Life Groups are such a vital part of our individual lives and the life of your church!  When we see people go from sitting in a row to joining a circle, they gain a community of other believers in Jesus who also believe in them!  Everyone needs friendships that are there with them through the thick and thin and that launch them forward in their faith.  Life Groups are where you find this!

Church Experience Life Groups exist to help others experience life together in Christ! 

Every CE Lead Pastor has the flexibility to add their own creativity and unique stamp on how they will operate Life Groups at the campus they lead. In this overview you will get some great suggestions and tools that will hopefully help you in conducting your group with excellence.

There’s 4 words that help many of our Life Groups function with excellence….Group, Growth, God, Go.  

 GROUP

Group time usually includes a fun time together at the beginning (with food, can be a small snack that can be on a rotation), that allows the group to interact with and update each other on life circumstances and current events.

 GROWTH

Growth time involves some type of good Bible-based teaching (often a 10-20 minute discussion-starting video), and an interactive group discussion about what was presented during the teaching. This material can be selected from many different resources, including our own list from the Church Experience website. You will also be able to obtain from our website, group discussion icebreakers, creative ways to handle prayer time, as well as many other leaders’ help. If you are in need of assistance in spiritual growth material selection please let your leader know. 

  • RightNow Media
    • We’ve got some free resources for you! Through our partnership with RightNow Media, we are giving you access to a huge streaming online library of over 10,000 video Bible studies, leadership videos, kids shows, and more. To sum it up, it’s like Netflix of Bible study videos! You will have FREE access to thousands of video resources to help you with parenting, marriage, spiritual growth, and more. It includes content for all ages and stages of life – all free to our Life Group leaders! https://app.rightnowmedia.org/en/user/CE

 GOD

God time is an opportunity following the growth time that is intended to really put the emphasis on how God wants to use this teaching in our lives and provides an opportunity for any immediate needs to be prayed over. This time is a celebration of God’s goodness and ability to do great things in our lives when we allow Him in!! This is an upbeat time of celebration and group prayer to end the meeting on a super high note!!

 GO

Go time is an opportunity where the group puts their faith into action! The group is encouraged to work with our local strategic partners, research, and decide upon a service-oriented project for the community, then GO out into the community together as a group and serve those in need.

Here are some things we have learned and lean into in our Life Groups…

 Each group has a Life Group leader that leads their group knowing that their leadership is allowing individuals to grow in their faith and to develop Christ-centered friendship.  This leader realizes the importance of investing in the people and relationships in their group so that they all grow in their faith.

 People have daily, weekly, and annual routines in their lives, we’ve learned that starting new groups in February and September often works best for most people.  Although, we encourage people to join any time!

 During the summer and winter, our schedules tend to get busier and more out of the routine, so groups are encouraged to plan fun activities together like…an activity serving the community, game nights, having a cookout, etc.

 Although most groups choose to meet in homey environment of a house, we have seen other groups love to meet in restaurants, parks, the beach, etc.  It’s important to find a place that suits the needs of your group best!

 When groups meet by weekly or bi-weekly, it makes it easier for the group to make it a part of their weekly and monthly routine.  This keeps the momentum of the group rolling!

 A good amount of time for a Life Group is to last is 90 minutes.  Your group will often hang around and chat a little longer after as the friendships grow.

 Groups with children are encouraged to offer childcare. This cost is either shared by the members, chipping in to hire a childcare worker with a CE background check, or members can rotate the responsibility during each meeting.

EXPECTATIONS FOR ALL LIFE GROUP LEADERS

A Life Group Leader is someone who wants to be used by God to help more people experience a full life in Jesus Christ!

Jesus changed the world as a group leader! He poured himself in the lives of a dozen other people who then went on to make an enduring impact in the world! You don’t have to become an overseas missionary or hold a microphone to make a difference! You don’t even need to be a theologian or Biblical scholar! Like Jesus, you can make a lasting difference in the lives of others through loving people and leading a group! Strong new Life Groups are important because they have the potential to impact the lives of many people for years into the future.

You may love community and see the importance of Life Groups, but wonder if there are strategic ways that you can make a group flow and function better!  The answer is, “Yes”!

It’s such an honor to lead a Life Group!  At the end of the day, you know that allowing God to use you and your abilities has ultimately led to others growing in their faith and Jesus-centered friendships!  

You are giving of your time because you care about seeing lives for Jesus, and you care for others!  Here are a few ways that may help you feel more empowered to lead your group even better!  

SPIRITUAL INTEGRITY

 Leaders are called to uphold and walk-in integrity before God and others.

 Maintain a desire and commitment for personal growth spiritually, emotionally, and mentally and to encourage growth in others.

