Leading a reading group

What a group is

A group is a few people who read the same short Advent passage each day and pray for each other by name. Advent in the app runs from November 29 to December 24. Jesus said, “Remain in Me” (John 15:4), and a group is a way to help each other do that through the weeks before Christmas.

In the app, everyone sees who has read today and can let someone know they prayed for them. There's no chat and nowhere to post. If you want to talk, use the ways you already do, like a text thread or coffee after church. Up to 20 people can be in a group, and for now groups are for adults, 18 and older.

Start a group

• Open Advent in the app. From November 22 you'll see Read with others on the Advent screen.
• Tap Start a group. The first time, the app asks what year you were born, to check you're 18 or older. It doesn't save the year.
• Enter Your name. This is how your group will see you. A first name is enough. If someone else has the same one, add an initial.
• Tap Create and invite. The app names the group for you, like “Advent with Ana.”

Invite people

• The app writes an invite message with a link and an 8-character code. Send it by text, email, or wherever your group already talks. The app never sends anything on its own.
• People with the app tap the link and then Join the group. Or they open Advent, tap Join with a code, and enter the code.
• People without the app see the code on the invite page, with the store buttons. After installing, they open Advent, tap Join with a code, and enter it.
• Anyone in the group can bring in more people with Invite someone on the group card.

What everyone in the group sees

• Each person's name, in the order they joined.
• A light next to a name on the days that person reads. Catching up on an earlier Advent day lights it too.
• “Ana prayed for you today” after Ana prays for you in the app. It shows that day only.

Nobody sees anyone's notes, prayers, or the rest of their garden. There are no counts per person, and an unlit name has no label. Anyone can turn off Show when I've read in Group settings. They stay in the group, and their name shows with no light.

Leading your group well

Invite people you know

Links get forwarded, so send yours to people you'd be glad to read with, like your small group, a few friends, or your family. A group of four who know each other is plenty.

Pray for them by name

Tap a name, or Pray for someone. The app offers a short prayer, such as “Father, be near Sam today. Help Sam wait for Jesus with hope this Advent.” Pray it or use your own words, then tap I prayed for Sam. You can do this once a day for each person.

Give grace when someone misses days

The app never marks anyone as behind, and you don't need to either. Don't bring up someone's missing light in front of the group. If you're worried about a person, ask how they're doing and keep praying for them.

Encourage outside the app

A short text partway through helps (“I prayed for you this morning”). So does meeting once in December to talk about what you've read about Jesus' coming.

Keeping the group safe

Open Group settings (the ⋯ on the group card) and choose a name to:

• Hide them. You won't see each other in any group you share, and they can't send you prayer taps. If you hide the person who started the group, they'll still see you in it.
• Report their name. Someone at Bearing Fruit will look at it, and they aren't told. We aim to act on every report within 24 hours. You can also email [email protected].
• Remove them, if you started the group. They won't be told why, and they can't rejoin. Your group gets a new invite link, and the old one stops working. Everyone else stays.

If your link has gone further than you meant, tap Get a new invite link. To close the group to newcomers, turn off Let new people join. Names in a group follow our group guidelines.

Groups are for adults for now. A teenager who wants to read along can still read through Advent in the app on their own, and you can pray for them yourself.

Leaving, deleting, and when Advent ends

• Anyone can leave with Group settings › Leave the group. Nobody is told. If you leave a group you started, the group carries on. The person who joined first takes it over, and the group's name changes to theirs.
• To remove everything groups keep about you, open Settings › Practice together › Delete my group data. Delete your group data has the details.
• After December 24 the card says “Christ is born.” and shows how many times your group read together. The group closes on January 23, 30 days after the last reading, and its record is deleted then.

Help

Questions about your group? Email [email protected].