A Life Group provides a healthy environment where Christians can share life in a transparent, personal and relational context.   Life Groups are the essential place where Christians live together in spiritual community, as the church, experiencing the presence, power and purpose of Christ. 

The home was the primary place for ministry in the early church as believers met together in small groups from "house to house" (Acts 2:46). There, the first believers devoted themselves to the "apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer" (Acts 2:42). The result was "the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved" (Acts 2:47).

The home is still the primary meeting place for the church that seeks to unleash believers for ministry in one another's lives and into the community reaching the unsaved for Christ.   Home is where families live and grow. It is a place of love and caring - a place where the deepest of relationships are knit together.  This describes the very nature of the Life Group ministry.

The Life Group may be defined as a small "family" gathering where the participants meet together regularly to build up and encourage one another in Christ.   Together they study the Word of God and apply its teaching to their lives.   They experience the ministry of the Holy Spirit as they love and care for one another.   Healthy small groups combine evangelism, spiritual nurture, and calling to service.


The basic elements regulating the ministry of Life Groups are that they are:
Small
A Life Group could have anywhere from 4 to 15 people attending.   Ideally, groups should not exceed 10 - 14 in average regular attendance.   In a small group there is room for everyone to participate in sharing, praying, discussing God's Word and really getting to know and care for one another.

Relational
The small group is the place where the church is able to truly care for one another and meet needs.   The focus of the Life Group is not the completion of a lesson, but the changing of lives.  As members of the group grow in their demonstration of love and care for one another, lives are transformed.   Much, if not most, of the ministry of the Life Group takes place outside of the actual meeting as participants become involved in each other's lives and in reaching out in service to others.

Open
Open means that anyone can come at anytime.   Evangelism is the priority of the church and the small group is a primary vehicle through which evangelism in the church can take place.   Life Groups members seek to invite others with whom they have relationships to come to the group.   An "open chair" placed in the group circle each meeting is a constant reminder that the group is open and anyone can come at anytime.    As members of the group reach out to those with whom they already have some type of natural affinity the group will grow and see lost people come to faith in Christ.

Multiplying
The small group is sometimes called a "cell" group because, like a one-celled organism, it can multiply as it grows to certain size.   This is imperative because multiplication allows the group to remain small enough to meet needs and care for one another.   Yet, multiplication releases the group to reach out to new people and invite them to become a part of the ministry of the group.   By multiplying the mother group gives birth to two baby groups that begin the new life process.   The multiplication process requires each group to have not only a leader, but also an apprentice.   The apprentice is the key that allows a group to multiply.

Total Ministry
The major ministries of the church (worship, evangelism, discipleship and pastoral care) often become disjointed and compartmentalized, so that they operate separately from each other.   This can create a situation where the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.   The Life Group provides a vehicle in which each of these ministries can function. Worship, evangelism, discipleship and pastoral care are all part of the Life Group ministry.   Life Groups are like small churches within the big church.

Basic Christian Community
Life Groups are the essential place where Christians live together in spiritual community as the church experiencing the presence of Christ.   They are the primary place where Christians experience relationship with God and relationship with one another as the Body of Christ.
In a Life Group, "family life" takes place as believers meet together regularly to build up and encourage one another in Christ.   Together they discuss the Word of God and challenge each other to apply it to their lives.   They experience the ministry of the Holy Spirit as they love and care for one another.   Healthy Life Groups combine evangelism, spiritual nurture and calling to service.