One of the most important ways to engage at First Christian Church is to Connect in a small group. We have three kinds of small groups, Life Groups, re:generation recovery (fccregen.org), and Marriage Groups (fccmarriage.org), but Life Groups are our primary ongoing environment for connection and community, so the following is focused on them…

Basic Vision for Life Groups: Life Groups are sermon-based small groups of 12-15 people who meet in homes weekly around food, the Word of God, and to pray and share life. Life Groups bring about life change because they have 3 foundational elements that give them PoWeR…

  • Prayer (Acts 1:14; 2:42; Ephesians 1:16-17; Philippians 1:3-11; James 5:16) — We ask each Life Group to spend 20 minutes per meeting in prayer, in two settings: with a same-gender prayer group and with the group gathered together.
  • Word of God (Joshua 1:8; Deuteronomy 6:6-9; 8:3; Psalm 119:11, 103-107; Mark 4:14-20; Acts 2:42; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; 5:11-6:2) — We ask each Life Group to spend at least 45 minutes studying our sermon-based curriculum that is found in our weekly Study Guide. (Common question… Why “sermon-based” groups? Briefly: increased engagement, attentiveness, and note-taking during sermons; better and easier preparation as well as increased quality of discussions; repetition of Sunday morning material makes for better learning and greater effectiveness; unity of church-wide focus; greater movement through our 7 Habits process, i.e., it’s easier to bring people into groups (because they already know the material from hearing the sermon and experiencing Sunday worship); makes it easier to recruit leaders; and uniformity of group material means better assessment of effectiveness.)
  • Relationships (John 17:22-23; Eph 4:15-16; Col 3:12-17; Heb 3:13; 10:24-25) — In our structure, Life Groups are the front lines of relationship building and pastoral care. We expect our groups to have fun together and care for one another well! Many of them do 45-60 minutes of dinner every time they gather!

Each Life Group is led by a:

  • Host, who coordinates time, place, and food. (FCC membership not required.)
  • Apprentice, who works under the Leader, in a mentoring relationship, as part of our FCC leadership pipeline, to learn to shepherd a group well, with a view toward starting another group when ready. (FCC membership not required.)
  • Leader, who serves as the main Life Group leader, facilitates discussion of the Study Guide, leads prayer time, and is tasked with spiritual oversight and pastoral care for the group. (FCC membership required.)
  • Note: Apprentices and Leaders attend once monthly Leadership Training, under the direction of Chris Oakes, Director of Life Groups, and Jason McCoy, Life Groups Coach. (Hosts needn’t attend, though they are certainly encouraged/allowed, to learn our vision for Life Groups.)

3 Training Environments for Life Group Leaders:

  • Monthly Leader Training Meeting — Gather, pray, share some pro tips, and learn how to lead a healthy group. (Suggested for Hosts. Required for Apprentices and Leaders.)
  • Leadership Life Group — Learn before launching. We show you how to lead a Life Group that will nurture an environment of growth and care. We read a couple helpful books that give you practical handles for becoming an awesome Life Group Leader. (Required for any Apprentice not already in a Life Group. Takes a minimum of 10 weeks.)
  • Next Steps — We require all Hosts, Apprentices, and Life Group Leaders to attend all 4 sessions.

Interested? Find someone in The Hub with a nametag or click on a link below.