LIFE GROUPS
The Purpose of Life Groups
Life Groups exist to cultivate authentic community and shared life in Christ. Together, we pursue growth and maturity through the exploration of God’s Word, prayer, and shared experiences like fellowship and the breaking of bread.
The Acts 2:42 Model
When considering what a healthy and thriving Life Group should look like, we turn to the early church in Acts 2:42 as our template. In this single verse, we see four essential ingredients for meaningful church life: devotion to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer.
These four commitments shaped the first believers—and they can shape us as well. We’ll explore each one in the order they were listed and consider what it means for our Life Groups today.
THE APOSTLES TEACHING
The study of sound teaching is a necessary part of our growth as Christians. A Life Group is a great place for that growth to happen. This may take the form of a Bible study, a book study, a podcast, discussing the sermons, or another trusted resource that guides intentional time in and around God’s Word or life as a follower of Jesus.
In doing so, we follow the pattern of Acts 2:42, devoting ourselves to the apostles’ teaching as a foundation for healthy church life.
FELLOWSHIP
Fellowship is intentional time spent together—sharing conversation and getting to know one another at a deeper level. As time goes on, this naturally grows into more meaningful sharing about our lives and the building of trust within the group.
Our hope is that this leads to genuine relationships—doing life together, caring for one another, and walking alongside each other through life’s many joys and challenges. In those moments, our Life Group becomes one of our first points of contact and a primary place of celebration, encouragement, prayer, comfort, and support.
In this way, we reflect Acts 2:42, where the early believers were devoted not only to sound teaching, but also to true fellowship with one another.
THE BREAKING OF BREAD
So much of Jesus’ ministry took place around a table and over a meal that it makes sense for us to embrace that same setting in our Life Groups. Sharing food creates space for connection, conversation, and community.
While this can certainly overlap with fellowship, the breaking of bread is also its own meaningful expression of life together. It doesn’t have to be a full sit-down dinner—it can be something simple, even just snacks. We all know that some of the best conversations happen when we gather around food.
In doing this, we follow the pattern of Acts 2:42, where believers devoted themselves not only to teaching and fellowship, but also to breaking bread together.
PRAYING
Prayer should be an obvious and central practice whenever we gather. As relationships deepen, praying with and for one another should flow naturally. The more invested we become in each other’s lives, the more our prayers will reflect genuine care, concern, and faith.
Prayer in the Life Group setting also helps us look outward, bringing before the Lord our family members, friends, neighbors, and co-workers who are not yet believers. In doing so, we grow in awareness of who the Lord has placing on our hearts and how, individually or as a group, He might use us to invite them into His Kingdom.
As the group grows, prayer is not meant to be carried only by the leaders. Everyone should be encouraged to participate, lifting one another up and learning to pray together.
In this way, we follow the pattern of Acts 2:42, where the early church was devoted to prayer as a vital expression of life together.