 Appropriately represent Christ and Church Experience publicly and on social media

PERSONAL LEADERSHIP

 Displays a passion for others and initiates conversations to form relationships.

 Must affirm and adhere to our Church Experience Passions and alcohol guidelines of Church Experience. You can find more information on our passions at https://churchexperience.tv/MISSION. 

LEADING OTHERS

 Be passionate for Life Groups and for others to be in the community together.

 Recruit others to join your group.

 Remain in communication with your Life Group Coach.

 Look for potential new leaders in your group.

 Invite potential new leaders to leadership opportunities and training.

 Attend any scheduled Life Group leadership meetings.

CARING FOR YOUR GROUP

 Pray for your Life Group members often.

 Stay connected. 

  • Make phone calls, texts or emails throughout the week.
  • Take time to connect with your group members outside of your meeting times.

LAUNCHING YOUR GROUP WELL

​So you are excited to lead a Life Group, but how do you begin?!?  Let’s dive in together and find out!

You want to schedule your Life Group to meet on a regular basis. While leaders should always be open to promptings of the Holy Spirit, an intentional and purposeful plan for weekly gatherings will bring stronger relationships and greater spiritual growth than a group that limps along aimlessly meeting to meeting. 

Suggestions for Your First Gathering…

 MAKE IT FUN

  • Get to know one another! Get acquainted and set expectations for the group. 
  • Food and fun. Your first meeting should be designed as a fun and relaxed gathering for folks simply get acquainted. Anything involving food is always makes it a win.
  • Keep energy and lighting high and your background music upbeat! 

 USE AN ICE-BREAKER

Being prepared with a couple ice-breaker questions in case you need them to spur on the conversation is wise. But approaching this evening without a driven agenda is fine. Making everyone feel they are a part of your group is key tonight. If conversation lags, try one of these questions. Participants will begin to connect with other’s stories right away. 

  • How long have you been attending Church Experience and how did you come to be attending with us? (invited by a friend, mailer, sign, etc.)
  • What is it about Church Experience that has kept you coming back?
  • If money, education, and time were no object, what would you like to do? 
  • What are you really, really, really, passionate about? 

 DISCUSS EXPECTATIONS

People come into Church Experience and into a Life Group with all kinds of past experiences; some good and some bad. Some of your group has grown up in church, some have not, some of your group has attended more of a traditional church in the past, some have never joined a group, and some have been in many Life Groups over the years. Any of those experiences, or lack thereof, can create false expectations of what might happen in this new group. Take time to ask each person to share their expectations of a Life Group.

If your own values are missing, ask if they expect some of those things as well, such as encouragement, authenticity, accountability, prayer and the big one – commitment! Be sure everyone understands that commitment is a decision and necessary in the journey. Ask them for commitment to the group and to your meetings.

To promote trust and respect in your group, it’s helpful to agree on a few ground rules. Mention these, and you’ll likely get quick affirmation while setting the stage for a safe environment for sharing:

  • A safe place where confidentiality is maintained.
  • Not confessing the sins of others.
  • Healthy conflict resolution (Matthew 18:15-17)

*Exception: If you sense a life is in danger, notify your local authorities and your coach immediately. 

GROUP KILLERS

There may be some happenings in a Life Group that at the time seem small, but ultimately, it kills what was a healthy, thriving Life Group.  Avoiding these areas, gives more room for success.  Know as a leader that when you keep a team member from allowing any of these, you are protecting the health of your entire Life Group. 

Some things NOT to do in your Life Group….

 No alcohol – No alcohol is to be provided at any Church Experience gathering or event, including Life Group meetings or get togethers. Your group members look to you as a spiritual leader. There could easily be someone in the group that does/could struggle with alcohol (so we avoid temptation) and we don’t envision a culture that promotes alcohol (doesn’t seem wise/helpful). People are attracted to a group that can have fun without alcohol and it sets a positive example for others. 

 No business – No soliciting/asking for business or using email lists for the purpose of any kind of business or prospecting, including but not limited to real estate, multi-level marketing, or personal business ventures.

 No offerings – Group leaders may collect for small group study purchases, food or child care reimbursement, but take no ‘offerings’.

 No unapproved guest speakers – All guest speakers must be pre-approved by your coach.

