Welcome to New Church Groups
New Church Groups is all about bringing people together for spiritual connection and community. There’s something deeply satisfying and fulfilling about building spiritual relationships with the Lord, the Word, and with each other in person or through a live online presence. Gain understanding and empathy. Get closer to the heart and soul. Feel recharged and renewed. Let’s do this!
New Church Groups is sponsored by the General Church Office of Outreach. This new initiative exists to encourage people to build spiritual community with others interested in the heavenly teachings of the New Church and the spiritual growth that comes from practicing those teachings. It extends the excellent work of previous efforts such as the Spiritual Growth Groups, the Journey programs, New Church Connections magazine, and the Grand Human Project.
We are eager to help participants fulfill Jesus’ words to His disciples: “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20) We also want to help people look forward to what Swedenborg describes in the work Heaven and Hell: “The more assemblies (groups) of angels there are that answer to each member, the more complete heaven is.” (Heaven and Hell 418). We believe the world seriously needs more spiritually oriented community-building groups. Please join us to strengthen the unique blessings of New Church Groups. Let’s make heavenly community a regular, down-to-earth experience!
“All the life a person has comes from the Lord by way of communities.” (Emanuel Swedenborg, Arcana Coelestia 8794)
What We Do
We help people find or create a New Church Group that fits their spiritual interests and needs. We also provide guidance and support to help leaders and groups succeed in their goals. Our simple, powerful methods of building community in groups are based on decades of experience by collaborative leaders. We share time-tested recommendations that encourage and empower people to find or create successful spiritual groups.
Whether you recently learned about the New Church, or you are already involved in a congregation, New Church Groups can help. We offer web-based resources as well as personalized leadership training and mentoring.
How to Participate in New Church Groups
Our interactive website features two main areas:
- Find a group – This area helps connect people and leaders of existing groups that meet in person or online (or a hybrid of both) around the world. Groups are listed here with descriptions and easy-to-access links. We are also developing a “search by zip code” feature especially for people looking for nearby in-person groups.
- Create a group – This area of the site leads to a portal with much more information. There you will find our orientation and training pages for leaders of spiritual groups. We encourage people from all walks of life to lead groups: biologists, sales reps, musicians, homemakers, moms, dads, teachers, ministers, etc. The more people who are willing to be leaders, the more groups there will be, and the more people will benefit! We support existing leaders and train new leaders to create and facilitate new groups. We also offer personalized mentoring to help leaders succeed in their goals. We can guide you step by step, so you become confident in your role.
Participating in a New Church Group is rewarding. That’s what we regularly hear at the end of meetings – gratitude for the quality time spent together. If being part of a New Church Group blesses your life, please let us know! We would be thrilled to hear your story.
Questions about finding or creating a New Church Group?
We would love to hear from you! Contact us at groups@newchurch.org or (267) 508-2124.