1. Faithful

• Faithful to the Lord: You pursue to know, enjoy, and obey God, without major areas of ongoing
  willful unrepentance
• Faithful to your Family: You strive to sacrificially love your spouse and children
• Faithful to the Church: You attend corporate worship most weekends and are involved with the
  life of the church

2. Growing Spiritually

• You make effort to spend personal time with the Lord, reading His Word and prayer
• You make effort to grow in God’s grace, Christlikeness, and living on mission
• You make effort to some sort of active repentance and faith in your life

3. Aligned with SRC
You have a basic understanding of Reformed Theology and commit to not teach anything contrary.

• The whole Bible is the triune God’s revelation of himself; it is infallible and authoritative
• God is sovereign, rules over all things, and has ordained all things that come to pass
• We (and you) are depraved by nature, dead in our sins, spiritually helpless & unable to save ourselves
• The Old & New Testaments tell the story of God’s covenant of grace toward His people, the Church,
  building through covenants, and culminating in the New Covenant through the person & work of Christ
• We (and you) are chosen by God, saved by grace through faith alone, apart from our good works
• Christ’s life, death & resurrection fully accomplished the salvation for those who receive it by faith
•  Grace motivates all true believers (and you) to live by faith, die unto sin, and strive for holiness in all of life
• Our ultimate calling as Christians is to glorify and enjoy God forever
• You support the church in its worship, its work, and its leadership to the best of your ability
• We are commissioned by God to love our neighbor and fulfill the Great Commission

4. Able to Lead

• By ensuring there is a regular meeting schedule, good communication, a place to meet, food (if
  having it), a welcoming, hospitable environment, a time limit that is kept, etc. Note: The leader is ideally delegating many of these responsibilities to other group members
• By facilitating and directing conversation and asking good questions (not teaching)

1. GROW Spiritually

• To aim to grow up in Christ together
• To create a safe environment for people to struggle, fail, and not have it all together. To prevent any
  seeds of negativity, gossip, judgmentalism, or harshness that may hurt mutual love, openness, and trust
• To facilitate conversation and ask good questions (not teach at them), using only approved curriculum
  Note: Aim to use the Sermon Discussion Guide at least 1/2 the time

2. CONNECT Relationally

• To love, value, and welcome the members God brings into your Life Group
• To model authenticity/vulnerability toward building relationships of mutual love and care within your group
• To show grace toward yourself, SRC, and each other even when it’s hard

3. SERVE Intentionally

• To model missional living by loving and serving your unchurched “neighbor”
• To invite others into using their gifts and passions in the group by sharing responsibilities of hosting,
  providing food, communication, and even facilitating conversation
• To interact with the Life Group Pastor or Huddle Leader for equipping and encouragement

GENERAL ELEMENTS:

• Group includes time for fellowship (1/3) along with engaging Biblical content and prayer (2/3)
• You begin and end at the time you said you would begin and end
• A healthy group generally includes 12-16 people
• Have seasons of inviting new members in at the start of the semester or after a new members class
• Develop leaders by delegating responsibilities, allowing others to host and lead the discussion

GROWING:
➡ Things that help move your group toward spiritual maturity in Christ

• Talk about the aim and expectation of spiritual growth and maturity as a group
  - “How would we like to see God work in our group or your life this semester?”
• You’re not just talking about what a passage says but also about how you can apply it to your life
• You are identifying areas of needed growth and moving towards encouragement and accountability
• Applying the preached Word by using the Sermon Discussion Guide (use at least 1/2 the time)
• Address anyone who is bringing judgment, criticism, negativity, or gossip into the group
• Frequently ask them for a story of how they have God at work recently
• Include prayer requests that come out of your study, that include specific areas spiritual growth
• Record prayer requests. Pray for your group members outside of group time.

CONNECTING:
➡ Things that help create authentic, gospel-centered, life-giving community and mutual care

• Meeting consistently (2+ times/month)
  Ask one person or couple to share their life/spiritual story each week
• Ask a “get to know you” question at the start of each meeting
  - Ex. “Share something significant that happened in each third of your life
• Connect socially outside of group time.
• Be involved in others life events.
• You are caring for each others emotional and felt needs
• Providing snacks or deserts at the meetings helps facilitate fellowship
• Encourage everyone to contribute in the discussion. Exhort anyone who talks too much to listen more
• Celebrate birthdays
• Maintain a high standard for both vulnerability and confidentiality
• Help mediate any conflict between members
• Record prayer requests. Pray for one another and check in outside of group time

SERVING:
➡ Things that encourage your group to use the gifts and resources God’s given to love and serve neighbors in Jesus' name where they live, work, learn and play.

