Hoboken Grace · Dinner Groups
Training
Everything we have taught leaders, as pages you can read and send. Not a folder of PDFs.
Activities are what to do. Training is why it matters. The same topic often lives in both, so if you came here for a script to run on a group night, try Activities first.
Kickoff Gathering 2026
The two talks from the September 2026 Leader Kickoff Gathering, written out so you can read one in five minutes.
Better Together
The 2025 Better Together Conference, converted into pages you can read in a minute and send to another leader.
Defining a Group Win
What success looks like in your group, and why the word is pursue
Core Values and Tensions
The three values behind every dinner group, and the two tensions you will be managing all year
How We Grow
What we believe about spiritual growth, and the five purposes that keep a group balanced
Unlocking Growth in Your Group
Four roles carry growth in a group, and only one of them is yours
Living Out Balanced Growth
The four pillars that keep your group from becoming the same night ten times
Planning Your Pillars
Two sample ten week plans, one for brand new groups and one for groups that have been together a while
Community Is Messy
Every group hits mess, and the seven things a leader does when it lands
Creating Hospitable Events
Practical ways to make your group a room people can walk into
Leading Your Group
The one page pieces we hand out at leader development. Pillars, covenant, values, questions, icebreakers, prayer, tensions, challenges.
Welcome to Group Leadership Development
What Group Leadership Development is and the three things it gives a new leader
Dinner Group Values
The three values every dinner group leader is aiming at, and what each one looks like in practice
Dinner Group Guidelines
The three things we ask every dinner group member to agree to, and why you say them out loud
Hoboken Grace Leadership Covenant
What every leader at Hoboken Grace commits to, and the covenant they sign
Icebreakers
Why the first question of the night is worth more than most leaders think, plus three we keep coming back to
The Socials
Why a dinner group with no social time turns into a class, and how to build the fun back in
Weekly Questions
How to turn Sunday’s conversation into something your group actually does on Monday
Prayer Time
How prayer in your group should change as the group gets closer
Tensions
The two tensions every dinner group leader lives inside, and why you pedal both
Challenges
Conflict in your group is not a sign you are failing, it is where the growth is
Connection Events
Events built so the friends you want to connect have somewhere comfortable to show up
Impact Events
One event where your whole group loves somebody outside the group in a way they can touch
When to Hand It Off
Knowing the line between caring for someone and being their counselor
Leader Role Description
What we are asking, in writing. Time, expectations, and support.
New Leader? Start Here
Your first two steps and the dates for both.
Waitlists
Someone raised their hand for your full group. What the email means and what to send back.
Growth Tools
The six tools from the Growth Tools Booklet. Print one, work through it, or hand it to a group member.
The Experience Plan
A quarterly plan for the habits that grow a person’s experience of God, and how to run it with your group
Your Circles
The three relationships every one of us should have, and a page that makes you name who fills them
Put Off / Put On
Name three things to put off, what goes in their place, and the truth that answers the lie behind each one
Relationship Dashboard Plan
A marriage plan on one page, covering time together, the house, the money, and a monthly check in
Planning to Develop Your Children
Five steps for parents who have a plan for everything except teaching their kids who God is
Putting Together a Life Plan
Seven steps for working out what matters most to you and building a plan around it
Group Next Steps
What to do when someone in your group is ready for the next thing. Join a team, baptism, apprenticeship.
Join a Team
Why serving is one of the fastest next steps for a group member, and how to help someone find the right team
Baptism
What baptism is, why the group’s part in it matters, and what to do when somebody in your group is ready
Apprenticeship
How to spot the person in your group who could lead one, and what to do about it before your group ends
Care Guides
What to do when someone in your group is walking through something hard, and when to hand it to us.
Helping a Friend Through Caregiving
A C.A.R.E. guide for walking with someone caring for an aging parent or loved one
Helping a Friend Through Death and Grieving
A C.A.R.E. guide for walking with someone who has lost a person they love
Helping a Friend Through Divorce or Separation
A C.A.R.E. guide for walking with someone through a divorce or separation
Helping a Friend Through Life with a New Baby
A C.A.R.E. guide for encouraging a group member adjusting to life with a new baby
Helping a Friend Through Imprisonment
A C.A.R.E. guide for walking with someone facing a jail sentence or the incarceration of someone they love
Helping a Friend Through a New Job
A C.A.R.E. guide for encouraging someone through the stress of starting a new job
Helping a Friend Through a Move
A C.A.R.E. guide for walking with someone moving into or out of our community
Helping a Friend Through the Highs and Lows of Relationships
A C.A.R.E. guide for celebrating and supporting a group member through the joy and stress of relationships
Navigating Difficult Group Circumstances
A C.A.R.E. guide for the moment something comes up in group that is bigger than you
Helping a Friend Through Sickness and Chronic Pain
A C.A.R.E. guide for walking with someone living with sickness or chronic pain
All Care Guides
The full index, including the ten still being built.