Christians believe that their church is made up of dozens of small groups, congregating into a bigger crowd during worship. These groups, divided by age, gender, interests, and other categories, meet up inside and outside the church to strengthen their spiritually together. How do they do this? Here are 5 ways life groups can develop you into a happily devoted Christian:
1) Bible study, the modern way – You leave the Bible-based gospel and lectures in Sunday mass. In life groups, members apply the lectures they’ve learned in day-to-day scenarios, share these stories to other members, and hope that it could inspire others to lead a Christian life based on God’s Word.
2) Be a part of the community – There is no better way to feel you are a valued member of God’s family than to participate in life groups. With close friends praying for you, accepting you as you are, encouraging you through various phases of your life, and loving you wholeheartedly, you won’t ever feel you’re alone in this world ever again.
3) Pray with ease – Life groups allow you to get comfortable in praying in front of other people. Although no one is forced to pray during their first group meet, anyone who joins these life groups eventually learn how to pray wholeheartedly with confidence. Prayer is a big part of Christian life, so developing how you converse with God can affect how you handle change, stress, crisis or other difficult stages of your life.
4) Become a leader naturally – As you build up your confidence and become at ease with the companion of your likeminded peers, you slowly begin to blossom into a leader you didn’t know you could be. Not only will you be able to spread the Word of God with your newfound leadership skills, you can also use it on other aspects of your life, such as work.
5) Spread the world – Your spiritual transformation will become the example new members of your group will look up to. How you lead your life group, or the way you share your life as a disciple of God will reflect on other members in time.
A church won’t be complete with just a pastor and the Bible. The church community is responsible for making sure that the Good News is shared to as much people as possible. With Christian life groups, this becomes possible.
If you’re based in the Florida area and want to check out Christian life groups in Jacksonville, start with Southpoint Community Church and see life groups sand other ministries offered at http://www.southpointcc.com/.