WARM UP

Your first meeting is designed for getting acquainted, connecting and enjoying a meal together, and discussing how to make your Life Group meetings great! The questions have been shortened this week to allow ample time for this.

Discussion Note: If you have new people in your group or a completely new group and it hasn’t come up in conversation before the meeting officially starts, try adding these to the “Get to Know You” questions after question #1 below.

1) Latest or favorite hobby.

2) How long have you been attending North Coast Church?

3) How long have you been in this life group?  

Discussion Tips: These are effective for both in-person and online groups. Remember to set time limits to ensure everyone has an opportunity to answer the questions.  

Each week, “Warm Up” questions help us break the ice, get to know each other, start the conversation, and share our initial impressions from the weekend’s message.

1. What was the most memorable part of your holiday season? This can be a funny story, a favorite tradition, a gift you received, or anything else that comes to mind.
2. What are some reasons you joined a Life Group, and what are you looking forward to this quarter?

 

Transition Statement to Life Group Commitment: “It’s great to hear what each of you has said about what you want to get out of your time in our group. One of the great benefits of being in a Life Group is the opportunity to have help from others as we seek to be strategic and intentional about our spiritual growth. The Life Group Commitment is designed to serve as intentional guidelines to help us make the most of our time together.” (see below) 

Link to the form for people in your group 

Go over the Life Group Commitment Form with your group. See below, or you can download the Leader Guide to the Life Group Commitment. Use this as a guide to keep your group healthy in communicating and caring for one another each week. (The leader audio will give you more details on how to do this effectively.)   

Close in prayer: If you have anyone new in your group and you don’t know them, it is recommended to close with your host or one person praying. Next week, the Study Questions will include an introduction to praying in a group, so if you have a new group or a lot of new members, it’s suggested that you wait until week two to do any group prayer. 

Mingle with everyone after the meeting. Even if you’re online, stay on an extra 10 minutes to see if anyone wants to connect and hang out just like you would at an in-person meeting.   

 

KNOW IT   

Each week, “Know It” questions help us understand or unpack the Scripture from the message further.

Read 2 Timothy 3:16-17. List some ways the Bible can help “equip” you in your faith. Does anything jump out at you?

 

SHARE IT

Each week, “Share It” questions help us reflect and share our personal life experiences about the topic at hand, considering how it works or has worked out in our lives.

 

1. Have you had an experience when you realized the Bible was truly alive and powerful because of the impact it had on your life?

This question could be an encouragement to new believers or those who may be asking questions as they explore Christianity.  As a leader if you have an answer, make sure you share it.  Or if you have someone in your group you already know well reach out to them to see if they can plan to answer this question in group.

2.Are there any resources that have helped you better understand the Bible and do what it says? If so, share them with the group.

 

STUDY BIBLES (Bibles that include short, helpful details and explanations for each passage):

The Bible Recap, NIV Study Bible, Life Application Study Bible, CSB Study Bible, ESV Study Bible

APPS

YouVersion App and youversion.com: Offers a wide variety of translations, reading plans, and audio options.

Dwell Bible App: Presents the bible as an audiobook with multiple translations, voices, themed playlists, devotions, and background music.

AUDIO & VIDEO

The Bible Project: Free resources including videos, podcasts, articles, and classes to help people experience the Bible in a way that is approachable and transformative.

 

LIVE IT

Each week, “Live It” questions help us think through how we can apply the topic or put it into action in our lives.

Chris talked about the inspiration, truth, power, and authority of the Bible. If you believe that the Bible is true, even one aspect of it, how should it change your life and relationships right now?

Not everyone in the group is going to have an answer to this question.  As the leader, if you choose to pursue this question, make sure it is in a gentle manner and tone.  The reality of scripture is it does make demands on our lives.  A way to possibly soften this question would be to ask, “What is one thing God is asking you to obey Him in right now?” 

 

LIFE GROUP COMMITMENT FORM

 

Leader’s Guide to life group COMMITMENT

• Download this and other Commitments: northcoastchurch.com/life-group-covenants
• When discussing, use the proactive leadership style – clear direction, yet flexible

Small groups thrive on participation! The purpose of this commitment is to help you to discuss and

clarify your group’s goals, expectations and commitments.

 

LIFE GROUPS: THEIR PURPOSE 

Life Groups exist to promote spiritual maturity and personal growth through meaningful Christian relationships and the study of God’s Word (Romans 8:29 & Hebrews 10:24-25). We’ll do this by focusing on four primary activities:

SHARE 

Each week we’ll take time to share what is happening in our lives. At first this sharing will include planned “sharing questions,” but after the first few weeks, it will become more informal and personal as we feel more comfortable.

