Cultivating a community that is less about a stage and more about a table, less about a sermon and more about dialogue in the Scriptures, is easy with The Gathering Guide.

When you gather, circle up and consider putting an empty chair in a central space to symbolize the presence of Jesus being among you. Simply lead through the five steps of The Gathering Guide and quickly establish a culture of participation and alternating of leadership.

The steps of this guide are inspired by the Bible study method (DBS) used in the church in the global south, where Christianity is growing the fastest. These steps are so easy that someone else can seamlessly lead through them the next time you are together, and before long you won’t need to even look at this guide. After a season, you can pray about how your community needs to grow next, and you can add tools from the Pathway Toolbox - one new tool a quarter tends to be a great rhythm.

Try The Gathering Guide

How do we gather around the presence of Jesus?

The Gathering Guide is our simple but foundational guide on how to gather around the presence of Jesus: by inviting an awareness of God’s presence, by interacting around Scripture, and by praying together. Read suggestions on the back for how to use this guide. Then spend time as a group, going through the steps with a selected passage of Scripture.

Step One: INVITE

Invite an awareness of God’s presence.

Recite this simple prayer together: God, you are here with me. I am here with you. Speak to us today through your living Word.

Step Two: READ

Take turns reading the passage aloud, a verse at a time.

Step Three: MEDITATE

Take 5-8 minutes, asking the Holy Spirit to highlight phrases or words as you re-read it to yourself. Write down the phrases or words that stand out to you.

Step Four: DISCUSS

Come back together and discuss what stood out to you in this passage, or any questions you have.

Step Five: RESPOND

Get with a partner or two and pray about an action step to take from the passage this week, so that our lives would be transformed by the Word of God. Then take time to pray for the needs of one another.

Suggestions for how to use the Gathering Guide

If you don’t have a community to meet with, start by praying for who to invite to go through the Gathering Guide. Think 3-6. Neighbors, classmates, coworkers, family friends. The invitation can be casual and low-pressure: “Hey, a few of us are getting together Friday night to eat and talk about faith, nothing formal. Just honest conversation around Scripture. Want to come?”

Choose a Scripture that you will read aloud along with the steps of the Gathering Guide. It could be a chapter, like John 1 or Ephesians 3, or it could be a shorter section of a chapter.

Gather. Have a simple meal together before going through the Gathering Guide. Remember your space doesn’t have to be perfect. You can order pizza or ask each person to bring something to keep it easy. After eating, move chairs into a circle to facilitate dialogue and pass out pencil and paper.

Go through the 5 steps as a group. Focus on letting God speak through the Scripture without overcomplicating it. Ask questions and see what the Spirit may highlight to each person.

The most common reason small communities fail is that one person tries to do it all. If you decide to keep meeting in the future, use the QR code to download and customize the Community Calendar. This will help you develop a culture of shared responsibilities and ownership, including who leads through the 5 steps of this guide.

The Gathering Guide is inspired by the reproducible Scripture-reading methods of the church in the global south, where the church is growing rapidly. No experience is required to lead a community through this guide—ordinary people, young and old, can lead through it. Encourage someone else to lead through a passage using the five steps of the Gathering Guide. Before long, these steps will be memorized by your community and give some the confidence to multiply and start new communities.