Life Groups

One of the things we talk about at EBC is the importance of being in what we call Life Groups. Sometimes I get asked what a Life Group is – is it a prayer triplet, an accountability partnership, a Bible study cohort, a regular gathering of friends…?

My answer is emphatically… YES!

The caveat is, a Life Group can be any of these things, but is unlikely to be all of them – so we might well benefit from being in more than one Life Group!

My working definition of a Life Group is this –

A small circle of friends growing together in trust, fellowship and faith.

Philippa and I picked those words quite carefully and there are various themes to ponder within them:

• Circles, not rows. This is not about didactic teaching – it’s about learning together, exchanging ideas, thoughts, feelings, struggles, wisdom and support.
• Friends are not randomly selected people thrown together by someone else (like a church leader!). They self-select, they test the waters with people a bit before they share – and they keep doing that as things progress organically.
• The relationships steadily develop – the ties become closer and stronger. Roots are put down, the soil of relationship is nurtured by regular contact and so we see flourishing and maturation (in trust, fellowship and faith).
• Faith of course implies that God is in the group! “Wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them” said Jesus (Matthew 18:20).

For my part, I am blessed to be part of several gatherings, none of which have ever been formally badged as a Life Group, but all of which answer to the definition above. I meet with the staff team for prayer (and tea breaks!) around a shared table several times a week. I meet with the Elders once a month (amongst the ‘spiritual direction of the church’ agenda we also share a devotion, talk about life’s ups and downs and pray for one another, and we sometimes share Communion. The same is true of the Leadership Team, to some extent.
 

I meet with the Bracknell Christian Network (BCN) every Wednesday on Zoom and meet them for breakfast at EBC every couple of months. We pray for each other, for the people of Bracknell, and share where we have seen God at work. From within BCN, numerous closer friendships have formed – and I meet with two or three of them individually for coffee or lunch or a walk every so often. Again, we’re doing life and praying for each other.

At college, we have a prayer group that meets at lunchtime every Tuesday – we’ll often go off to one or other of the incredible chapels within the different Oxford colleges.

More deeply still, I meet with my great friends Rob Lea and Ben Davies almost every Friday, via Zoom, and we discuss all sorts of things about our churches, about Christianity and society, about college life and about the deeper personal stuff – even more so when we’re face-to-face. We might talk about a passage in the Bible, and we always pray together and bless one another. Finally, I meet once every two months for lunch with my mentor, Jonathan Edwards – again we share life’s ups and downs and pray really powerfully for one another.

That’s a long way of saying I am in lots of Life Groups! And if you’re not already, I hope you soon will be. Do come and speak with me or Philippa if you’re seeking such a group, and if you’re in one already and have room to take one more people, please come and talk to us so we can help facilitate if needs be.

Life’s tough out there and we need each other’s love and prayers. A great way to start is to get to know people on Sundays, at coffee mornings, at Bacon Butty Club, Soup & Sandwich or any of our other social gatherings. (By the way, that’s a big reason for doing them!). As you get to know people, be brave and think about meeting up to talk and pray together (or study the Bible together etc.). You don’t need anyone’s permission – just do it!

If you want some resources, most weeks we have a Sunday talk blog with the Bible passages we used for the talk, and some really searching questions to consider. Why not read the passages together, and ask each other the questions? It’s  great way to go a bit deeper with God and each other.

In closing, a final exhortation – get yourself if a Life Group or two! Or three, or four… If we wan to grow together, we have to spend time together – with God, and with other people.

Go for it!