Life Groups

People best connect to God and the Church through relationships; and relationships are developed, grown, and fostered not in large groups, but in small ones. Think of Jesus’ ministry. He did all these big spectacular things, talked to crowds, performed miracles, but think of how Jesus modeled disciple-making. What did he do?

He developed disciples in community. He called 12 disciples from the area in which he lived and said, “Follow me. Do what I do the way I do it.”

That was Jesus’ strategy for changing the world. It was the strategy that the Apostle Paul took up as did the early church. Create community.

Pass the faith one small group at a time.
Change the world one small group at a time.
Fulfill Jesus’ mission one small group at a time.

Think small to develop big faith.

Life Groups are intentional small groups created for the purpose of journeying with other followers of Jesus and growing both as individual disciples and as the Church together. They are groups where we practice ‘being the Church’ together. In them, we:

Have fun. Share food and fellowship. Ask faith questions that come up in our everyday lives. Pray together. Check-in on each other. Practice love, forgiveness, compassion, help, etc.

These groups are our opportunities to give of ourselves, our time and energy, to be in community and to grow together in our faith.

At PCN, we see Life Groups not simply as a program but as a part of how we can intentionally BE the Church today. It is our hope that the whole congregation be a part of this, to conscientiously choose to foster our relationships with the church community. We will be working to have options for everyone, including Zoom for those who can’t meet in person.

In today’s world, even within the church, there are so many options we have for groups to join. We all find our places of belonging in different groups, but how many of those groups are focused intentionally on being the Church, growing in our faith, caring for one another, and connecting to God, each other, and the community? Probably not very many.

Life Groups are not Bible studies. They are not curriculum-based. Leaders don’t control the content of gatherings; rather each group shapes its own identity together. They decide what they do when they gather. Where they gather. How often they will gather. If they’ll have five-course meals or backyard BBQs. Life Groups are shaped by you.

The things all groups will have in common, and what leaders will be trained to help facilitate, will include prayer, disseminating information about opportunities and ways to connect at PCN, how we can practice service to others, how we share the gospel with our neighbors and some platform for sharing and reflecting on our lives together.