the G sides

The purpose of a LIFE Group is to have a life-changing encounter with Jesus. That is the BULLSEYE we are shooting after. The outcome of these experiences will be fully mature believers of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-16). So how do you get from the purpose to the outcome? The acronym LIFE is a tool to help our leaders travel that road.

Love God
Invest yourself
Feed on the Word
Engage your World

Every activity or event of a LIFE Group should be evaluated as to if it will lead to a life-changing encounter of Jesus. And if it does, it probably fits into one of these four categories.

Love God
(Revelation 19:1-10; Isaiah 6:1-8; Romans 12:1-2)
Loving God is simply worship. It is expressed directly to God. It is giving God His due. So can your LIFE Group worship if none of your members can sing or play a guitar? Well, absolutely! Prayers, letters to God, art, drama, and acts of service are all ways to worship God.

What are some ways we can worship God and not sing?

Invest Yourself
This is an investment of your time, talents, and treasure. The investment is a total giving of ourselves.

How do you spend your money? Do you give to the church? Do you support financially a missionary or mission?

Where do you spend your time? Are you available to serve, to disciple, or to lead? Are you intentionally pursuing a discipling relationship with someone else?

What are you good at or like to do? How are you using that in the Kingdom? Maybe it’s acts of compassion or serving in the community somewhere.

Feed on the Word
It is impossible to grow in Christ without studying the Word of God. If prayer is breathing spiritually, then the study of God’s word is eating spiritually. It is impossible to be transformed without the Word of God. It is the guide book. We will unwrap this further in the Leading A Discussion and Marinate on the Word sessions.

Engage Your World
All of the spiritual transformation in the world is worth nothing if it never intersects the real world. In Matthew 5, Jesus puts it very clear – we are the salt and light of the world. Living at the crossroads of the Greats requires us to engage the world.

This engagement is more than just standing in your world and screaming “Turn or Burn!” It’s about serving those outside the group. A group’s ability to serve those outside themselves often parallels the community a group is experiencing. If there is good community, there is a desire to serve others. If the group is closed to others, that group does not have community but rather co-dependency.

Next Session: Life Cycle