Lifegroups@SBC
God's people, doing life together
Relationships are at the heart of church and the way we live out our lives
within family, friendships and the wider community. We encourage our members
to meet in small groups at each other’s homes during the week. Some groups
meet weekly, some meet twice a month.
Lifegroups allow us to get to know each other better and encourage each
other in living out our faith in Jesus. Our vision for Lifegroups is that
each becomes a community of people investing in each other’s lives with a
common passion to seek God, grow together and reach out to others.
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Lifegroup Purposes:
Worship
Lifegroups will be places where we become aware of
God in every moment of our lives. Where worship is not just sung, but
is part of our DNA, expressing who we are and how we live in response to our
encounter with God.
Service
Lifegroups will be places where people can
discover the gifts God has given them and learn how to use them.
Opportunities will be created so that all members of the group can be
released into new expressions of service for God. Members will be encouraged
to give sacrificially of their time and resources so that God’s plan for his
church and those we seek to reach can be fulfilled.
Faith Sharing
Lifegroups will be places where members are
encouraged to build relationships with those around them and where
opportunities will be created for outreach and service within the
neighbourhood. They will be places where people develop a heart for the lost
and a passion to reach out to those who need to know the truth of God’s love
for them.
Discipleship
Lifegroups will be places of discipleship where we
can wrestle together with how to live life as God intended. Where we
can learn and grow together in faith, stepping out of our comfort zone
towards maturity in Christ. Where we challenge each other to become more
intimate with God through the studying of his word, prayer and doing life.
Community
Lifegroups will be places where people develop
authentic relationships and invest in each others lives. They will be places
of safety where people stand together in the good times and the bad times of
life. They will be inclusive groups where a commitment to God and each other
is clearly shown and sacrificial love is freely given and received. They
will be places where people feel able to share their hearts, their hopes and
their dreams but also their disappointments, failures and doubts.
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Lifegroup Values
1. Affirmation
The group will actively look to encourage each other and show support so
that each member will grow in their walk with God and be built up in Christ.
2. Availability
The group will show a willingness to be there for each other and, if
necessary, give sacrificially of their time and resources in order to meet
the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of all the members of the group.
3. Prayer
The group will commit to regularly pray for each other. Prayer will become a
central part of the meeting as the group comes together to encounter God. As
prayer is answered the group will encourage each other and praise Almighty
God.
4. Openness and Honesty
The group will be a place where people feel able to openly share all their
dreams, desires and joys whilst at the same time honestly acknowledging
their weaknesses, struggles and hurts. It will be a place where people can
openly share concerns and speak the truth in love as part of a real
authentic relationship; where people are open to be challenged as well as
challenge.
5. Safety and Confidentiality
The group will be a place where all members feel secure and anything shared
with each other will remain confidential. Openness and trust can be
developed as the group members promise that any opinions, struggles and
differences remain within the confines of the group.
6. Sensitivity
The group will be a place where all members are sensitive to each other's
needs, feelings, backgrounds and current situation as they aim to build
authentic relationships.
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