Spiritual Development June 2017
Why Should I Join a Life Group?
There are two reasons why you should join a Life Group. First, others need you. Second, you need others. (1 Cor. 12:12-31) Within our Life Group ministry we seek to prioritize practices that we see the early church doing as described in the book of Acts. Acts 2:42-47 provides a clear picture of what they prioritized and practiced. Listed below are seven attributes that we should all strive to cultivate in our Life Groups.
Community - True community exists when we surrender to God individually, serve together collectively, and sacrifice for each other willingly. By nature, community is a selfless concept. It has as its goal to build up each individual so that the whole ultimately grows stronger. Each Life Group should strive to teach people that they need the group just as much as the group needs them and vice versa.
Gospel-Centered - Every aspect of a believer’s life should be centered on the gospel. The teaching and discussion that happens in Life Groups should have as its focus applying the gospel to the daily lives of people. We want to produce gospel saturated people who know the truth of Scripture and who can articulate the gospel to themselves and others.
Fellowship - Fellowship is rooted in the gospel and is for God’s glory and our good. It is more than eating and gathering
together. In the New Testament, fellowship is equated with participating in the lives of others by sharing. Life Groups can
encourage believers in Jesus to glorify God by becoming intentional disciples who share the gospel and practice the “one
another's” of Scripture.
Prayer - Prayer is a crucial component to the success of a Life Group. Without it, all efforts are in our own strength. We must make sure to pray together, make sure that our prayers are focused on God’s will and not our own, be convinced that we must pray for the provisions that we need, and pick out certain times together that are focused on prayer and nothing else.
Mutual Care - As we live life together with others in our Life Group we must be aware of the needs and care that people need met. While we should pray for God to meet the needs and concerns of those around us, we must also consider how we can be used by God to meet the needs that arise through gospel-motivated sacrifice. The love that Jesus has for us should motivate us to care and intervene in the lives of others.
Unity - Every believer has a unique story that is valuable and helpful for building up God’s church in a specific way. God has not called us to uniformity, but to unity. The diverse body of Christ that God has assembled at Oakhill should be united around the truth and relevance of the gospel for all people everywhere. We should strive to live in harmony with those around us not allowing Satan to divide God’s children against one another.
Missional - Life Groups should be missional. They should not be closed groups. Each group should be intentionally inviting unbelievers to experience Christian community and gospel truth. For many people Life Groups may function as the “front door” of our church. We want people to repent and believe in Jesus as a result of being introduced to Him through being a part of a Life Group and seeing the church as Christ has called it to be.
The success of our Life Group ministry is ultimately in the God’s power to move and work through the lives of his people at this church. Already this year we have seen a 10% increase in the average attendance of our adult Life Groups. To that I say, “Praise God!” We also now have 17 adult Life Groups that meet each week — 10 off-campus and 7 on-campus — with three more starting in the next few months. As more people participate in these groups and look to be built up by the power of the Word and be spent as they invest in others, we will continue to see more people come to know Jesus, grow in His grace, and give themselves away for the sake of others. Won’t you join us?
