This page is for you as a quick reference on what happens each week at a Table Group! In addition, you’ll find near the bottom conversation guides for your group, including conversation questions based on each week’s sermon. If you have any questions, just let Benjer know.
The one-page table group HOST guide
We’ve put together a One-Page Host Guide for our Table Group hosts to quickly understand what is—and isn’t—part of the role of a Table Group Host. You can download it here:
GROUP GUIDELINES
It’s important that there is agreement among any group how the group will work. Every group will be different, but these are some guidelines that every Table Group at Flourishing Grace should follow:
what happens at a table group
As you prepare to lead your first Table Group, here is a guide to help you through your first Table Group gathering, step-by-step:
preparing to gather
1) Set a time and date for your Table Group, and contact participants well in advance to invite them. Plan the menu with the intent of allowing everyone to contribute to the meal in some way.
2) Spend a few minutes thinking and praying through how you plan to guide the conversation. Most groups utilize discussion questions we create based on that week’s sermon, but you can take a look at “Conversation Ideas for Table Groups” below for more ideas.
3) Think through seating and how to create a space where everyone can see and talk with each other. A large space is not necessary, and sometimes being closer together can encourage groups to engage with one another more.
4) Pray for your Table Group, that God would help you pursue intentional community together.
at the gathering
1) Once everyone has arrived, begin the meal with a prayer not only for the food, but that God would be in the conversation and community that follows. Follow up with introductions if necessary.
2) During the meal, help guide the conversation along the lines of the topic or theme you have chosen.
3) Toward the end of the meal—perhaps after a break to serve dessert—invite the group to share what they see God doing in their lives, and what they are hoping he will do soon. You might help your group think through this by asking them to think of “highs” and “lows.”
4) After sharing, create space for prayer. Be mindful of how well your group knows one another; at your first Table Group, you might just say a prayer for all the requests, with the intent of inviting more people to pray, or having everyone pray for the person on their right at future gatherings.
5) Allow people to stay and linger by offering seconds on dessert or bringing out a game for everyone to play.
Resources FOR HOSTS ON BUILDING COMMUNITY
The pursuit of the table: Eating and drinking
Sermon on pursuing community as follower of Jesus | Josh Knight, March 12th 2023
how we change: Community
Sermon on how God uses community to change us | John Mark Comer, November 13th 2016
the gospel comes with a house key by rosaria butterfield
Book on pursuing community as a way to reach our neighbors.
pursuing conversations as a table group
CONVERSATION GUIDES BASED ON FLOURISHING GRACE SERMONS
We’ve discovered that many of our Table Groups naturally talk around their table about what’s being preached on Sunday mornings. Below you’ll find conversation guides based on Sunday sermons. Just download them, print them our (so you’re not relying on a device), and enjoy the conversation!
“Luke”
“Jesus, What Do I Do With…?”
CONVERSATIONS FOR TABLE GROUPS WHO ARE JUST GETTING STARTED
If you had a magic wand and could change one thing in your life, what would that be and why? The hope is that answers would give some insight to what’s important to people. Encourage (and perhaps require) people ask follow up questions. You’ve got the whole meal! After everyone has shared, keep the conversation going by choosing a few moments in the conversation to come back to.
CONVERSATIONS FOR TABLE GROUPS WHO ALREADY KNOW EACH OTHER
(If everyone is a parent) What parenting advice would you give yourself before your first child was born and why? The important part of this discussion is to ask some other follow up questions as the opportunity comes up: What has been the most challenging six months of parenting for you? What do you hope God would do in your kids’ lives?
(Requires some advance notice for your group) What is an experience you’ve had in life that has shaped you in a positive way? What is an experience you’ve had that has shaped you in a negative way? Where do you see God working through it all?
The iPhone-shaped elephant in the room. Just how much does my phone affect how I live, follow Jesus, and relate to others? Text the link to the article by Tony Reinke titled “10 Things You Should Know about Your Smartphone” and ask your Table Group to be ready to discuss it. (You could also read it out loud to your group while you’re together.) The article is five years old, so the stats may be outdated, but the content is not. Then, discuss the following questions: Which of the ten things in the article are true of you? In what ways does your phone interfere with your relationship with God and with other people? In what ways are you thankful for your phone? What would you like to see change in your home or with your family members when it comes to smart phone use? What would you like to see change in your life when it comes to smart phone use?