Frequently Asked Questions
If you have further questions, contact one of our Life Group Pastors on our staff page.
A Life Group is a home gathering made up of 10-16 people who meet weekly to share, study and support one another. A trained leader and host lead each group.
Our Life Groups meet for 8-10 week quarters in the Fall, Winter and Spring. Before each Life Group quarter begins there are three ways to sign up for a group – online, at our weekend services or by calling the church office. During the weekend services, Life Group team members and pastors are available at the sign-up booths to help you choose a group and answer any questions.
We also offer “Intro Life Groups” which run for 2 weeks and begin in July, October and March. These groups are designed for people new to Life Groups who would like to find out how they work and what they are all about.
*Most Life Skills & Support Groups are open for enrollment year-round.
Our Life Groups are arranged by Station-in-Life (common life stage). These headings are meant to assist you in finding a group of people in a similar life stage. Keep in mind, you may fit into more than one Station-in-Life, so take a look at all the groups that may apply to you. To learn more about each Station-in-Life check out our page on choosing a group.
All of our groups have a description designed to give you an idea of the leaders and the feel of the group. Read these bios for a fuller picture of each group to help you decide on one for you.
The majority of Life Groups meet on various nights of the week in homes throughout North County San Diego and beyond. Most evening groups meet 7-9 pm. The daytime groups meeting times vary.
We have three different meeting types for groups:
- Online Only: These groups will meet exclusively online.
- In-Person: These groups will meet in person.
- Hybrid: These groups will meet in a combination of both in-person and online. This could look like alternating between online and in-person, or it could be some people meeting in person and others joining them via video.
Each Life Group session lasts 8 to 10 weeks. We have Fall, Winter & Spring sessions. At the end of each session, you will have the choice of staying in the same group, trying a new group or even taking a break. Most groups stay together throughout the entire year. Life Groups do not meet June through August.
*Most Life Skills & Support Groups are open for enrollment year-round.
Joining a Life Group requires an 8-10 week commitment to attend weekly meetings and do the homework ahead of time. This commitment is the key to a strong Life Group. If you sign up for a group and decide it’s not a good fit for you, let us know in the first three weeks and we’d love to help you find another one!
Most of the studies are based on the previous weekend’s message. These “sermon-based” Life Groups are built on what we call a “Lecture-Lab” model.
Imagine the weekend message as a lecture on Christian living, and the Life Group as a lab where you get to roll up your sleeves and discuss how the weekend’s message works in real life. Each week there will be a series of Bible passages and questions on the back of the sermon note sheet to study before the meeting. It will usually take 20 to 40 minutes per week to complete the homework.
Life Groups are for adults. (Exceptions can be made for nursing newborns, up to six months.) We leave it up to each family to work out their own childcare. Sometimes it works best for families to share a sitter or to swap childcare with another family whose Life Group meets on a different evening.
Childcare is available during Life Groups on some campuses on specific nights of the week. Find more information at northcoastchurch.com/childcare/
Yes, our High School and Jr. High ministries both offer small groups for students. Although these groups are not included in this publication, they are very important to our church.
For more information about Junior High or High School groups, please contact our Church Office at (760) 724-6700 or email [email protected].
We have online only groups for people who live outside of the San Diego County area of North Coast Church. Thanks to the birth of our online groups, we are now able to extend our Life Group reach beyond our physical campuses. These groups will remain online groups even as Life Groups meet in person.