Jesus started a Life Group as soon as He began His public ministry. He called together a rough group of twelve men and started them at level zero. For three and a half years, He spent most of His time with these twelve men. He taught them. He listened to them. He ministered with them and to them. They laughed and cried together. They went through joyful triumphant moments, and moments of despair and seeming hopelessness.

Jesus modeled to us something we all need – each other. If this is the way, Jesus built His church while on Earth. If Jesus modeled ministry in this way, we should all be part of a Life Group. None of us are fully equipped to live a quality Christian life on our own. We all have feelings of isolation, personal weaknesses, blind spots, limited capabilities, and lack of experience. We need each other – INTERDEPENDENCE. This is why connecting with others plays such an essential role in Christian growth. That is why Life Groups are so important, and that is why we have them at Fellowship of the Metroplex (FOM).

WHY ARE LIFE GROUPS MENTIONED A LOT IN THE BIBLE?

Fellowship and worship together

Acts 2:46-47 “They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

1 Corinthians 14:26 “…When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All these things must be done for the strengthening of the church.”

Encourage and support each other

Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another.”

A number of references to Life Groups meeting in homes

Acts 16:40 “After Paul and Silas came out of prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them.”

Romans 16:3-5 “ Greet Priscilla and Aquila…Greet also the church that meets at their house.” 1 Corinthians 16:19 “…Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.”

Philemon 2 “…to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow-soldier and to the church that meets in your home.”

Colossians 4:15 “Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.”

Reinforces the ability to minister to each other

Romans 15:14 “I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.”

Ephesians 4 is a great guide for Life Groups

WHY HAVE LIFE GROUPS?

The Senior Pastor, Craig White, can only minister to a certain size of church - around 200 is considered about the maximum and is probably the reason that most churches do not grow beyond this. FOM has grown because the Senior Pastor recognized the need from the start to delegate to other Pastors and lay leaders, such as Life Group Leaders, the responsibility for ministering. This has allowed FOM to grow membership to 1000 today from the initial core of 20, five years ago and to keep on growing.

From experience, people not involved in some Life Group type of activity in the church within 6 months to a year of coming to the church, will leave, as they have not been able to develop relationships within the church. So, getting people plugged-in early is important – there is only one other ministry where people are as involved with each other as Life Groups and that is the Praise Team, but that would be an exception on an individual case-by-case basis - Life Groups are best and preferred.

Involvement in a Life Group is one of the three basic conditions of membership at FOM; the other two are regular participation in a weekly worship service and tithing (10% of gross income). FOM’s leadership has made the commitment to not allow FOM to become a “lukewarm” church – the one that Jesus was most condemning of in Revelation. Increasing measures will be taken to encourage members to be, and remain, involved in Life Groups, to the point that members might choose not to be members, but be regular attenders or try other churches. There are exceptions to this, where severe work constraints or family conditions make being involved in a Life Group extremely difficult. Marriage and family must always come before anything else.

When someone becomes a member, they are assigned to a Life Group based on their evening preference, location and other information. They may try their initial assigned Life Group and other Life Groups before finding the one that suits them best. At all times, a member should belong to (and be involved in) a Life Group. The key is to ensure that someone in leadership is keeping track of individual members; touching base with them; letting them know that there are people in the church that care about them and can minister to them. Some may not be willing to fulfill their commitment as a member by being involved in a Life Group, but most will appreciate that at least an effort is being made to keep in touch with them.

Sometimes, members drift away from FOM and they are dropped from membership; however, they may keep in contact with their ex-Life Group Leader, and in some cases, they come back to FOM as visitors, regular attenders, or even, members. It is because they developed a relationship of some kind, however slight, which was probably frustrating for the Life Group Leader who was trying to establish a deeper relationship.

