Being part of a Life Group is an indispensable part of being a part of the Christ Central Church family. Here’s why, and how you can get involved with a group near you.
First things first, what is a Life Group!? We recognise the term may sound a bit strange, it’s basically just a small group of people that meet outside of a Sunday morning, normally in homes, to connect relationally, support one another and seek God together through His Word and through prayer. It’s a place to do ‘life’ together. The aim of our groups is ‘to make friends, to grow in faithand to connect with the life of the church.
Here are five reasons you should commit to a group this term.
1. Life Groups are an expression of our identity: The church is not the building (as helpful as being able to meet indoors is…) The church has always been the people of God, brothers and sisters called together by Christ across the globe. Here’s my favourite description of the church from 1 Peter:
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)
Church is who we are, who we are called to be, and Christ Central Church is one of many local expressions of church here in the great waterfront city of Portsmouth. Therefore, church doesn’t start and end on a Sunday morning, it’s a living organism, a family that exists throughout the week. Life Groups are a smaller expression that helps church feel like and operate like family.
2. Life Groups help us model a biblically faithful church community: The church met in homes, this isn’t new, it’s how the church operated in the earliest days of the faith. As a Bible-believing, Christ-centred church, we want to follow the patterns shown in Scripture:
“They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity – all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:46-47)
While we take the Lord’s Supper all together on Sunday mornings, we do encourage groups to eat together regularly.
3. Life Groups are the place to be known and loved: Not only did the church worship all together and meet in homes in smaller groups, they knew each other well, they cared for each other, they were involved in each other’s lives. Tim Keller once said:
“To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything.”
Jesus tells us to ‘love one-another’ (John 15:12). That’s really hard to do if our only interactions are a few minutes over tea and coffee after a service. We want to model Christ-like love by getting to know each other in smaller groups, eating with each other, sharing stories, highs and lows, praying for one another and helping meet needs. It’s scary, it taps into our greatest fear, yet the love we show is not earthly loved it’s God’s grace-filled merciful love that seeks to point people to the love of the Father.
4. Life Groups are the place to be cared for: As much as we’d all like to be there for one-another, not everyone knows each other in the church family, and it’s not always appropriate to share other’s news for them. Therefore, having all church members in Life Groups, means everyone has a group of people they can express their needs for, whether for prayer, advice or practical help:
10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith. (Galatians 6:10)
Life Groups are the opportunity we have to know of needs and seek to meet them. If you’re not able to be in a group for whatever reason, and you are in need, please do contact the church office (hello@christcentral.church) so we can seek to connect you to someone in your local area who can help through our ‘Village Life’ strategy.
5. Life Groups are a place to be formed: Whether we like it or not, we are not as autonomous as we’d like to think. We are human, our desires are formed and shaped by the environments in which we live, work and play. The world around us doesn’t esteem Christ, it doesn’t cause us to grow closer to Him. Rather than flee from the world we are called to conduct ourselves honourably. We must also be sober-minded, and aware of powers and principalities and desires that wage war for our souls:
“11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul. 12Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.” (1 Peter 2:11-12)
Church is a place for counter-formation, on Sundays and in the week. That means it’s not always comfortable, but it’s vital! Life groups are a place to worship, to have our desires re-formed as we look to the Word of God, as we pray for one another, as we lead each other to Jesus.
In summary, we need Life Groups.
You’ve just read 5 reasons why groups are essential in the life of the believer. There are many more. We all need the strength of one another around us, as we navigate the ups and downs of life. So, I’d encourage you to join a group – if there isn’t a group at a time and location that works for you – consider opening your home to run a group, and get in touch.
You can find a list of all the groups currently running at christcentral.church/groups
If you have any questions whatsoever, please get in touch, or ask @ https://christcentral.church/ask
Yours faithfully,
Adam
