HOME GROUPS
During the early days of the church described in Acts 2 and in the early days of the Methodist movement founded by John and Charles Wesley, the home was one of two key centers of worship – the other was the temple or church building. Home groups seek to restore the home as the second center of worship at Hempfield UMC. Home groups meet regularly in homes and are open and inviting to neighbors, co-workers and newcomers to Sunday worship as a place for study, prayer, fellowship and service. Home groups are larger in size, about 8 to 12 people, meet on four-month semester rotations (September to December, February to May) and have a designated leader or leaders. The make-up and location of the groups vary from group to group.

COVENANT GROUPS
As the name suggests, Covenant Groups are a commitment — to relational accountability, to strict confidentiality and to gender specific study and growth. They are smaller in size – 4 to 6 people – single gender, fixed in their make-up and open-ended in their timeframe. Covenant Groups form in an intentional, organic way since the members who covenant together are already acquainted before they decide to commit to this type of group model. Leadership responsibilities are shared in the Covenant Group and group members have the option of also participating in a Home Group.