The benefits of being involved in a Life Group are tremendous for personal and church growth; some of which follow:

Life Groups are an ideal environment to identify and raise potential leaders before they are responsible for an entire ministry and/or a larger group of people

Life Groups become a second family for some, particularly in this world where families are not around due to geography and divorce

Life Groups provide people with much needed and wanted accountability. Today's world allows people to be unaccountable for what they do - only in extremes are they held accountable

Life Groups enable discussions of issues with compassionate and understanding church family friends that do not necessarily need to involve the Senior Pastor or other less familiar members. Ideally, Life Groups should be a relaxed hangout where people feel comfortable around each other and can discuss issues. The Life Group Leader must handle this properly and he/she can pass on consensus opinions and ideas raised to the Life Groups Coordinator who will respond and/or pass them on to the Senior Pastor

Life Groups allow regular face-to-face contact, which is being increasingly lessened in today's world with increased use of the telephone, e-mail, video-conferencing, telecommuting, and less time available for people to socialize

Life Groups help channel prayer that is specific, focused and heartfelt, and encourages prayer lists that will in turn enable God to guide Life Group members in what they should do in specific situations. This is part of people developing their relationship with God

Life Groups enable members to counsel each other on matters that:

Þ Might otherwise not be raised (and therefore not dealt with),

Þ Do not need to be dealt with by the Senior Pastor, or

Þ Do not need outside counseling

…there may still be a need for matters to be dealt with by the Senior Pastor or outside counseling, but it helps:

Þ Relieve the load placed on the Senior Pastor,

Þ Develop people as ministers to and for each other, and

Þ Allow all in the Life Group to grow.

Life Groups are the ideal time to have the Lord’s Supper on a regular basis, either before or after a Life Group evening. At least once a quarter is suggested – more if wanted. Life Group Leaders should be sensitive to new people in the Life Group, particularly if they are not used to the Lord’s Supper or such an intimate setting for the Lord’s Supper. Guidelines and Bible verses are in the 101-membership class booklet and are also available in a separate FOM document called “The Lord’s Supper” available at the church office

Life Groups are an extension of FOM’s focus on church health rather than numbers. A church in good health attracts and keeps people - numbers result from good health. In the US, typical Life Group involvement is around 25 - 30% of the church members. At FOM, involvement is around 60%, which is considered by most to be active and healthy, but not good enough for FOM, where 75 – 80% is a realistic target.

=> At FOM, being involved in a Life Group is considered an essential and expected part of membership

WHAT IS THE IDEAL LIFE GROUP SIZE?

Experience has shown that a group of 8 – 10 participants on any given Life Group evening is ideal. This is slightly smaller than the group that Jesus led, but then He was exceptional to say the least! Larger numbers of participants discourage people from speaking and smaller numbers encourage people to speak. Too small a number makes newcomers feel uncomfortable. A group of 8 - 10 participants therefore seems optimal. There will always be those that will speak regardless of the number of people; however, the point is to encourage all to contribute, and not just the same vocal few.

One of the guiding rules is that once a Life Group reaches regular participation of 10 – 12, it is time to start planning on splitting it up – a difficult, but necessary step for reproduction and growth.

OBJECTIVES OF A LIFE GROUP LEADER

The objectives of a Life Group Leader are to reproduce himself/herself and his/her Life Group. A measure of success is how many times a Life Group can reproduce itself. The key is to raise up leaders from within the Life Group to assume the roles and responsibilities expected of a Life Group Leader. The first step is to encourage a potential leader to lead a Life Group session, then to become an Assistant Leader, and then to eventually become a Life Group Leader. This allows a potential leader to grow progressively. Each stage will always be a challenge of some kind – pushing the comfort envelope.

ROLE OF A LIFE GROUP LEADER

The Life Group Leader is the lay pastor for his/her Life Group members and can lead, counsel, delegate, coordinate, baptize, and hold the Lord’s Supper. His/her main role, however, is to help Life Group members develop their relationship with God. As a result, Life Group members minister to each other and others outside the Life Group, and hold each other accountable.

