East Side is a church of small groups, not a church with small groups. Throughout the New Testament

we see how small group meetings helped lay the foundation for tremendous growth in the first church

in Jerusalem. We believe that God still uses small groups to accomplish big growth in the church today.

Everyone can join a group. Our hope is for every person at East Side to be connected in meaningful

relationships through one or more of our various groups. Our three main group settings at East Side are

Connect Groups, Discipleship Groups (or D-Groups), and Midweek for Adults.

Connect Groups

We want you to connect with God’s Word and with God’s People – an easy way to do that is with our

Connect Groups at ESBC. These groups meet at our campus on Sundays at 9am. We have many different

groups to choose from and we are confident we can connect you with one that will help you to build

relationships with others while you grow in your walk with Christ. These groups are designed to have a

Sunday school type of setting but offer relational connection at the same time.

Discipleship Groups

Jesus said to “make disciples” and that is the goal of our discipleship groups. D-Groups are different

than Connect Groups as they take place outside of the church walls and oftentimes outside of Sunday.

Because of this, D-groups aren’t viewed as a programmatic ministry with placement provided by staff –

it is more organic. This is what we would call life-on-life discipleship. Ask our staff how you can start or

get plugged into a discipleship group at East Side.

A D-Group is gender specific group of 3-5 people that meet for 1 hour a week on a regular basis for up to

12 months for the purpose of spiritual growth and encouragement. Each participant commits to a bible

reading plan, accountability, and prayer as an engine for growing together. After the 12 months, we

encourage members to start new groups – fulfilling the Great Commission. (Matthew 28:19-20)

Midweek Groups

Our midweek groups are meant to be short term studies offered 3-4 times each year. Some studies are

coed and some are for men/women only – some are large group and some are smaller. We have

seasons that cover a specific topic like parenting, biblical manhood/womanhood, etc. And we also have

some that dive deeper into the doctrines of the church or walk through a book of the Bible. Most

midweek studies last between 6-10 weeks. It’s a great way to stay encouraged and connected through

the middle of your week!