Small Groups, Big Impact

Highland Park United Methodist Church aims to make our big church feel small. One of the ways we accomplish this is through Small Groups. Each semester (fall and winter/spring), Small Groups allow church friends to become real friends as they connect with each other and grow in Christ together. Small Groups are available for every age and life stage.

Eight years ago, congregant Gina Landry, previously part of a women’s Small Group, was looking for a group her husband could join with her. After one potential couples group had a false start, Gina decided to put it in the Lord’s hands. While greeting at a Cornerstone service, a chance meeting with fellow congregants Brenda and Graham Gardner—and minutes later, Cookie and Martti Benson—led to the creation of the Small Group she was looking for.

“It just came together so organically,” Gina said. “Everybody was kind of in the same boat. Cookie and Martti enjoyed their discipleship group that they'd been a big part of for a long time, and they thought it would be nice to add new relationships in a smaller setting to increase their community involvement. I think we were all looking for that. And everyone has stayed in it since.”

The Small Group, led by Cookie and Martti, comprises empty-nester couples aged 55 and above. Gina said the most valuable part of being in the group is the sense of community. She and her husband have made friends with the other members of the Small Group. Along with the other two couples, they consider Cookie and Martti friends and spiritual mentors.

“They are generous with their hearts and their time,” Gina said. “They fulfill every part of what it means to give back to their church and community. They don’t do it because they feel like they must check a box but because it brings them so much joy to serve God that way. They are wise people who are doing the Lord's work in such a humble way.”

The members of the group host end-of-semester dinners, and many open their homes for the Small Group to meet. The group has also volunteered together, e.g., serving lunch at CitySquare and working at the Promise House. For Gina, who is also a leader in the Stephen Ministry and a church committee member, Small Groups serve as a motivator to stay plugged in throughout the church.

“My women's Small Group served a real purpose and meaning in my life at the time, and now the couples’ group,” she said. “Whether it's for couples, women, or men, it can be one of the most fulfilling parts of your church experience. It goes so far beyond Sunday. The church is its people. When you can connect with people on that level, it makes you really want to go to church.”

Gina’s Small Group kicks off in September and will meet every two weeks. Gina looks forward to studying “The Great Divorce” by C.S. Lewis, the group’s second C.S. Lewis book, after reading “The Screwtape Letters” a few years ago. Small Group members grow closer as they dive into different books each semester.

“They open up so many questions and opportunities to share and learn from each other,” Gina said. “Over the course of eight years, you go through many different things together. We are some of each other's closest friends, and that's such a blessing.”

Gina encourages those who are considering joining a Small Group this fall to pray about it and give it a try, just as she did eight years ago when she longed for a group to join with her husband and found exactly what she needed.

“You can be very surprised by how these people can become such a big part of your life,” she said. “It really makes a big church feel smaller, and you learn so much from each other. It may be one of the most rewarding and meaningful things you ever do.”