LIFE GROUPS

When the Apostle Paul planted churches, they met in people’s homes. There were no church buildings back then. Perhaps that is why home Bible study groups still flourish – it is how the church was designed to operate. There is a place for corporate worship and teaching, so a case can be made to meet in church buildings, but when people come together in each other’s homes, something unique happens. They get a dose of fellowship, a dose of teaching, a dose of praying together, and the Holy Spirit visits them. People become much more than faces that pass each other after church meetings each week. They become brothers and sisters. They become people who are known, who can keep in touch between meetings for support and prayer, or just for hanging out.

Our church features Life Groups as the center of its ministry. “Life Group” is the name used in our church, but there may be other names in other churches for discussion groups that meet in homes. Our church uses this title to emphasize that we do “life” together – we pray for each other and share our struggles. With over 100 Life Groups operating in our church, there is one for practically everyone, not far from home. Life Groups are vital because of the way that they are run, and because of the powerful effect they have in people’s lives. In our church each person is carefully followed by the church leaders, through steady contact with Life Group leaders. When members need something in particular, the Life Group leaders can help by resourcing them through the church staff.

Each group has a leader or a leader couple, and a host or a host couple. This becomes a team, and all of the teams meet a few times throughout the year with church leaders, in challenging and inspirational meetings. The Life Groups are structured to meet for 10 weeks during three quarters of the year. In addition to the team meetings, there are training meetings for rookie Life Group leaders and hosts. There are also continuing training meetings for veteran leaders and hosts. People who attend the groups sign contracts, stating that they will try to attend each meeting, do the assigned homework, and that they will contribute to the meetings. This approach seems to work very well, but there are other groups with less structured approaches that work pretty well too. Nonetheless, I believe this is a carefully designed approach; it is well structured and supported by prayer.

I mentioned above that Life Groups have an effect. They produce a sense that the people belong to a family. That is correct – people who initially do not know each other well at all, become families, which is hugely important for many of them. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. It is not a stated goal, but it is a hard-to-miss, wonderful effect.

Groups can be formed for single people, for people of certain ages, for couples, for those who are in recovery for addictions, or there may be no particular limitations on who may attend particular groups. The important dynamic is that people want to attend, and they promise to stay involved.

The material studied in Life Groups can vary quite a bit, but it is always about getting the truth of God’s word into our lives, so that we can each “bear fruit.” Many Life Groups use sermons for their study material, discussing the sermon from the previous Sunday. That complements the church teaching very nicely. Other groups can concentrate on helping with raising children, managing personal finances, or they can delve into discussions about particular Christian books.

Please let me offer two of my books for Life Group discussions: The Life Model: Living from the Heart that Jesus Gave You and A Far Better Life. These books can have the desired effects – creating the family of God, and helping each person bear fruit.

If you click on the links below, they will give you the discussion guides that I have developed for each book, to read or to download. In case you would like to purchase extra books, just click on the pictures of each book on the home page.