DNA Groups are single-gendered groups of ideally 3 people who seek to disciple one another. So why 3?

Many discipleship methods involve only two people, with one person speaking into the life of the other. While this one-on-one approach can certainly yield good results, we rarely, if ever, find Jesus with only one disciple in the Bible. Recognizing that this approach does not appear to be the method Jesus utilized, we have found a group of 3 to be the ideal size for a DNA Group.

What benefit is there to adding a third person?

• There are two people to love and support each other person in the group, so no one person is bearing another’s burdens alone.

• It’s more difficult for one person to dominate the conversation, leading to a more dynamic exchange.

• There’s two sets of ears filtering everything that is said, providing more accountability and more potential for learning and development.

But if adding a third person is beneficial, why not add more? What’s the benefit of limiting the group size to 3?

• Each person has more space and time to contribute significantly to the group.

• No group member can hide or be overlooked, but all members personally know one another well.

• Scheduled group meetings don’t need to last multiple hours in order to involve everyone.

So while 3 is the ideal size, practical considerations sometimes prevent this, such as having only 4-5 people in your MC who want to be in a DNA Group. While a group of 4 can usually function similarly to a group of 3, a group of 5 will find it increasingly difficult to allow everyone to be deeply involved in a reasonable amount of time. So if you find yourself in a group of 5, be actively seeking a sixth person to join you to allow you to multiply into two groups of 3.

After all, we hope DNA Groups help to form us into disciples who make disciples, so always be attentive to those in your life who may be seeking what a DNA Group provides, and invite them into this committed relationship. In this way, DNA Groups will continue to grow and multiply over and over again. As new members are added, be sure to share your stories and create times of fellowship and fun to build and nurture the new relationships. And while DNA Groups are a central and intentional piece of our discipleship at Karis, we hope you are also discipling and being discipled through your MC, Sunday Gatherings, and the church family as a whole.

For questions or help, visit our DNA Groups page or email us at info@karischurch.org.