For years, Eric and Kristen turned down the idea of leading a dinner group. They were busy, and it seemed like a huge time commitment, almost like signing up for a second job. “I didn’t feel like I had the time, but I also didn’t feel like I met the standard of what a dinner group leader should be,” said Kristen. “All of these people would be looking to me for spiritual leadership and [...]
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Twin sisters Karen and Cristina do almost everything together, and that included planning to co-lead a dinner group two years ago. But toward the end of 2015, both sisters felt God nudging them to lead a group of their own. Forming two groups would mean twice as many people would be able to experience the community they'd found. But [...]
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After serving on the Family Life Team for nearly two years, Angie has been on stage for countless baptisms at Hoboken Grace. But while each one was special in its own way, this one was different. Now a dinner group leader, Angie had been a part of the many conversations, prayers and text messages leading up to this moment. [...]
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Creating community requires multiplication. This can be hard. The reality is, if you are in a Dinner Group, you found community because someone valued multiplication over connection. If your Dinner Group leader had held onto their original group, you never would have been able to connect. There wouldn’t have been [...]
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Jeanette had been going to church for two years before she worked up the courage to join a dinner group. At that time, even the short-term 10-week dinner groups felt like a big step. She was hesitant to sign up in part because of her age. Now 51, Jeanette knew she would probably be older than the rest of the group [...]
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One night last fall at Johnny Pepperoni’s, half a dozen middle school boys were hanging out eating pizza and talking about video games, sports and, amazingly … God. On that night, the conversation was about what really brings happiness. Is it our stuff that makes us happy? Or is it relationships with people we [...]
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On a Wednesday night in early November, I found myself huddled around a dinner table in Jersey City with nine other women. Our usually lively group was quiet that night, and an unspoken tension hung in the air. It was November 9, 2016 ㅡ less than 24 hours after one of the most divisive election cycles in U.S. history.
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As they sat down to discuss Sunday’s message at dinner group week after week, Dan and Victor started to feel an itch. They wanted to do more than dream about loving their neighbors and impacting their city. They wanted to get off the couch and into the streets.
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While Hoboken Grace offers couples the opportunity to join dinner groups together, many continue to attend a group on their own. "While it is important that my husband and I grow together in our faith, it is also important that we grow separately," says Sarah. "The more time I pursue Christ on my own, the more I recognize Him as my Savior and the one certainty in my life, and I don’t expect my husband to step into that impossible role.”
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“God kept on coming back to me and telling me that we could get through this together,” says Jen. “He said it would be hard, but that it was time for me to stretch, time for me to grow, time for me to trust Him. And He promised me that I would learn a whole lot about Him and myself in the process.”
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Noelle joined a dinner group her first Sunday at Hoboken Grace, but she was shocked when, just a few months later, she was asked to lead a group herself. “I immediately said no,” she recalls. “It was something I had no interest in doing. I had my group, and I was happy. At the time, I thought that I had […]
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The first time I attended Hoboken Grace, I was terrified. I dragged my friend along for moral support, but I was still anxious. Was I going to fit in? Would there be anyone there like me? Looking back, I laugh at how nervous I was, because from the moment I walked into 301 Garden I was made to feel right at home. […]
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The holidays are meant to be a time for celebration, an opportunity to gather with those we love and look back on the experiences we’ve shared over the past year. Of course, gathering together with loved ones also tends to come with something else: Food, and lots of it. This week, we’re celebrating the holidays by talking about one of […]
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Is the food that you make or bring to dinner group special? Is it a family recipe carried down from generations, or a childhood favorite? Or maybe there was a meal that brought you closer together because it was so enjoyed by everyone. Hoboken Grace’s writing team is celebrating Christmas by talking about one of the best parts – the […]
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When I moved to this city five years ago, I was newly engaged, diving into my fiance’s existing network of friends and church family in Hoboken. Seven hundred miles away, I left behind an amazing community of friends and a church I loved. As an extrovert, I have always enjoyed meeting new people and building new friendships, but starting from scratch […]
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