Life Groups

Good morning and welcome to LifeSpring Church! So glad you could make it today on this last day of 2017. Doesn’t time seem to fly by rather quickly when you are having a ton of fun? Just think, its been 5 months since a group of folks began meeting together for the purposes of planting and launching LifeSpring Church. I know most of you cannot wait to see what God has in store for us in 2018. I know I am looking forward to it, as I know Pastor Jeff is as well. What an exciting time we live in, amen!

Today we’re going to talk about small groups. In particular, we are going to cover what smalls groups are, how Jesus did small groups, how the early church did small groups, and how LifeSpring will do small groups, or what we will refer to as Life Groups at LifeSpring. Life Groups will be the primary discipleship ministry for adults at LifeSpring. We will care for one another, disciple one another, help grow one another, serve one another, love one another, love all the other one anothers, and do life with one another through Life Groups. Life Groups are where we, where you, where I will live in community, serve our community, and show love for the community. In order to live out all of this, to do all of this…we need to know what this is….we need to know what are small groups.

First, we need to understand that Jesus came to serve, not to be served. We see this in

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Mark 10:45 ESV

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus with the Twelve and the church provided the model for small groups in authenticity, teachings, accountability, and care for one another. Disciples were made of the Twelve and the early church made disciples of new believers. They were disciples making disciples through a model of small groups.

Jesus provided the perfect model for small groups. The individuals that followed Jesus lived in community with Him. The early followers listened to His teachings, were shepherded by Him, were held accountable by Him, and were instilled with a truth concerning real relationships. The disciples replicated Jesus’ model, which is clearly demonstrated by the church. The church was relational. The members cared for new believers in every way, shared Jesus’ teachings, and ensured accountability. The reality in which the new church operated is clearly visible in , “42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” Believers in the church were devoted to the messages taught to them, they ate together, prayed together, held meetings together, sold personal property giving the earnings to those with need, and praised God together. Relationships among the members were authentic.

Authentic small groups are those based upon the early church model. Every member of a local church should belong to or get connected with a small group. Small groups should meet on a weekly basis, at a set time, and include approximately members 6 to 10 members that are shepherded by a group leader. Groups larger than twelve allow for some within the group to disengage from sharing or hide during the group meeting time. The group should meet in a home of a group member, which allows members to relax and relaxed members are more likely to be authentic with one another. Meals should be provided and served immediately after the group’s start time. Meals are a great way for group members to enjoy meaningful fellowship. Fellowship is beneficial to relationship building among group members. Group discussions should focus on life application and growth of group members, and should never focus solely on information transfer. Discipleship is the transformation of the believer that occurs through application, while information transfer lacking application is fraudulent and should be avoided. The group discussion should be facilitated and not one-way communication. Each member must be authentic in their sharing during group discussion time. The items shared during the discussion time can serve as examples to follow or not follow depending on the situation for group members. Prayer must start and finish the group meeting. Each member of the group, whether male or female, young or old, must learn how to pray and be able to demonstrate learning through application, such as leading prayer for the group.

The small group members must remain in contact with one another outside the normal group meeting times. The members must be available to minister to other members in times of need. Members needing prayer are more likely to contact other group members once relationships are formed. Accountability takes place when relationships are formed and members learn to carry the burdens of their brothers and sisters in Christ. Carrying the burdens of others is found in , “1Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Relationships outside the normal group time aid in the spiritual growth of group members, group members grow in unity, the members become examples of Christ’s love to those around them, and the members learn what it means to serve as Christ served. Meeting together outside the normal meeting time also increases the level of authenticity displayed by the group members.

As time goes by, members are more likely to invite prospective members to the group. Overtime the group will increase in size, which indicates the need to multiply. Multiplication cannot take place without a trained individual to facilitate discussions and shepherd the group. The original group leader must be intentional in identifying potential leaders and train the prospect leader in anticipation of group multiplication. A goal of each group and a goal of discipleship must be reproduction.

A natural outgrowth of a small group is a core group, which is a group with two to three individuals of the same sex and a group leader. The group leader should have participated in a core group previously prior to assuming a leadership role. Authentic, unadulterated, and intentional accountability and relational discipleship takes place in a core group. Members are unable to hide or refrain from participation. Jesus modeled core group discipleship with Peter, James, and John as seen with the transfiguration in , “28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.” We also see Jesus’ model with Peter, James, and John in the Garden of Gethsemane which is found in , “36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” Likewise, Paul modeled core group discipleship with Timothy, Titus, and others during his time among the gentiles. Core groups are not to grow in size by the addition of new members. Instead, core groups are to multiply once the members are trained and sent by the leader. The core group process is designed to reproduce time after time.

