Life around The Table
Table Community Groups
Table Community Groups are the primary way we gather during the week at The Garden. Rooted in our value of life around the table, these groups are shaped by the way of Jesus, who so often met people in homes, shared meals, and formed His disciples in close, relational spaces (Luke 5:29; Luke 24:30–32). We believe there is something deeply meaningful about sitting across from one another, sharing food, and telling the story of what God is doing in our lives.
Each Table Community Group carries a similar rhythm: we share a meal or snack, reflect on the Sunday sermon, pray together, and pursue being known and formed in authentic community. Like the early church, who “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42–47), we gather in homes across our city with a desire to grow in the Word, encounter God’s presence, and walk together in everyday discipleship.
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Most of our Table Communities meet on weeknights, usually Wednesday nights, in homes across Austin. Each group sets a consistent rhythm that works for their people, but you can expect a simple, intentional time together during the week.
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We keep it simple. We share a meal or snack, reflect on the Sunday teaching, pray together, and make space to be known. It’s not a class or a performance. It’s a table.
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You can sign up here, and a Table Community Group Shepherd will reach out with more information.
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Shepherds are the leaders of our Table Community Groups. They care for their group, guide the time together, and help cultivate a space where people can be known, formed, and encouraged in following Jesus. More than just leading a group, they are people who walk alongside others in everyday life.
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Children are always welcome at our Table Community Groups and in all spaces at The Garden. They are not a distraction, they are a gift and a part of what God is building here. If evenings feel hard with bedtimes, we recommend parents consider trading off nights so that you can still stay connected to the rhythm of community or getting a babysitter.
Discipleship Groups
While Table Communities are the primary way we practice shared life together at The Garden, our Men’s and Women’s Discipleship Groups are spaces to go deeper in intentional formation. Throughout Scripture, we see the importance of men and women being strengthened in their faith within close, committed relationships (Titus 2:1–8; 2 Timothy 2:2). These groups are designed to cultivate spiritual maturity through Scripture, prayer, and intentional discipleship rhythms. They often follow a guided curriculum or book study, creating space to grow in understanding, confess sin, encourage one another, and be strengthened in obedience to Jesus. Our hope is that these groups would form men and women who are deeply rooted in the Word, shaped by the Spirit, and equipped to faithfully live out their calling in everyday life.
Practice Fellowships
Practice Fellowships are seasonal spaces of focused teaching, training, and formation that we offer a few times throughout the year. These gatherings are designed to help us not only hear the teachings of Jesus, but to put them into practice in tangible, embodied ways (Matthew 7:24–25; James 1:22). Each Practice Fellowship centers on a specific area of formation, such as prayer, Scripture, or spiritual disciplines, and creates intentional space to learn, practice, and grow together. Our desire is that these environments would help cultivate lives that are not just informed by the Word, but transformed through obedience, as we are formed into the likeness of Christ and equipped to live faithfully in our everyday lives
