Why write this down at all
A covenant isn't a legal document or a guilt trip. It's a conversation the group has once, on purpose, instead of an argument it has by accident later — when someone's already missed three weeks, or already felt like something shared in confidence got repeated, and the expectation was never actually stated out loud in the first place.
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up!... Though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12, BSB.
A covenant is literally what that image describes: several people's separate commitments braided together on purpose, so that one person's off week, one missed meeting, or one moment of frustration doesn't unravel what the group is actually there to do.
The template
Five sections, written as the group's own words — read them together at your first meeting and adjust the specifics (how many absences, what the exception to confidentiality is) to fit your actual group rather than using the wording below unchanged.
"What's shared in this group stays in this group, unless someone's safety is genuinely at risk."
"We'll tell the group in advance if we can't make it. Missing three sessions in a row means the leader checks in personally — not that you've quietly been dropped."
"Everyone is expected to engage, but no one is required to share more than they're comfortable with on any given week."
"If two members disagree, we handle it like adults — in the room or privately — never by talking about someone who isn't present."
"We commit to praying for each other by name between sessions, not just during them."
How to actually use it
Read it together, out loud, at the first meeting — not as a document silently signed, which turns it into paperwork instead of a shared decision the group actually made. Give people a chance to push back on a specific line before it becomes the group's default.
Revisit it briefly when the group changes — a new member joining, a new season starting, or the group growing past its original size are all good moments for a two-minute reread rather than a full renegotiation.
Add a line if a specific issue comes up mid-series, rather than treating the original as unchangeable. A covenant that can never be revised stops functioning the first time real life doesn't fit it — the goal is a shared, living agreement, not a contract.
Practicing this in Formation
Formation's group feature works best when expectations like these are set early — a quick conversation at setup, using this template as a starting point, does more for a group's long-term health than any feature the app itself provides.