Now - I have shared a model for core groups here, but I did this to help demonstrate the groups modeled by Jesus and the early church, and to give you a topic to keep in the back of your minds. Core groups will, though, be a subject for discussion at a later date. Let’s move on.

Disciples of Jesus Christ participate in His mission. In giving the Great Commission, Jesus told His disciples that life was about to change and the development of new relationships would be required. The life changed occurred as the disciples received their deployment order in , “8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The new relationships were formed as the disciples went about sharing the gospel among the nations. Jesus sent the Twelve on mission just as all followers of Jesus Christ are called to be on mission. The Twelve and those that came to follow Jesus lived in community centered on the mission of Jesus to make disciples of all nations. Followers of today are to live in missional groups in the community that surrounds the group.

Healthy small groups are organically missional groups. Disciples on mission form missional groups, or small groups, for the purpose of multiplication. Multiplication comes about by sharing the gospel of Jesus with those far from Him, making disciples of those individuals. The new believers are connected to the small group where discipleship begins. The process is replicated and new followers are connected. Missional groups share the gospel by various means, such as through acts of service, intentional daily living, encouraging others, and through outward and genuine displays of love for one another. Jesus stated in that others would know His disciples by their love for each other. Disciples in missional groups identify individuals from the surrounding community needing the gospel, invest time in the individuals upon sharing the gospel, invite the individuals into the disciple making process, and increase the missional group by discipling and sending the individuals. The body of Christ, the church, cannot increase and influence the community without a missional mindset.

So…how are we going to do Life Groups at LifeSpring. We are going to do pretty much what we just went over. Remember the church? They were devoted to the teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. We will have each of these elements in our Life Groups.

- We will start the week of January 14th with 5 groups of no more than 10 members per group. Each group will have a group leader and co-leader.

- We will meet in homes. Some of the homes will be hosted by a family other than the group leader while other groups will be hosted in the group leader’s home. More to come on that.

- Groups will meet once a week some time between Monday and Thursday. A recommended start time is 630pm with an end time no later than 830pm.

- Prayer should begin and end the group times.

Good morning and welcome to LifeSpring Church! So glad you could make it today on this last day of 2017. Doesn’t time seem to fly by rather quickly when you are having a ton of fun? Just think, its been 5 months since a group of folks began meeting together for the purposes of planting and launching LifeSpring Church. I know most of you cannot wait to see what God has in store for us in 2018. I know I am looking forward to it, as I know Pastor Jeff is as well. What an exciting time we live in, amen!

- Meals should be served, or at least snacks, and begin immediately after the opening prayer and last approximately 30 minutes, but no more than 45 minutes. The groups will decide how the meals or snacks items will be arranged. A recommendation is to alternate main dishes, side items, drinks, desserts, paper products, etc. among the group members.

- The meal time is a time of fellowship; a time of getting to know each other.

First, we need to understand that Jesus came to serve, not to be served. We see this in , “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The church being His physical representation on earth must also serve. The local church is to serve the body of Christ and those in the community in order to reach the community for Christ. The local church reaches the community through the willful obedience of disciples whom are made and sent out from the church. Disciples are made from within the church for the purpose of participating in the mission of Jesus to reach a lost and dying world. We find the mission given by Jesus in , “19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” The process of disciple making is most effective through biblically based small groups. Small groups are relational groups where individuals from the local church are cared for, are taught, are authentic, and are held accountable to one another.

First, we need to understand that Jesus came to serve, not to be served. We see this in

- Childcare will be at the discretion of the group; it will be a group decision to hire a babysitter, to have members rotate childcare responsibilities, or for parents to have the children left at home under the care of a sitter.

- Groups will decide whether to worship through the singing of songs, hymns, and/or through music.

- There will be facilitated group discussion based on the Sunday sermon. Discussion questions will be developed on Sunday afternoon and sent by email or other electronic means to the church by Sunday evening. The questions will be a guide for authentic group discussion and life application. It is highly recommended that all Life Group members have their Bibles with them on Sundays and begin the practice of jotting down notes during the sermon - all towards personal study, personal application, and reflection in preparation for their Life Group discussions.

- The groups will run on a 3 semester basis each year.

Mark 10:45 ESV

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Mark 10:45 ESV

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

— Our first semester for 2018 - the spring semester - will be the week of January 14th to the week of May 6th. Groups will meet every week during the spring semester.

— The second semester - the summer semester - will be the week of June 10th to the week of August 5th. The groups will meet at least 5-6 times during the summer semester.

— The third or fall semester will run the week of September 9th to the week of December 9th. Groups will meet once a week during the fall semester.

- Group leaders and group members will be responsible for the prayer, care, and aid provided to the members of the group as needed. Members should remain in contact with one another, doing life together, discipling one another both in and out of group semester timeframes.

