Journey Groups
We were made for relationships.
We all need a community where we can connect, learn, share, and belong. Walking with God was never meant to be a solo experience; its a relational experience! We’ve discovered many Christians are looking for these types of communities without any success.
A lack of belonging can lead to isolation and block your path to a deeper walk with God.
Deeper Walk has taken the initiative to provide small group gatherings online where relationships are formed and fostered, God is central, and fabulous content is discussed. We call these communities Journey Groups.
As a Journey Group member, you’ll receive a brief lesson each week via email, then meet online for an hour to strengthen relational skills while interacting with the group discussing the lesson. The content is important, however, these groups are relationally-focused and interactive!
The weekly topics include life-changing material from Deeper Walk, Life Model Works, and Thrive Today. Your group will talk about walking in freedom, growing your identity in Christ, developing emotional maturity, participating in a multigenerational community, practicing relational skills, and so much more!
Answers to questions you may have:
Journey Groups are a resource provided by Deeper Walk International, and participation in Journey Groups will lead you through Deeper Walk materials and concepts, including the discipleship model of Freedom, Identity, walking in the Spirit, and Heart to Heart Community. Because Deeper Walk considers the Life Model concepts of community, maturity, healing from trauma, and living from God’s perspective to be foundational to a deeper walk with God, these concepts are interwoven in the curriculum. This is a great place to practice the relational skills training of Thrive Today, too!
A Journey Group is a group of 5-7 people who meet once a week online in a video meeting to share their journey of growth in freedom and identity inChrist, relational skills, maturity, awareness of and walking by the Spirit, and creating connection and community in a way that creates a deeper walk with God.
Your Journey Group Leader, also called a Field Guide, will have participated in a Journey Group, completed leadership training with the Journey Groups Director, completed Deeper Walk Institute Course 1, and will be experienced with Life Model concepts of belonging/attachment, maturity, healing from trauma, and tuning in to God’s perspective. Journey Group Guides may also be Freedom in Christ facilitators, Immanuel Prayer facilitators, spiritual directors, pastors, life coaches, or counselors.
Each Journey Group will follow the same format. You’ll download your lessons from a private webpage. Your Journey Group meeting begins on Google Hangouts or Zoom with a Check-In round of sharing what you notice in your current emotional world. After each person checks in, we move to share a short appreciation story from our week. Next, we will discuss the topic of the week. An overview of Level I Curriculum is below revealing the topics to be discussed during the meeting times.
Following the discussion, we listen to Jesus and journal what we sense from Him. Then we read what we wrote with the group. We close our Journey Group with prayer.
Each group meets once a week for approximately an hour. Joy Jumpstart groups meet for four weeks. After completing Jumpstart your Journey Group will start a new focus topic (or unit) at the beginning of every other month.
Members of Journey Groups contribute $30 each month to participate. Journey Group Guides receive a portion of this fee and Deeper Walk retains a percentage to provide leadership training, to administrate the groups, and to produce promotional materials and deliver the weekly lessons.
A one-year curriculum is currently in place for Journey Groups, and we are developing a second-year curriculum. New units are introduced every two months, and we welcome you to stay with your Journey Group as long as you’d like. We also plan to develop a special focus curriculum, as well. Our goal is to build secure connections and guide you toward a deeper walk with God. You can also leave the group at any time, there are no contracts.
All our current Journey Groups are full and we now have more than 400 people in groups!
If you are interested in joining a Journey Group and would like to reserve your spot in our next opening or request more information, click the button below to view a short form.
Journey Groups Curriculum
LEVEL I
UNIT 1 – JOURNEY JUMPSTART
The foundation is laid the first four weeks learning to relationally connect and to walk in the Spirit in a heart-to-heart community.
CHECKING IN
We share, each at our own comfort level, what emotions we are currently feeling. This begins the process of connection and transparency that builds heart to heart community. (Rom. 12:15)
LISTENING TO JESUS
We take time to listen to Jesus together, which grows our awareness of His continual presence with us. God told us Jesus would be Immanuel, God with Us. (Is. 7:14)
PRACTICING APPRECIATION
We notice what gifts God has given us, which helps us connect to Him and to others. We enter His presence with thanksgiving! (Ps. 100:4)
RELATIONAL CIRCUITS
We learn to recognize how making a connection with God and people feels, and what to do when we lose our sense of connectedness.
UNIT 2 – WHAT IS RELATIONAL DISCIPLESHIP?
These 7 weeks are dedicated to discussing the Deeper Walk model of relational, heart-focused discipleship.
Relational Discipleship
Relational Discipleship means we are helping one another grow in Freedom, Identity, walking in the Spirit, and Heart to heart community. In this way, we create an ever-expanding community of relationship in which we grow in Christlikeness. (Col. 2:6,7)
Gaining Freedom
It was for freedom Jesus set us free (Gal. 5:1), including freedom from the wounds, lies, vows, and strongholds that hinder our intimacy with Him. Learn how to gain this freedom through the use of two acrostics: W.L.V.S. and C.C.C.C.
Walking in Freedom with Others
Freedom spreads as we grow our glad-to-be-together joy and learn to walk in forgiveness and maturity with our community. (Col. 3:13) We will discuss the need for a heart-to-heart community, growing in maturity, forgiveness, and joy.
My Identity In Christ
Heart to heart community grows as we know our identity in Christ and remind each other that this identity is the truest thing about us. (2 Cor. 5:17) We’ll discuss the truth of Who we belong to and about sharing these truths.
