What if everyone who walked through the doors of Citylight could find a place where they truly belonged, and, through that community, come to know and believe in Jesus Christ?
What if church wasn't just something we attended on Sundays, but a family we lived life with throughout the week, a family that worships Jesus, cares for one another, and lives on mission together?
This is the vision behind City Groups.
City Groups are the DNA of Citylight. They are mid-sized communities where mature Christians, new believers, and those still exploring faith can belong, grow, and encounter the gospel together. We believe everyone should be part of a City Group because this is where so much of the life of the church happens: community, formation, and mission.
In a City Group, we don't just gather; we share life. We eat together, pray together, open God's Word together, encourage one another, and serve our neighbors together.
Kate Countryman experienced this kind of community, and it changed her life and faith forever.
Seven years ago, as a new believer, Kate was desperately trying to figure out what it meant to follow Jesus. Community was difficult for her, too. It was difficult for Kate to trust others and feel comfortable connecting with a group. Even so, God continued to reveal truth to Kate and open doors for her to grow in her faith and find community.
“God showed me that you get to create the culture that you desire when you enter a space with others,” Kate explained. “I have learned by doing this over and over. I can’t expect people to be what I am after. That would be my encouragement to others. You get to create a space of authenticity. If it’s meant to be, others will stay and grow that want it too. Community is created by someone that wants community. So, step into it. You will form community over time and the opportunity to join a City Group is like everything else. Some of the people in your City Group might not be your people but you will find one person. Don’t give up.”
God used community to teach Kate about who he is and her identity in Him. She not only began to understand His heart more for people but grow in patience and perspective in life and for His people.
“It’s hard to grasp patience until you have been walking with a lot of people,” Kate confessed. “You understand the love of God. It is His nature to seek and save His people and to be with us. At first, it was hard for me to understand people and to know them and to talk with them. But as I understood more about Jesus, I wanted to be more like Him. I won’t be more like Him if I am not around His creation and learn from it. I’ve learned patience and humility only because of community. People have taught me to be gentle and to love better and to be authentic. The moment I am in a bad place I want isolation. People make me uncomfortable. They challenge me. When you are in an authentic and godly community, they call you to be higher.”
It was in that first City Group where Kate met her people. She and her husband Jack have been walking through life with specifically, one couple, Jordan and Laura Warnock. God has used this special community in a pivotal way for Kate and Jack. A few years ago, Kate had a miscarriage. Wanting to retreat into isolation, especially away from community and life, God taught Kate a valuable truth and lesson through the faithfulness of friends.
“I felt embarrassment with a miscarriage,” Kate admitted. “I felt my body failed me and I was embarrassed. I didn’t respond to messages. It wasn’t just my thing. What struck me with this friendship is that they just didn’t show up individually but together. It was a powerful reminder to me that even when I push away relationship with the Lord, He is present still. Both Jordan and Laura showing up and forcing their way in and showing me love when I was being cranky and rude, was crucial. Their relationship with the Lord was all consuming love. It was from God. It set the culture of how we would treat one another. No matter the circumstances, showing up in the moment with an unwavering commitment.”
Kate and Jack have been a part of other City Groups with the Warnocks over the years and are now launching a new one this fall together.
“Once I understood who Jesus is to me and community,” Kate shared, “I realized I could be the one to set a foundation for others and recognize vulnerability is set by people who have courage to lead with vulnerability and transparency. If you want it, be it. The Lord asked Jack and I to do that. Jack on his own was asked to be the one to help guide a community rather participating.”
The Countrymans and Warnocks will be leading a City Group for newly married couples married under a year to a max of three year. The goal is to offer a space to learn about Christ and grow together.
“Marriage reflects God and it’s important to understand it and to seek to live it the way it is intended,” Kate explained. “Our hope is that participants would find friendship and community with one another. I remember it was in my newly married group that I had made my closest friends that we still walk in life with. Friendship is important in scripture, and we want to offer a space for this. We want people to learn about God but also marriage in scripture. We want each couple early in their marriage to know a depth of understanding to their call in marriage. It's not a call to just a good relationship but rather to represent the most important relationship with God. All the parts of marriage have been designed with intentionality. We want to bring understanding and practice with that. First and foremost, a deep foundation and understanding of Christ and who they are in Him.”
There’s no better time to join a City Group. Step into a community where you can belong, grow in your faith, and be formed more and more into the likeness of Jesus. God has uniquely gifted each of us, and He never intended for us to follow Jesus alone. We lead together, serve together, and use what He has given us for the good of the whole body (1 Corinthians 12:18–20).
The gospel reminds us why we do this. God reached down to us in Christ, and now we respond by moving upward toward God, inward toward one another, and outward toward others. We worship Jesus, pursue one another as family, and carry the hope of the gospel into our neighborhoods and networks.
This is our vision for City Groups: that every person at Citylight would know what it means to belong to a family on mission, a community being transformed by the gospel, sharing life together, and making disciples who make disciples. We’re not simply hoping for more groups; we’re praying for more people who know Jesus, love His Church, and join His mission.
Ready to find your people and join the mission?
Attend City Group Connect at the West location in between gatherings Sunday, September 13th.
Find a City Group >> citylightomaha.org/citygroups