• Ask in prayer time if there is any unchurched or non-Christian they are associated with you can pray for
• Ask in prayer time if anyone has a story of getting to love, serve or share with their “neighbor”
• Pray for kingdom and missional things going on in our country and world
• Encourage and help your group members to identify a ministry role where they can serve in the church
• Delegate LG responsibilities to others so they can use their gifts (food, social events, prayer, etc)
• Identify and help develop those with gifts to lead a future LG
• Volunteer to serve together somewhere in the community (We can give you a list of opportunities)
• Adopt a missionary to support and pray for
  
  

1. Walk Faithfully: Your first priority in leading others is to lead yourself. You may be struggling emotionally or spiritually, but you are striving to face the right direction, faithful to the Lord in coming to weekend worship and engaging in personal Bible reading, faithful to your family and to your small group members. — Psalm 37:3
2. Live Honestly: You are striving to live honestly before God and others. We must resist the temptation to always have to be strong and have the right answers. Lead with a limp, as a fellow sinner and struggler. Model vulnerability that you expect from them. Exemplify of your own need for a Savior and his great love. — 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
3. Know Thoroughly: We all have a deep longing to be known for who we really are and still accepted and loved. Yet we all feel the shame of being deeply known and therefore try to hide. Make your group a place for people to
   share and be known. Jesus knows all our junk and yet still has great affection for us. —1 Thessalonians 2:7-8
4. Endure Graciously: Many people will come in rough around the edges, with hard stories and bad theology. Some will talk too much and some too little. Some will be spiritually immature. Allow people to be in process. Create an environment of grace, showing the same patience and grace we have received from God. — Ephesians 4:2
5. Direct Biblically: We are called to not only love our group members but direct them to Biblical truth. We can’t
   change people, but God’s Word is alive and powerful, and it alone leads to lasting life transformation. Make sure
   opinions are backed by what the text says. “What did the passage say? Let’s read it again.” — Hebrews 4:12

7 Habits of Effective Small Group Leaders are:

1. Pray for your group and group members
2. Create an atmosphere of welcome and love for one another
3. Communicate well with group members inside and outside of group time
4. Prepare for the group meeting by going over the schedule, content and questions to discuss
5. Delegate responsibilities to other group members, especially other potential leaders
6. Gather in social activities outside of group times
7. Aim for spiritual growth and expect deeper friendships

Principles of Leading Group Time

1. Create a safe environment: Make it safe for people to be vulnerable and share hard things by doing
   things like 1) ensuring confidentiality within the group, 2) limit advice-giving, criticism, and disagreement, and
   3) responding appropriately when there are emotions involved
2. Move at a good speed: Avoid going so slow that it leaves members constantly frustrated you don’t get to
   passages or questions they really wanted to address toward the end, but also going so fast that it doesn’t
   give people time to think, flesh out, or apply what you are discussing.
3. Ask good questions and listen: Ask questions that engage the heart, emotions and will, not simply the
   mind. Actively listen to answers. Try to discern what is below the surface of their questions or answers. What
   theological misunderstanding, misaligned hopes/desires, fear or anxiety, etc. are there. Listen to what their heart is saying so you can help get God’s much needed grace into those crevasses of brokenness.
4. Lead the right amount: It’s easy to talk too much as the leader. Remember to give time to let others answer first, to ask open-ended and follow-up questions. It’s also possible to lead too little though. Keep the group on track and redirect unhelpful tangents. There is sometimes a “wrong answer.” Listen to thoughts and opinions but refer back to God’s Word to what God says rather than leaving people with opinions.
   
   

Sermon Discussion Guides are made each week to help Life Groups all the more understand, encourage one another, and apply the preached Word. It contains questions to help your group members:

1. Understand the meaning of the passage/sermon
2. Mutually encourage each other through the passage/sermon
3. Apply the passage/sermon to their lives specifically

Read more...

Recruiting New People:
We are glad to point people who are interested in a Life Group to your new group. However, the best way to add people is through you personally inviting them. Start with friends and others you know that aren’t in a group. Then ask people you see at church if they are in a group. Try to prioritize those who live closest to you as proximity often better lends to doing life together community.

Read more...

There are usually more people who desire and need to be in a Life Group than we have space for in our groups. There is always a great need to raise up new leaders to start new groups. As Life Group leaders, you have a unique role in helping our church identify and develop such potential leaders. Here’s a framework to identify and develop potential leaders through your group. As you explore these stages, identify recurring opportunities within your group that could be used to develop leaders: facilitating icebreakers, organizing social events, meals, facilitating prayer time, leading the sermon discussion, following up with someone in the group, etc.

Stage One: I Do / You Watch
In this stage, you are not asking someone to help you lead. You are recruiting an apprentice to come alongside you to learn about leading. You can simply ask them to watch you lead while giving them a picture of what it would look like for them to lead well in the future. What is important about this stage is that you are modeling what leading looks like. Follow up by sharing what tools you use and what you think through as you lead in that specific area. This is also an opportunity to find out if they have any specific questions.

Stage Two: I Do / You Help
After you show them and discuss the process, you give them a chance to help lead a portion of the group. What is important about this stage, is that they need to carry enough of the weight without feeling all of the responsibility. Follow up with a debrief to find out what they learned, what they would do differently, etc.

Stage Three: You Do / I Help
In this stage, you are asking someone to lead the majority of a specific task. Offer to help them prepare and be available to step in if needed. Be ok with the fact that individuals in this stage may fail. They may make mistakes and that’s ok. That is why you are there to help them carry the weight of responsibility. What is important about this stage, is that they are owning most of the responsibility. Afterwards follow up with any insights and give them an opportunity to evaluate themselves and ask questions.

Stage Four: You Do / I Celebrate
At this stage, you are affirming the way in which they have led. What is important about this stage is that you are encouraging them and validating their potential as a leader. Follow up with a clear conversation about the leadership capacities you see in them and areas they need to grow in. Continue to offer them opportunities to lead and care for others within your group. Evaluate yourself and how you lead through this process. Make adjustments and identify how you can do it differently next time as you continue to identify and develop leaders.