Life Group Leadership

Life Group Relaunch: As of September 2021, Life Church has re-launched our life groups!

What is a cell church? What is a Life Group? Etc.

In order to lead a life group a Life Church, you need to understand what life group is and what it means that we are a cell church. You can read up on that on the following web page:

About Our Life Groups

Leading a Life Group

Leading a life group is a privilege and a wonderful way to serve the Lord, your congregation, and people in general.

Depending on the type of work that you do,  at some point in your life you may be asked to lead a small group – at work, at a volunteer activity, in your neighborhood, or in some other ministry context.  Unfortunately, this often gets very little attention in your education and work—caring for and bringing out the best in people in a group setting.  Life Church asks that all new life group leaders participate in our annual training, but that training is also open to anyone who wants to grow and increase their skillset.  It is also a chance to explore whether being a life group leader is something you want to try. All life group leaders are supervised by a member of the Leadership Team, so you can be confident that we will provide you with the support you need to lead effectively and biblically. There is an additional benefit to small group training:  it’s another thing you can put in your resumé!

Our life group leadership training is still under development but, if you’re interested in leading a group, speak to someone from our staff. They will be able to assess your readiness and guide you through our training process.

Here are some resources for current or aspiring life group leaders:

Volunteer to Help Your Life Group Leader

The resources above will should be helpful to prospective life group leaders, but one of the best ways that you can prepare for life group leadership is by volunteering to help lead a portion of your life group meetings. Checkout the “Life Group Meetings” section below for more information about how to do this!

The Work of a Shepherd

Scriptures that warn about shepherds:

Lesson 1: Psalm 23

Life group leaders are actually serving as shepherds under the shepherding ministry of the pastoral leadership (“pastor” is just another word for “shepherd”) and all under the guidance of our Great Shepherd – Jesus (John 10:1-21)! One way to approach your work of shepherding the members of your life group through the lens of Psalm 23. In this well-known psalm, David describes various ways that the Lord takes care of him:

Psalm 23 (NIV)

A psalm of David.

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Let’s break this down verse by verse:

  A psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

 

This lesson and the ones that follow include questions to consider for each of your life group members. When you ask your members these questions, be sure to take notes so that you can incorporate them into your shepherding and praying for them on an ongoing basis.

Checkout the following:

Topics to explore in discussion:

Additional resources to check out:

Training assignment (do this yourself, and use it to help train someone else):

Habits

Lesson 2: The Lord is my shepherd

Before we explore the various ways that the Lord takes care of our life group members, let’s consider their overall experience of him as their shepherd.

Checkout the following:

Topics to explore in discussion:

The following 3 questions can help you discover the dreams and aspirations of your life group members. Knowing their dreams and aspirations can help you shepherd and pray for them more effectively:

      • What goals would you be setting for yourself if you knew you could not fail?
      • What dreams would you have on the drawing board if you had unlimited financial resources?
      • What plans would you be making if you had thirty years to carry them out?

Additional resources to check out:

Training assignment (do this yourself, and use it to help train someone else):

Habits

Lesson 3: Green pastures

A shepherd provides his/her sheep with nutritious food to eat. The Lord provides us with what we need to sustain us, but it’s up to us to feed on what he provides.

Checkout the following:

Topics to explore in discussion:

Additional resources to check out:

Training assignment (do this yourself, and use it to help train someone else):

Habits

Lesson 4: Quiet waters

Sheep don’t like moving water. A shepherd ensures that his/her sheep have access to quiet water that they will be willing to drink and subsequently to rest.

Checkout the following:

Topics to explore in discussion:

Additional resources to check out:

Training assignment (do this yourself, and use it to help train someone else):

Habits

Lesson 5: Refreshing the  Soul, Paths of Righteousness; His Name’s Sake

Sheep can lose their way.  A shepherd retrieves lost sheep and leads them back along the proper path as the Lord’s representative. 

Checkout the following:

Topics to explore in discussion:

Additional resources to check out:

Training assignment (do this yourself, and use it to help train someone else):

Habits

Lesson 6: Through the Darkest Valley

Sheep can lose their way.  A shepherd retrieves lost sheep and leads them back along the proper path as the Lord’s representative. 

Checkout the following:

Topics to explore in discussion:

Additional resources to check out:

Training assignment (do this yourself, and use it to help train someone else):

Habits

Lesson 7: Rod and Staff

Sheep can get into trouble. A shepherd is equipped to rescue and guide an unfortunate sheep and to ward off predators.

Checkout the following:

Topics to explore in discussion:

Additional resources to check out:

Training assignment (do this yourself, and use it to help train someone else):

Habits

Lesson 8: Preparing a table for me; anointing my head with oil, my cup overflows,

David recognized that God is a generous host. We want to make sure that the people we shepherd are experiencing this important aspect of God’s nature.

Checkout the following:

Topics to explore in discussion:

Additional resources to check out:

Training assignment (do this yourself, and use it to help train someone else):

Habits

Lesson 9: Pursued by goodness and love

A shepherd looks out for what might be following the flock. David recognized that God caused goodness and mercy to pursue him. We need to be aware of what is pursuing the people we shepherd.

Checkout the following:

Topics to explore in discussion:

Additional resources to check out:

Training assignment (do this yourself, and use it to help train someone else):

Habits

Lesson 10: Permanent home in the Lord’s house

David recognized that God is a generous host. We want to make sure that the people we shepherd are experiencing this important aspect of God’s nature.

Checkout the following:

Topics to explore in discussion:

Additional resources to check out:

Training assignment (do this yourself, and use it to help train someone else):

Habits

Putting Psalm 23 To Work

As you pastor your life group members, take some time to think about each member and prayerfully reflect on each of these benefits that the Lord is trying to accomplish in his/her life. How can you cooperate with what God is doing in each of these areas?

Psalm 23 Resources

Please check out the following resources:

Teaching

Life group leaders must be prepared to teach.

Teaching means more than just encouraging.

Life Group Meetings

You can read more about life group meetings on our Life Group Meetings page.

Life Group Goals

We have goals for both life group members and life group leaders. You can read more about them on our Life Group Goals page.

Revisions

05/31/2012 – Created.

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