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

- Groups should always have open or empty seats available. Pray over those seats asking God to fill those seats with new believers, the unchurched, and those far from Him. With that in mind….group members should be intentional and invite your friends, co-workers and others to your Life Group. Some are more likely to accept an invitation to a home rather than a church building……

- Life Groups sign ups will take place on January 7th.

- Life group leader’s training will take place on January 7th as well.

We want everyone at LifeSpring Church to be part of a Life Group and we look forward to growing with one another and LifeSpring Church through our Life Groups.

Let’s pray….

Mark 10:45 ESV

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The church being His physical representation on earth must also serve. The local church is to serve the body of Christ and those in the community in order to reach the community for Christ. The local church reaches the community through the willful obedience of disciples whom are made and sent out from the church. Disciples are made from within the church for the purpose of participating in the mission of Jesus to reach a lost and dying world. We find the mission given by Jesus in ,

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The process of disciple making is most effective through biblically based small groups. Small groups are relational groups where individuals from the local church are cared for, are taught, are authentic, and are held accountable to one another. Jesus with the Twelve and the church provided the model for small groups in authenticity, teachings, accountability, and care for one another. Disciples were made of the Twelve and the early church made disciples of new believers. They were disciples making disciples through a model of small groups.

The process of disciple making is most effective through biblically based small groups. Small groups are relational groups where individuals from the local church are cared for, are taught, are authentic, and are held accountable to one another.

Jesus with the Twelve and the church provided the model for small groups in authenticity, teachings, accountability, and care for one another. Disciples were made of the Twelve and the early church made disciples of new believers. They were disciples making disciples through a model of small groups.

Jesus provided the perfect model for small groups. The individuals that followed Jesus lived in community with Him. The early followers listened to His teachings, were shepherded by Him, were held accountable by Him, and were instilled with a truth concerning real relationships. The disciples replicated Jesus’ model, which is clearly demonstrated by the church. The church was relational. The members cared for new believers in every way, shared Jesus’ teachings, and ensured accountability. The reality in which the new church operated is clearly visible in ,

Acts 2:42–47 ESV

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Believers in the church were devoted to the messages taught to them, they ate together, prayed together, held meetings together, sold personal property giving the earnings to those with need, and praised God together. Relationships among the members were authentic.

Authentic small groups are those based upon the early church model. Every member of a local church should belong to or get connected with a small group. Small groups should meet on a weekly basis, at a set time, and include approximately members 6 to 10 members that are shepherded by a group leader. Groups larger than twelve allow for some within the group to disengage from sharing or hide during the group meeting time. The group should meet in a home of a group member, which allows members to relax and relaxed members are more likely to be authentic with one another. Meals should be provided and served immediately after the group’s start time. Meals are a great way for group members to enjoy meaningful fellowship. Fellowship is beneficial to relationship building among group members. Group discussions should focus on life application and growth of group members, and should never focus solely on information transfer. Discipleship is the transformation of the believer that occurs through application, while information transfer lacking application is fraudulent and should be avoided. The group discussion should be facilitated and not one-way communication. Each member must be authentic in their sharing during group discussion time. The items shared during the discussion time can serve as examples to follow or not follow depending on the situation for group members. Prayer must start and finish the group meeting. Each member of the group, whether male or female, young or old, must learn how to pray and be able to demonstrate learning through application, such as leading prayer for the group.

The small group members must remain in contact with one another outside the normal group meeting times. The members must be available to minister to other members in times of need. Members needing prayer are more likely to contact other group members once relationships are formed. Accountability takes place when relationships are formed and members learn to carry the burdens of their brothers and sisters in Christ. Carrying the burdens of others is found in ,

Galatians 6:1–2 ESV

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Relationships outside the normal group time aid in the spiritual growth of group members, group members grow in unity, the members become examples of Christ’s love to those around them, and the members learn what it means to serve as Christ served. Meeting together outside the normal meeting time also increases the level of authenticity displayed by the group members.

As time goes by, members are more likely to invite prospective members to the group. Overtime the group will increase in size, which indicates the need to multiply. Multiplication cannot take place without a trained individual to facilitate discussions and shepherd the group. The original group leader must be intentional in identifying potential leaders and train the prospect leader in anticipation of group multiplication. A goal of each group and a goal of discipleship must be reproduction.

A natural outgrowth of a small group is a core group, which is a group with two to three individuals of the same sex and a group leader. The group leader should have participated in a core group previously prior to assuming a leadership role. Authentic, unadulterated, and intentional accountability and relational discipleship takes place in a core group. Members are unable to hide or refrain from participation. Jesus modeled core group discipleship with Peter, James, and John as seen with the transfiguration in ,

Luke 9:28–36 ESV

Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

Likewise, Paul modeled core group discipleship with Timothy, Titus, and others during his time among the gentiles. Core groups are not to grow in size by the addition of new members. Instead, core groups are to multiply once the members are trained and sent by the leader. The core group process is designed to reproduce time after time.

