Week 1: Introduction — The Ache

1.Jennie describes a loneliness epidemic that exists even in a world more digitally connected than ever. Before reading this book, how would you have described your own sense of community? Be honest — not the answer you'd give in a church lobby, but the one you'd give at midnight.

2.She argues that loneliness is not just an emotional problem but a physical and spiritual one, pointing to research that links isolation to serious health consequences. Did that surprise you? How does framing loneliness as a health crisis — rather than just a feeling — change how seriously you take it?

3.Jennie is candid that even as a well-known pastor and author surrounded by people, she has struggled with profound loneliness. What does her vulnerability in the introduction invite you to do? What would it look like for you to be equally honest with someone in your life right now?

4.She distinguishes between being surrounded by people and actually being known by people. Where do you spend most of your relational energy — maintaining the appearance of connection, or pursuing actual depth? What's one relationship in your life that you wish were deeper?

5.The introduction sets up the book's core promise: that loneliness doesn't have to be your reality, and that deep community is achievable with the right tools and the right posture. Do you believe that? What part of you is skeptical, and why?

6.How does the biblical idea that we are made in the image of a triune God — a God who exists in perfect community — inform the ache you feel for belonging? What might it mean that your longing for connection is not a weakness but a reflection of how you were designed?