGroups meet in homes throughout the week, typically in groups of 12-16. We value training and equipping and communicating with our leaders as they fill shepherding roles in our church body, essential when you have a large congregation and limited staff capacity! LifeGroups are meant to be safe spaces to learn, share, be authentic, be faithful (your presence and consistency matter!), love and serve one another, and ultimately to multiply -building up and sending out new leaders and core groups to create space to invite more people to participate in life-giving biblical community.
These are groups of 3-5 men or women (same gender) that meet weekly to dive deeper into the Word and accountability and learn to follow Jesus through the practices He taught and modeled.Most D-Groups are formed organically—often by a leader inviting others or a newer believer seeking guidance from a more mature believer. However, when someone contacts the church for direction, we aim to connect them confidently to healthy and trustworthy discipleship relationships.
We would LOVE to help you get connected! For LifeGroups, there are two ways to do this;
1) We offer an event called GroupLink a couple of times a year. This event takes place in our lobby and offers an intentional time to connect people to new and existing LifeGroups. Anyone seeking a group can stop by, meet group leaders, learn about their groups andwhen they meet, and find their right fit.
2) For year-round group join options for both LifeGroups and D-Groups, you can go to chnextsteps.com anytime and fill out an inquiry form or email our groups director directly at toni.yglesias@colonialhills.church.
For D-Groups, we do recommend starting by asking your LifeGroup leader if there are any active or upcoming groups within your current group members that you might be able to connect with. But we are happy to help provide direction as well! Just email toni.yglesias@colonialhills.church with a little information about yourself and your availability and we'll take it from there.
Most groups utilize our church LifeGroup childcare support - dropping kids off at the church, driving to the host home nearby, having a time of fellowship and food followed by a conversation centered around unpacking the message we hear on Sunday and then prayer. Then we pick up the kids!
Most of our groups meet in host homes, with a few exceptions that meet at the church. We provide childcare support for groups on Sundays from 5-7pm, Tuesdays from 6-8pm, and Wednesdays from 6-8pm. Our Young Adult life group is the only one that meets on Thursday evenings! We break for the summer, though many groups plan a couple of gatherings during the break to hang out!
For any adult visiting attending a life group, you can drop off your child in the same way we do on Sunday mornings. We provide pizza (earning LifeGroup nights the title "pizza church" for many kids!). The safety of your child is of the upmost importance to us. All of our volunteers are known and trusted by our staff and have been thoroughly vetted through a background check, a multi-stage interview process, and extensive training. You can learn more about our Safety Policies and Procedures (link document) here. Additionally, all of our kid spaces are restricted access and video monitored.
We add new groups every semester, and currently have 25+ active LifeGroups! Our groups don't officially close, but typically rotate through seasons where they are able to invite more people in, and times where due to space or for the health of the group it's wisest to remain static for a time. When groups reach a point where they have grown past a healthy number or exceeded their physical space, the goal is to multiply - having raised up a new leader who takes a portion of the current group out to start a new one, leaving space in both to invite more people into community!
D-Groups are more organic,
LifeGroups:
D-Groups:
We’re so glad you’re interested in serving our students! Our ministry is always looking for more people to join our team to help students find and follow Jesus. Click this link to fill out a next steps form and we will contact you soon!
