Life Groups (Learn, Invest, Friend, Equip)
At First Christian Church, the primary place for growth, care and community is in a Life Group. A Life Group consists of six to fifteen people who meet regularly – usually in the host's home during the week. A typical Life Group meeting lasts approximately ninety minutes and usually offers opportunity for extended fellowship.
Learn – As a people, we will stand on the Word of God. The Bible will be the standard of truth by which everything else flows from. For us to truly experience Life as God intended – we must learn about His ways and His will. Of course, it's one thing to know something, it's still another to actually apply it. We will encourage one another to be like "a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." Matthew 7:24-25
Invest – Acts 4:32… "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had." Imagine the scene as people were interacting together. Not only would they provide a meal or visit and pray together, but they were probably helping one another work in the fields, go to the market, and care for children. If we are going to be the church God wants us to be, we must invest in one another!
Friend – When we 'friend' someone, we are bringing them into our circle and give them access to our life. The church should be the leader in person to person contact where no one is: overlooked, viewed as an outsider, or allowed to exist in isolation. The early church was a community guided by the power of the Holy Spirit and its effect was life transformation.
Equip – Ephesians 4:11-13… "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." There are basically 3 stages of a person's spiritual journey: 1) Awareness of God; 2) Discipleship Process (path of maturation); 3) Productive Life. One of the church's primary responsibilities is to equip or prepare the Body to continue the ministry of Jesus.