STUDY 

Each week we’ll study a section from God’s Word that relates to the previous weekend’s sermon or an appropriate personal growth topic. Our goal is to learn how to live out our Christianity in everyday life.

Our goal is to interact interpersonally on the topic and how we can practically follow Christ, not to answer all the questions.

SUPPORT 

Each week we’ll learn how to take care of one another as Christ commanded (John 15:9-13).  This care can take many forms, such as prayer, encouragement, listening, challenging one another and meeting real needs.

SERVE 

Spiritual growth is fostered not only by what we gain through the support and input of others, but also through service to others. The role each of us fills is important to the health of the church and for us to be the hands and feet of Jesus to our community (Ephesians 4:11-16). Throughout the quarter, it is our hope you can find and/or be affirmed in the ways God has designed you to serve and make a difference in God’s Kingdom.

FIVE MARKS OF A HEALTHY GROUP 

For our group to be healthy, we need to…

 

1. Make spiritual growth our number one priority (Romans 8:29).

• Tangents – they are okay sometimes, but sometimes we need to be refocused. We’ll need to keep spiritual growth our focus and stay on topic. 

 

2. Accept one another (Romans 15:7).

•  We will have different preferences. 

 

3. Take care of one another (John 13:34).

• When crisis happens we’re there to help with support, prayer, encouragement, listening, meals etc. 

 

4. Treat each other with respect (Ephesians 4:25-5:2).

• Listening to one another, if one’s talking let’s all listen, nothing worse than two conversations going on at once. 
• Our goal is to listen, not give advice. (Advice is given when asked for) We are not here to judge or fix – unless someone asks. An example of giving advice is by saying, “Well this is what I think you should do.” On the other hand, that doesn’t mean we can’t question what is said or what someone is doing. 
•  Some of us have the gift of gab, also known as a dominator – be careful, I as a leader might have to help you. 
• Be careful of gossip prayers. For example, “we need to pray for (person’s name) because they are doing this …” 
• No put-downs.
• What is said here, stays here – of course we never promise confidentiality if something shared would be harmful to yourself or someone else and/or if I, as the leader, need to seek counsel on how to respond to an issue in the group. 

5. Keep our commitments to the group (Psalm 15:1-2, 4b).

• Please give us a call if you can’t make it to Life Group so we know what’s going on and how to pray for you. 

 

 

GUIDELINES & COMMITMENT 

 

1.	Dates	We’ll meet on ______________ nights for _____ weeks.  Our final meeting of this quarter will be on ___________. Fill in blanks
2.	Time	We’ll arrive between _______ & _______ and begin the meeting at _______.  We’ll spend approximately _____ minutes in singing (optional), _____ minutes in study/discussion and _____ minutes in prayer/sharing. Fill in blanks
3.	Children	Group members are responsible to arrange childcare for their children. Nursing newborns are welcome provided they are not a distraction to the group!
4.	Study	Our studies will focus on the same topic covered in the previous weekend’s sermon or an appropriate personal growth topic. Our goal is to hear from everyone every night and keep God’s Word at the center. Not to answer every question.
5.	Prayer	Praying for one another. You’ll go over tips on topical prayer the second week of group. Remember – being forced to pray in group or just the idea of it can cause people to not want to come to your group. If you have new people in your group, you might want to say something like this: “It’s exciting to see how God works in our lives through prayer. We also realize prayer in groups is something many have never done. Know that you will never be forced to pray.” Let them know you’ll talk more in the weeks to come on how we do group prayer and that we break a lot of the stereotypes of what it means to pray.
6.	Homework & Attendance	Joining a Life Group requires a commitment to attend each week and do the homework ahead of time. Obviously, allowances are made for sickness, work conflicts and other special events—but not much more! This commitment is the key to a healthy group.   If we cannot come to a meeting, we will call or text ________________________. Þ Emphasize the importance of the commitment to attendance and preparation. (A good group starts with good preparation) Þ Make sure that everyone is with you. (Do we agree? Is this what we want? Make eye contact, etc.) Þ Most weeks require 20-30 minutes of homework to prepare for the group study and discussion.
7.	Dessert	Have everyone sign up for a night to do dessert.
8.	Social & Service Projects	Emphasize the importance of a quarterly social and service project. As a leader and host, have 2 or 3 suggestions ready and 2 or 3 potential dates. Choose a date or ask the group to bring their calendars next week. New groups are preferred to have their social by mid-quarter.

 

We agree to honor this commitment throughout the quarter. 

(To be decided by each person on or before the third week.)