Now - I have shared a model for core groups here, but I did this to help demonstrate the groups modeled by Jesus and the early church, and to give you a topic to keep in the back of your minds. Core groups will, though, be a subject for discussion at a later date. Let’s move on.

Disciples of Jesus Christ participate in His mission. In giving the Great Commission, Jesus told His disciples that life was about to change and the development of new relationships would be required. The life changed occurred as the disciples received their deployment order in ,

Acts 1:8 ESV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The new relationships were formed as the disciples went about sharing the gospel among the nations. Jesus sent the Twelve on mission just as all followers of Jesus Christ are called to be on mission. The Twelve and those that came to follow Jesus lived in community centered on the mission of Jesus to make disciples of all nations. Followers of today are to live in missional groups in the community that surrounds the group.

Healthy small groups are organically missional groups. Disciples on mission form missional groups, or small groups, for the purpose of multiplication. Multiplication comes about by sharing the gospel of Jesus with those far from Him, making disciples of those individuals. The new believers are connected to the small group where discipleship begins. The process is replicated and new followers are connected. Missional groups share the gospel by various means, such as through acts of service, intentional daily living, encouraging others, and through outward and genuine displays of love for one another. Jesus stated in

ealthy small groups are organically missional groups. Disciples on mission form missional groups, or small groups, for the purpose of multiplication. Multiplication comes about by sharing the gospel of Jesus with those far from Him, making disciples of those individuals. The new believers are connected to the small group where discipleship begins. The process is replicated and new followers are connected. Missional groups share the gospel by various means, such as through acts of service, intentional daily living, encouraging others, and through outward and genuine displays of love for one another. Jesus stated in

John 13:35 ESV

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Disciples in missional groups identify individuals from the surrounding community needing the gospel, invest time in the individuals upon sharing the gospel, invite the individuals into the disciple making process, and increase the missional group by discipling and sending the individuals. The body of Christ, the church, cannot increase and influence the community without a missional mindset.

So…how are we going to do Life Groups at LifeSpring. We are going to do pretty much what we just went over. Remember the church? They were devoted to the teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. We will have each of these elements in our Life Groups.

- We will start the week of January 14th with 5 groups of no more than 10 members per group. Each group will have a group leader and co-leader.

- We will meet in homes. Some of the homes will be hosted by a family other than the group leader while other groups will be hosted in the group leader’s home. More to come on that.

- Groups will meet once a week some time between Monday and Thursday. A recommended start time is 630pm with an end time no later than 830pm.

- Prayer should begin and end the group times.

- Meals should be served, or at least snacks, and begin immediately after the opening prayer and last approximately 30 minutes, but no more than 45 minutes. The groups will decide how the meals or snacks items will be arranged. A recommendation is to alternate main dishes, side items, drinks, desserts, paper products, etc. among the group members.

- The meal time is a time of fellowship; a time of getting to know each other.

- Childcare will be at the discretion of the group; it will be a group decision to hire a babysitter, to have members rotate childcare responsibilities, or for parents to have the children left at home under the care of a sitter.

- Groups will decide whether to worship through the singing of songs, hymns, and/or through music.

- There will be facilitated group discussion based on the Sunday sermon. Discussion questions will be developed on Sunday afternoon and sent by email or other electronic means to the church by Sunday evening. The questions will be a guide for authentic group discussion and life application. It is highly recommended that all Life Group members have their Bibles with them on Sundays and begin the practice of jotting down notes during the sermon - all towards personal study, personal application, and reflection in preparation for their Life Group discussions.

- The groups will run on a 3 semester basis each year.

— Our first semester for 2018 - the spring semester - will be the week of January 14th to the week of May 6th. Groups will meet every week during the spring semester.

— The second semester - the summer semester - will be the week of June 10th to the week of August 5th. The groups will meet at least 5-6 times during the summer semester.

— The third or fall semester will run the week of September 9th to the week of December 9th. Groups will meet once a week during the fall semester.

- Group leaders and group members will be responsible for the prayer, care, and aid provided to the members of the group as needed. Members should remain in contact with one another, doing life together, discipling one another both in and out of group semester timeframes.

- Groups should always have open or empty seats available. Pray over those seats asking God to fill those seats with new believers, the unchurched, and those far from Him. With that in mind….group members should be intentional and invite your friends, co-workers and others to your Life Group. Some are more likely to accept an invitation to a home rather than a church building……

- Life Groups sign ups will take place on January 7th.

- Life group leader’s training will take place on January 7th as well.

We want everyone at LifeSpring Church to be part of a Life Group and we look forward to growing with one another and LifeSpring Church through our Life Groups.

Let’s pray….

Life Groups

Last Day of 2017!