The Gift of Community Groups and Life Groups In Our Local Church
Life is hard sometimes. God has given us people to encourage us when we’re down, exhort us when we’re not believing God’s best, help us study the word, and to remind us of all God so graciously gives us. We need people to help us think outside of ourselves and our own needs. We need people to stir us up to serve the community and the people in our lives. In the life of Cities Church, we have two types of groups to allow for some of these conversations: community groups and life groups. These two groups will help you grow in community and at the same time help point you more to Christ. Making your Community Group and Life Group a priority is an expectation for each member at Cities Church, and these groups are a gift we don’t want to neglect.
Community Groups
“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Pet 4: 8-11).
I believe a fruitful community group is achievable through time and commitment. Sometimes we can get caught up in thinking that the people we are doing life with in these circles must also be our best friends. That's simply not true. We don’t have to be best friends with people to learn from and be encouraged by them. We are still called to love one another.
More often than not, this isn’t how it typically works in a community group. Sometimes we can wait for something to “feel right” before we commit. If that’s how we approach our relationships in life, we’re missing out on many brothers and sisters that may greatly enrich our lives.
There are four key pieces to community groups: everyday life, regular meeting, community events and initiatives, and service projects. Some groups may still be scratching the surface of the “everyday life” stage. If you’ve been at this stage for a while, it could be time to try and ask more intentional questions. Sometimes it simply takes being vulnerable about our own lives in order to open the door for others to do the same.
Suggestions on how to go deeper with your community group
Meet regularly at least two times per month during your regular meeting time. Commit to it and make it a priority.
If you can, try to see each other once or twice a week. You could host a game night, watch a movie together, go for lunch, schedule a playdate, etc. This allows for regular check-ins that will deepen your relationships, which often leads to more fruitful friendships.
Think about the specific needs in your community group. Is someone grieving the death of a loved one? Does someone need a note of encouragement after losing a job? Would it bless someone to come over to your house for dinner? These are some ways to promote unity.
Are there practical ways in the community you can serve together? Can you host a neighborhood cookout? Can you send a package to a missionary?
Life Groups
“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” (Galatians 6:1-2).
As the Cities website states, “Life Groups are the part of our mission where we make disciples in depth. Discipleship involves baptizing and teaching — conversion and counsel, multiplying and maturing. Life Groups are the place where we learn together to obey all of Jesus’s commands and live under his lordship.”
If you are already meeting with your life group consistently, that’s great! You have a solid foundation for moving into more personal conversations, in which you can possibly sharpen one another. Life groups are a place where we can come as we are, humbly seeking Christ in our thoughts and actions and knowing that he’s still working on us. We might remind each other of the joy of the gospel, rebuke patterns of sin, and encourage one another to press on. You will most likely find your relationships deepening through these conversations.
Suggestions on how to go deeper with your life group
Meet regularly at least two times a month. Commit to it and make it a priority.
Strive to get past the “What did you do this week?” question. It’s a great starting point, but seek to ask more specific questions such as:
What particular sin are you struggling with this week?
What is God teaching you?
How are you trusting him/not trusting him?
What are you hoping God will do in this situation?
What are you learning about God’s character in this situation?
Life is too hard to go at it alone and God has given us the gift of brothers and sisters to be in community with as we learn together how to trust and obey Him. If living in Christian community is something you haven't made a commitment to yet, I'd like to as ask you to prayerfully consider steps God may want you to take to commit to a community group and life group. Community with others can feel messy and uncomfortable at times, but it is worth it. May our communities look like that of Paul and the Romans, to whom he writes, “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine” (Rom 1:11-12).