CHILDCARE IN YOUR LIFE GROUP

Below are a series of options you can use for handling childcare needs in a Life Group…

  • ​Have the kids join in. Some groups are content to embrace the chaos and allow kids of all ages to be present at the group! The pro of this option is that families have more “hang out” time together and become familiar with one another quickly. It is also free, and often fun. The con is that the chaos which ensues makes it difficult to have deep conversation and take relationships to the next level in the context of the group meeting itself. 
  • Share babysitting costs. Probably the most frequent option that groups use is to share the cost of a babysitter or babysitters at each meeting. (We recommend having at least two people watching the kids at all times.) The pros of the option are that it is easy to simply transfer responsibility to a separate caregiver, allowing every member of the group to fully focus during small group meeting. The cons are that it can become expensive over time and you can find yourself in a bind if the babysitter cannot make it on a particular week. Sometimes it can also be difficult to find a babysitter at all. 
  • Rotate caregiving. Members can rotate caregiving from week to week, meaning that a different person or couple would be on babysitting duty each week. The pros of this are that it is free and it allows group members to get to know one another’s children – not a bad thing! The cons are that some group members might be reluctant to watch children – this is especially the case in married couple groups, where some of the group members might have no children at all. In addition, a major con is that the entire group is never together – every week someone must miss out who is on babysitting duty. 
  • Have older kids care for younger kids. Obviously, this only works if you have children old enough to care for the younger ones. 

Raising Up Other Leaders & Dispersing Responsibilities

Leadership roles in a Life Group…

Hopefully by the end of the season, you can look back and see many people that you have empowered to lead.  If you allow those in the Life Group to use their gifts and abilities, it betters the group and them!  Here are some ways to do that…

 SHARE LEADERSHIP/ PROMOTE OWNERSHIP OF THE GROUP:

Discuss that this group is led and facilitated by you, but that everyone’s input is needed in order to have a successful group experience. You are not here to teach every week, but rather to lead them in the journey. With that, you also need everyone to take on an active role in the group. This promotes ownership of the group and keeps you from managing all aspects of leadership. We encourage each group to have a leader, a co-leader or assistant leader, and point leaders.

 ASK WHO WILL TAKE ON THE ROLE AS POINT LEADER FOR:

  • Hospitality Leader – maintain the schedule for snacks.
  • Childcare Leader – arranges child care; collects and pays the provider.
  • Prayer Leader – maintains and communicates prayer needs of the group.
  • Host – Offers their home as a meeting location for the group. 

HOW TO TAKE BREAKS WELL

This final section of training may be applied differently depending on the Life Groups strategy at each local CE campus, but these general principles may help you keep the people of your Life Group connected and well cared for year round, year after year…

CELEBRATE AND STAY CONNECTED

CELEBRATION NIGHT:

One of the goals of having a Life Group is to share life together. Around the week before your break celebrate BIG! Share stories of answered prayer and personal God moments of victory and breakthrough. Have fun and be creative!

WHATS NEXT?

 DISCUSS WHATS NEXT:

Members are encouraged to remain in their groups and stay connected over the Summer/Winter months, however, some members may be potential leaders. That’s GREAT! Encourage them to connect with your Life Group Coach to begin another Life Group. Others may decide to step out of one group and begin participating in another. None of these are bad options! The goal here is for everyone to remain in a Christ-centered community of believers.

 OFF-RAMPS AND ON-RAMPS:

While it’s comfortable to remain with the same group, one of the benefits of a break is that it creates easy off-ramps and on-ramps for people to step in or out of groups. This enables individuals to meet more new people, explore a variety of types of studies and leadership styles or to possibly multiply more groups. We encourage our leaders at a break to ‘release everyone and invite everyone’, meaning… it’s their option to move on or to stay with their group.

 IF YOU ARE LEADING THE GROUP AGAIN: 

Keep in touch casually during the break. This is a great time to host fun events such as cookouts, parties, or other fun group activities. At mid-break, find out who’s returning, so you’ll know your availability to add new people.

 IF YOU ARE NOT LEADING THE GROUP AGAIN: 

Try earnestly to replace yourself as leader. See if there is anyone in your group capable and willing to take the group, or a portion of the group, forward. You can read about how to raise up an apprentice Life Group leader in the optional section below…

READY TO JOIN THE TEAM?

If you’re ready to host or lead/facilitate a Life Group, please apply by clicking on the second button below!

If you would like additional (optional) training, you can click on this next button for more advanced training before you apply…

OPtional: More Life Group Leadership Training

If you have read/completed the core Life Group leadership training on this page (optional training above not required), you can click on the button below to apply as a Life Groups leader, co-leader, and/or host!

When asked about which team on the form, indicate Life Groups Ministry and share how you could see yourself being involved as a leader or host. Also, please share what kind of a Life Group you would be interested in leading, co-leading, or hosting…

sTART SERVING with Life Groups

If you don’t think appling to serve as a Life Group leader, co-leader, or host is the best fit for you (above), head back to the Serving Teams page and dive into a different ministry of the seven…

All Serving Teams