Identity In Christ In My Experience
As we experience Jesus together, our way of life begins to match our identity. (2 Cor. 4:17) We grow in Christlikeness.
Walking in the Spirit: Tuning In
Jesus promised us that the Holy Spirit will be our teacher and advocate. (John 14:26) He will show us our new identity and enable us to walk in it.
Walking in the Spirit: Authority & Power
Walking in the Spirit’s power gives us authority and power as He chooses. He grants us the authority to pray for one another (spiritual warfare and intercession). (Eph. 1:18-20)
UNIT 3 – HEART-FOCUSED COMMUNITY
These 7 weeks are dedicated to discussing belonging and attachment styles.
Creating Belonging leads to H2H Community
Jesus reconciled us to the Father (created belonging) so that we would become a family for others. As we walk in our freedom and identity in the Spirit, we each learn our own way of extending a welcome to others. (2 Cor. 5:17-19)
Quieting Enables Sticky Love
Knowing how to quiet ourselves together (to rest in and after big emotions) enables us to love one another even when circumstances are difficult. Quieting is a skill we can learn and practice together. (Is. 30:15)
Secure Bonds Grows in H2H Community
As our bond with God grows stronger, we learn to have secure bonds with each other. (Eccl. 4:9-10)
Insecure Relational Styles Heal in H2H Community
We can assess our past bonding patterns and develop new patterns to recover secure bonds as we identify and root out fear in our relationships. (2 Tim. 1:7)
Two-Way Listening to Jesus is Sticky Love with Him
Cultivating a conversational relationship with Jesus helps us stay connected with Him throughout our day and enjoy a thriving life. (Isa. 55:1-3)
Listening to Jesus Together Grows Sticky Love
When we engage with Jesus as a group or team we experience transformational community on a whole new level. “Two are better than one.” (Eccl. 4:9-10)
Inviting Jesus Into Our Pain
The Lord sees, hears and understands our distress. As we become aware of His presence with us, we receive His validation and comfort and can say like Jacob, “Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it.” (Gen. 28:16)
UNIT 4 – R.A.R.E. LIFE & MATURITY MATTERS
These 7 weeks are dedicated to discussing response styles, dealing with the flesh, and seeing what God sees.
The Protector, Predator, and Possum in Me
All three of these response styles are within my capability but only one is aligned with my identity in Christ.
Stopping the Sark/Dealing with the Flesh
See common configurations of sark/flesh in the Scriptures and how walking in the Spirit stops flesh patterns.
Seeing What God Sees
Godsight is the ability to see what God sees and as our perspective changes, we are transformed and empowered to walk in the Spirit.
Wholeness Versus Identity
We will discuss the vast difference between these concepts and their consequences.
True Identity
How neuroscience and theology with exercises can transform your life to a new normal of joy and peace.
Knowing My Heart Characteristics (part 1)
We need to know our hearts, what we value most, to understand our the depths of who we are and why we do what we do.
Knowing My Heart Characteristics (part 2)
We need to know our hearts, what we value most, to understand our the depths of who we are and why we do what we do.
UNIT 5 – GROWING IN GODSIGHT / KNOWING GOD’S HEART
The focus of this 7 weeks will help us understand the levels of maturity and assess our own.
Introduction to Maturity Levels
Maturity is our capacity to reach our God-given potential for every stage of life. Each stage of life involves growth in specific relational needs and tasks. (Eph. 4)
Infant/Child Maturity and Maturity Transitions
Infants need to learn to how to receive with joy; children need to learn how to take care of themselves. When relational joy is lost, we notice where we are missing skills and work on those tasks. (1 Cor. 13:11)
Adult Maturity – R.A.R.E. (Part 1)
Healthy adults can Remain relational, Act like their Christ-selves, return to joy when distressed and Endure hardship well. We learn these skills in a healthy community.
Adult Maturity – R.A.R.E., (Part 2)
Sharing examples and telling maturity task stories helps our whole community thrive and grow up together. (1 Cor. 4:16, 11:1)
Goodbye Fear Bonds, Hello Love, (Part 1)
The process of rooting out relational fear and changing fear bonds to love bonds is a task accomplished in heart-to-heart community. Healthy community gives us examples of love bonds. (Acts 2:42-47)
Goodbye Fear Bonds, Hello Love, (Part 2)
Trauma both hinders our growth and causes us to grow in unhealthy ways. Understanding our types of wounds helps us know what we need to heal and live in greater freedom.
Parent and Elder Levels of Maturity
Parents joyfully care for and grow their family. Elders are recognized as those who care for their whole community. (1 Pet. 5:1-3)
UNIT 6 – HEALING WOUNDED HEARTS
In this 7-week module, groups will come to understand the wound of the heart, how to find healing, and care for the wounded.
Foundations for Healing Hearts
Discover the W.L.V.S. pattern of emotional wounding and we process pain.
Immanuel Journaling
A simplistic, yet effectual pattern for hearing from God and journaling what He says is transformational.
Immanuel Prayer
Developing an interactive, moment-by-moment relationship with the living Jesus where healing is experienced and life is energized.
The Two Types of Trauma, A & B
Understanding Level 1 brain pain and practical solutions to freedom and walking in the Spirit.
Levels 2 & 3 of Trauma
Understanding Levels 2 & 3 of brain pain and practical solutions to freedom and walking in the Spirit.
Levels 4 & 5 of Trauma
Understanding Levels 4 & 5 of brain pain and practical solutions to freedom and walking in the Spirit.
Healing Hearts in Community
Applying our understanding in heart-to-heart communities so wounds are healed, people are freed, and Jesus is exalted.
