The purpose of Life Groups is to strengthen our relationships in the church and help us encourage one another. The groups meet bi-weekly for about 1.5 hours in homes for dinner, fellowship, and prayer. We aim to have groups of 10-14 adults. Why? Well, more than that can increase the time constraint on someone’s opportunity to share and receive prayer, and it can hinder vulnerability, causing the sharing of prayer needs to be more general and surface-level. In addition, larger groups may lead folks to believe that their homes cannot be available for Life Group ministry, i.e. “My home is not big enough to host a group.”
One important aspect of Life Groups is the relaxed and humble nature of the showing of “Christian hospitality,” as opposed to the pressure and sometimes pretentious nature of “entertaining guests.” Your home does not have to be ultra-clean, and you don’t have to break out the nice wine glasses! Leaders are asked to simply open their homes for short windows of time, coordinate with the other group members for some kind of simple meal, and then participate as a leader guides a time of sharing burdens and concerns and praying for one another.
Life Groups are not “vent sessions” or “accountability groups” although we all need accountability and we all need to vent sometimes! But with the time constraint and in order to give everyone a chance to share about their lives and receive prayer, we are mindful of the time so everyone gets a chance to display a level of honestly and openness beyond what might typically be shown in conversations on Sunday mornings or in large groups.
Another goal of our groups is to be on the lookout for opportunities for Life Group members to step out by faith and begin new groups together as more people come to GS and desire to get to know others. This is one way we continue to “join God on mission” even though we are no longer a church plant. As our congregation grows, starting more groups is vital for folks to be able to connect to the body of Christ at GS.
To find out more about Life Groups, fill out the Contact Form below.
One important aspect of Life Groups is the relaxed and humble nature of the showing of “Christian hospitality,” as opposed to the pressure and sometimes pretentious nature of “entertaining guests.” Your home does not have to be ultra-clean, and you don’t have to break out the nice wine glasses! Leaders are asked to simply open their homes for short windows of time, coordinate with the other group members for some kind of simple meal, and then participate as a leader guides a time of sharing burdens and concerns and praying for one another.
Life Groups are not “vent sessions” or “accountability groups” although we all need accountability and we all need to vent sometimes! But with the time constraint and in order to give everyone a chance to share about their lives and receive prayer, we are mindful of the time so everyone gets a chance to display a level of honestly and openness beyond what might typically be shown in conversations on Sunday mornings or in large groups.
Another goal of our groups is to be on the lookout for opportunities for Life Group members to step out by faith and begin new groups together as more people come to GS and desire to get to know others. This is one way we continue to “join God on mission” even though we are no longer a church plant. As our congregation grows, starting more groups is vital for folks to be able to connect to the body of Christ at GS.
To find out more about Life Groups, fill out the Contact Form below.