DELTA Groups

How the priority, power, and purpose of the Gospel shapes our life together in community:

DISCIPLESHIP, LOVE & ACCOUNTABILITY

The mission of God is to restore all things to Himself in and through the work and person of Jesus Christ. His chosen vehicle through which he is accomplishing that mission is the church. As God restores us to himself, he is also transforming us into the people he intends us to be. This restoring/transforming work does not happen in isolation, but rather in and through our relationships with each other as family. We do not do it alone. We need each other.

WHY A SMALL GROUP BIBLE STUDY IS NOT ENOUGH

In Bible studies, what typically happens is a bunch of people meet together weekly to discuss the sermon or a reading of Scripture and dig into what it means. The larger these groups become (6-15 people), the less they are able to focus on the actual application of Scripture. They either shift toward a focus on fellowship (which can become superficial), or they become a venue for performance, where people get to show off how much of the Bible they know, rather than how much of the Bible they’ve been obedient to. From my experience, people that are in Bible studies often have no other context throughout the week where they are actually living life together. They don’t see eachother’s marriages, families, work life, or observe their daily struggles, and as a result, they never know whether the person sitting next to them every week is actually living out the truth that they are studying. For Bible study to be truly effective, we need to go deeper, that is, deeper into eachother’s lives, and deeper into applying the truths of Scripture to the everyday realities of our lives. And in order to go deeper, we need to stay smaller.

WHAT IS A DELTA GROUP?

A DELTA Group usually consists of 3-4 people—men with men, women with women—who meet together on a weekly basis (at least) to be known and to bring the gospel to bear on each others lives so that they grow in and live out their identity in Christ. Ideally, these groups will consist of close friends that are actively involved in each other’s lives–eating meals together, recreating, vacationing, and engaging in mission together. Preferably DELTA group members and their families are in a GROWTH Group together. The point is, they need to be doing life together naturally and frequently so they can bring the Gospel to bear on the everyday stuff of life. And unless your lives are knit together in this way, it’s easy to fake it and pretend, rather than be transparent. DELTA Groups are not about seeking the approval of people. God’s approval—the only approval that matters—is already ours because of Jesus’ perfect life, death and resurrection which makes us perfect. (Galatians 1:10; 2, Corinthians 5:21)

DISCIPLESHIP

  1. Remind each other of our new identity in Jesus Christ (children of God; ambassadors of the King; servants of the creator; disciples who are being made whole).
  2. Admonish and teach one another to obey Jesus’ commands. (Matthew 28:18-20; Colossians 3:15-17)
  3. Train each other to serve in tangible ways. (Ephesians 4:11-3)

LOVE

  1. Get to know one another’s Stories, listening closely to each other and to the Holy Spirit so we can carefully and empathetically direct each other to truth. (John 16:7-15)
  2. Check one another’s Passions: How are you doing? Who are you loving well? Not so well? Where are you living in fear? What can we celebrate with you? What are you struggling through? (Romans 12:10,15)
  3. Pray with and for each other. (Romans 12:12; Ephesians 6:18; James 5:16)

ACCOUNTABILITY

  1. Encourage each other to live out what we believe through making goals and helping each other fulfill them. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
  2. Review the past week and how faithful we have been in keeping our word.
  3. Speak the truth in love as we see areas of sin (Ephesians 4:14-16), correcting and rebuking with God’s Word when necessary. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

PATHWAYS INTO A DELTA GROUP:

  1. Express your interest to your GROWTH Group leader and ask them to help you get into a DELTA group.
  2. Find friends who want to form a DELTA group, and run that by your GROWTH Group leader or an elder.

*From Soma Communities – DnA Groups