Life Groups

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In Acts 5:42 we read that the early church met ‘in the temple courts and house to house’. At The River, we believe the Body of Christ is most effective when people who love Jesus gather regularly in worship AND live out the Kingdom where they work, educate and recreate.

LIFE groups are driven by seven values (‘service’):

S - Spiritual Formation: We learn through study, sharing, and application.
E- Evangelism: We reach out to others with the love of Jesus through word and deed.
R- Recreation (Ongoing): We have fun as we share meals, throw parties, etc.
V- Volunteer (Ongoing): We serve  the Bodyin practical ways.
I- International Missions: We make a difference and impact in the world.
C- Care (Ongoing): We take care of one another as a spiritual family.
E- Extending Compassion: We reach out to the hurting with the love of Jesus.

Life groups follow a yearly LIFE group calendar:

September- EvangelismOctober- Spiritual Formation
November- Extending Compassion
December- International Mission
January- Evangelism
February- Spiritual Formation
March- Extending Compassion
April- International Mission
May- Evangelism
June- Spiritual Formation
July- Extending CompassionAugust- International Mission

The Calendar and kids: We are not slave to our calendar, it serves us. We want to stay responsive to the Lord and pliable for what He wants to do in every given season. For example, spiritual formation may last 4-8 weeks dependent on the topic and need. Spiritual formation occurs three times a year and is the only aspect of life groups that are done without kids; all SIX of the other aspects can include kids and are not necessarily held weekly. So for example, a LIFE group may decide on a project for the month of compassion (a family in need, project for a school, etc), but not meet together weekly during November. 

Volunteering: Sunday mornings there is a lot that needs to be done, so one of the purposes of life groups is to serve the church and spread out the workload among many people (rather than burn out a few)! Examples of Sunday morning service needs include setup/teardown, alter prep, ushering, welcome table, hospitality table (coffee), nursery and so forth.

What other advantages are there to LIFE groups?

Geographical affinity:  LIFE groups will be gathered – as much as possible – geographically. This means people are more likely to be involved in each others’ lives week-to-week because they live near one another! Also, newcomers to The River are referred to life groups for follow-up; connections are much stronger when people shop, recreate and school nearby!

Outward focus:  One of the challenges with traditional model small groups is that they SO easily become inward-focused. The calendar is a built in mechanism to keep LIFE groups outward focused: three of the four values are serving others (evangelism, compassion and international missions). Also, geography is a real tool when life groups get a vision for how they can reach their neighbors and friends, networking together in their communities: Pool parties, grill parties, dinners, park trips and such a great ways for LIFE group members to reach their friends, linking arms and networking with others.

Family:  Because we live in such a divorced, fractured and alienating society, the Body of Christ is most effective when thinking of itself, and operating as, a spiritual family. Just think of how many people would benefit from ‘spiritual parents’, brothers and sisters in Christ, and ‘spiritual children’! As a family it is good to learn from those older, younger, those married and singles, with and without kids; all of us have much to benefit from this diversity of age and life stage. Also, LIFE groups are intentionally a larger group size (15-25 adults) than traditional small groups. This creates a sense of being at a ‘family reunion’ whenever you get together and pools so many resources and gifts for the Kingdom!

Ownership:  You want to help a family who is having car troubles? You want to send notes of encouragement to a missionary you know? You want to hold a dinner and invite neighbors who don’t have a relationship with the Lord to meet other couples? This is where LIFE groups really shine. Instead of calling the church office, going through a committee, a budgeting process, et cetera, you can engage in an early-church style, ‘organic’ process...bring your passions and others’ needs before you LIFE group and seek the mind of the Lord (Acts 15, “it seemed good to us and the Holy Spirit”). This keeps church staffing and programs lean and ownership where it should be ... among the people! Also, LIFE group leaders aren’t superstars trying to do everything, or control freaks trying to do it all themselves! They are good at identifying people’s gifts, delegating, and releasing ministry. Everyone will be needed to make S-E-R-V-I-C-E work!

Developing relationships: Traditional small group models involve people coming together doing the same thing basically every week (study, discussion, pray). However, LIFE groups allow for us to see others in many different roles and doing different things, including very practical projects inside and outside the River community. This allows us to get to know each other in a more multi-faceted and holistic way. Finally, because of the variety of ways we are involved together (studying, working, compassion, evangelism, etc) we see each others’ gifts more clearly and get to know each other much better. There is rarely a better way to get to know others than working together on many different types of practical projects!

What are intrinsic challenges?

Some of us may have a background where a higher level of structure, policy-driven programs, and/or a more predictable and technique-oriented model has been used. One potential challenge is that LIFE groups will employ a more fluid and organic responsiveness to individuals, and the Holy Spirit, than some may be used to. We may even see that there can be pressure for LIFE groups to become programmatic. Another challenge to the LIFE group model of doing church, is that some folks tend to want to promote everything important (Kay Arthur, Emmaus, Pro-life, etc) through the corporate Body. However, in the LIFE group model we keep the church simple by promoting these events through our groups (and through personal relationships); not bottlenecking the church with so many different (but often, good) things. As they say: keep the main thing the main thing! Finally, because LIFE groups are geographically based, another challenge may be the perception that you will not connect with good friends who you’ve grown to love through other small group experiences. Not true! Continue the friendship ... go to lunch, go for a walk or take your kids to the park together. LIFE groups are wonderfully poised to allow space for people to continue friendships and ministry inside and outside the church!