Similar to the focus of FOM on the unsaved and unchurched, the Life Group Leader’s focus should be on the unlifegrouped. Those who are regularly participating in a Life Group usually have fewer issues to deal with and are well plugged-in to FOM than those who are not. To be very clear on this most important aspect, the Life Group Leader’s focus should be on members who do not participate in a Life Group, even though when people become members, they made a commitment to do so.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF A LIFE GROUP LEADER

Keep track of all members of his/her Life Group, that is:

Know what’s going on in the lives of his Life Group members and keep the Senior Pastor and Life Group Coordinator informed on what’s going on in their lives through the monthly report and other communications

Discern the situation with each Life Group member, that is, back off at times and at other times, keep in close contact

Make sure Life Group members know they are part of a Life Group and that each Life Group member knows who the other Life Group members are: that is, share the Life Group members list and contact information, and introduce people at every chance

Focus on the unlifegrouped as they tend to not be involved in other ministries – a lot less effort is required to keep track of involved Life Group members who form the core of the church

Immediately contact new members assigned to the Life Group, which should be within a few days after new members have gone through FOM University 101 class, agreed to the New Members Covenant, and assigned to a Life Group by the Life Groups Senior Director. The Life Groups Senior Director, based on new members’ evening preference, age group, location, and other factors, distributes 101 sheets to the assigned Life Group Leader. At this time, new members are the Life Group Leader’s #1 priority. The key is to quickly establish a relationship, let them know who their Life Group Leader is, and get them involved in a Life Group as quickly as possible, before they get used to not being involved. Since end-2002, FOM uses a new member tracking form provided to any new member’s Life Group Leader to record his/her first contact with the new member and follow up information. New member tracking forms should be filled out as soon as possible and passed back to the Life Groups Senior Director. New member tracking is a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and is contained in the separate document “Life Groups Procedures”.

Provide a monthly report to their Life Groups Director and the Life Groups Senior Director, who will copy the Senior Pastor and the Life Groups Coordinator. The report should include the status of ALL members in their Life Group, including participation, issues, prayer requests, action items for the Life Group Leader and perhaps the Senior Pastor, and other comments that could help us all minister better to that family or allow us to place them in a better position to minister to others. The monthly report is NOT an option and is due by midnight on the last day of the month.

Ensure that Life Group members' address and contact information, including e-mail addresses, is kept updated through Karen Rajendran at the office (817) 563-5425 or karenrajendran@winninglife.org. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT as it is the only way we, collectively, know who is in who’s Life Group. It is vital that we do not let members “slip through the cracks”. Karen issues lists of members' information for each Life Group every month around mid-month and places them in each Life Group Leader’s inbox. These lists should be used by the Life Group Leader as THE reference list for Life Group members in the Monthly Report and are included with the Monthly Reports provided to the Senior Pastor and the Life Groups Coordinator. There should be a one-to-one correlation between the people included in the Monthly Report and those on the respective list

Participate in the Life Groups Monthly Meeting held once a month with the Life Group Coordinator, Senior Director, Directors and other Life Group Leaders – currently, held on the first Sunday of the month after the last Worship Service

Make sure Life Group is held even if they are not around; this means organizing and delegating tasks to others that the Life Group Leader would normally do. This is a great opportunity to encourage others to step up and grow

Tasks within each Life Group should be delegated as much as possible according to the Caring Hand of Life Groups, as follows:

o Child-care - babysitter coordination

o Prayer Requests – by e-mail if possible, by mail if not

o Refreshments for Life Group occasions, including fellowships

o Communication – calling, e-mail, flyers, newsletter, etc.

o Fellowships

Note: People will probably NOT volunteer for the above responsibilities, so pray about it and ask God to lead you to specific individuals, and approach them directly.

TOP TEN TIPS ON RUNNING A LIFE GROUP MEETING

1. Prepare by spending time in prayer, asking God to reveal any special insights for you to pass on to, and encourage discussion with your Life Group members – remembering tip #5 below

2. Start and finish on time. Estimate beforehand how long certain questions and answers are likely to take

3. Do not allow any specific person or persons to dominate the discussion – interrupt if you have to

4. Stick to the material unless:

a. The questions seem repetitive or too simple, but obtain the group’s permission to move on, as there might be someone who has come up with something more on the particular questions

b. The discussion is encouraging someone to open up on a particular issue – remembering tip #3 above

c. The Holy Spirit is leading most to want to talk about a particular issue

5. Lead - don’t teach! Only talk about your views if you feel it adds to the discussion or no one else wants to contribute. You have the benefit of preparing in more detail, so you may have more insight on some of the material

