Life Groups

A Life Group is 8 to 20 people gathering in a leader’s home or at a designated Life Group room at the church building on a regular basis. Life Groups exist to accomplish two vital goals of the Kingdom. First, to edify believers by connecting them on a more intimate level and helping them to become more like Jesus. The second goal is to evangelize by offering another venue besides the regular church service that may be initially less intimidating to seekers and those interested in finding out more about Jesus.

When you attend a Life Group, you can expect a warm time of fellowship, food, Bible study, and prayer. Life Groups are open to Christians and those who are seeking or investigating Jesus and His message. Long-term trust and relationships are nurtured, and loving support and accountability as followers of Jesus are cultivated on an ongoing basis.

Each group is responsible for providing their own childcare. The Elders and Pastors strongly encourage and ask each Life Group to include their children in some part of the group time and then allow for separate time specifically tailored for both the adults and children. Some practical suggestions regarding childcare can include parents chipping in together to hire a babysitter either at the place they meet or at a nearby home. Each group can decide how to handle this issue in the most appropriate way for their group.

Yes! There are Life Groups that contain both singles and married couples together. We encourage this mixture so that singles can experience healthy, Christ-like examples of real married life. It is also an opportunity for married couples to support and understand the challenges and values of a single lifestyle.

One of the intrinsic values of Life Groups is that they are small, which enables them to foster a more intimate atmosphere of trust, accountability, and personal spiritual growth. Small intimate groups represent the model of the New Testament Church. (Acts 2; Philemon 1:2; Col. 4:15; 1 Cor. 16:19, etc).

When a group of adults number 14 or more, it’s time to begin planning a Life Group Birthing. A birthing takes place when part of the group establishes another Life Group independent of their parent Life Group. Like natural birth, this at first can seem painful, especially because a group has built strong intimate relationships. But the heart of the Kingdom of God is about reproducing disciples, and birthing new Life Groups not only improves the opportunity for intimacy and accountability but also increases the opportunity for others to join who are not members of a Life Group. In these situations, we strongly encourage a parent group and its birthed group(s) to still get together occasionally (bi-annual or annual) for a special reunion time of fellowship.

Life Groups can meet almost any day and time of the week. Most of them meet on evenings or weekends, although there are some that meet during the day. While most groups meet in a consistent location, some groups prefer to take turns meeting in different members’ homes. There are also rooms at COTC that can be reserved for regular Life Group meetings.

Groups can meet weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly. We encourage at least a bi-weekly meeting and ask that no Life Group meet less than monthly.

Each Life Group picks the length of time they will meet. However, most groups meet for two to three hours to accommodate a time of fellowship, Bible study, and prayer.

Though each group differs in how they do things, many groups enjoy a time of food and fellowship, in the beginning, then they transition to a time when they share in Bible study and pray for each other. Each group decides how much time they will spend on fellowship, Bible study sharing, and prayer.

Each Life Group will have a structured study that revolves around God’s Word. Examples of a structured study are things like:

• A chapter-by-chapter study of one book of the Bible.

• A One-Year Bible study.

• Sermons or Sermon Series by Respected Teachers / Preachers.

• A Bible-based Christian book.

• DVD Series (Beth Moore, Francis Chan, Focus on the Family, etc.).

Whatever curriculum is chosen, the primary time and discussion should revolve around each person sharing “What God is Teaching Me” from Scripture.

Are you interested in joining a Life Group? It’s easy. Click the link above or contact one of our staff and let them know you’re interested.