6. Do not allow the discussion to drift off or spend too much time on particular areas unless you feel the Holy Spirit prompting – tip #4c above

7. Do not put anyone, in particular new or quiet people, on the spot by directly asking them to contribute – this is true also of regular group members, as new or quiet people may be concerned that it’s a matter of time before you ask them directly and won’t come back. Let people volunteer their contributions

8. Encourage those that appear to want to say something, to do so, while remembering tip #7 – this is a balance. Usually, the problem addressed in tip #3 is the cause of people holding back

9. Ask if anyone would like to open or close in prayer – not the same person. If no one volunteers, open or close yourself. It is probably more important that the leader open in prayer than close, as this breaks the ice and sets the meeting on the right track

10. Do not include a long list of prayer requests in the closing prayer – only include those that are urgent or require special mention. Use e-mail or mail to distribute prayer requests to all Life Group members shortly after the meeting along with a short, upbeat summary of the meeting. Confine distribution of prayer requests to the Life Group members unless someone specifically wants a broader distribution. Worship Service information sheets are a good means for members to broaden distribution to the Senior Pastor, staff and prayer ministry team; the Life Group Leader normally gets copied on prayer requests from his/her Life Group members, unless they’re marked confidential

LIFE GROUPS ORGANIZATION

Life Groups are organized to maximize communication effectiveness to the benefit of the members and the ministry. As the names and contact information associated with the organization chart constantly change, please see the latest separate FOM document “Life Groups Organization” distributed regularly by the Life Groups Coordinator and available in the FOM office. Currently, Life Groups are primarily organized by day of the week, e.g., Wednesday Life Groups under a Wednesdays Life Group Director.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE LIFE GROUPS COORDINATOR, SENIOR DIRECTOR AND DIRECTORS

Coordinator

1. Keep the Senior Pastor informed on issues related to Life Groups

2. Responsible for all matters relating to Life Groups

3. Hold monthly meetings with all Life Group Leaders, currently on the first Sunday of the month, following the last Worship Service

4. Choose the Life Groups material in consultation with the Senior Pastor

5. Interact with the Directors, in particular, the Senior Director

6. Ensure that the Life Group Leaders are available for greeting and ushering on Saturday evening and Sunday morning worship services – a schedule is maintained in the separate Life Groups Organization document

7. Ensure that the FOM Web site (www.winninglife.org) Life Groups’ information is kept updated

Senior Director

1. Gather 101 sheets immediately after the 101 membership class is held and assign people to Life Groups based on information provided in the 101 sheets and other background information. Touch base with the Coordinator on difficult-to-place people

2. Place 101 sheets in the respective Life Group Leaders’ inboxes along with new member tracking forms, and provide Karen Rajendran with filled out new member tracking forms

3. Provide Karen Rajendran copies of 101 sheets with the assigned Life Group Leaders noted on the sheets for her to update the FOM database

4. Ensure that the FOM database is kept updated and that updated sheets are regularly mailed to each Life Group Leader

5. Gather Life Group Monthly Reports from all Life Group Leaders.

6. Ensure that Life Group maps, session notes and material are available and updated

Directors

1. Interact with their respective Life Group Leaders and keep track of how well they are doing

2. Ensure that Life Group Leaders provide monthly reports due by the end of each month and that the reports comply with standards as defined by the Life Group Coordinator and the Senior Pastor

3. Ensure that Life Group Leaders attend the Monthly Meeting and other important events

4. Coordinate Life Groups contributions for special events like Easter Sunday, the Health Fair and the Fall Festival

5. Coordinate child-care between Life Groups

6. Coordinate special fellowship events between Life Groups

WHO QUALIFIES AS A LIFE GROUP LEADER?

Life Group Leaders must:

· First, be a servant - Jesus always described himself as a servant of God and Man

· Be a leader of some sort

· Show