Delegate roles & responsibilities ahead of time
Prep however necessary (ex. worship)
Pray together before Lifegroup
Take attendance
Debrief together afterwards
Provide an opportunity for reflection & feedback for those with delegated roles
Lifegroup Guide
With your team…
Lifegroup Guide
Week of February 16th
Leader Need-To-Know
REACH Sundays are happening all of February. We want to see everyone there, and bring your REACH Journals!
Please follow the Commit & Commission Portions of this LG Guide.
Groups doing something different are asked to pause their normal rhythm to engage the REACH discipleship themes for February. You are free to connect with God and one another however you prefer and adjust the order as needed.The REACH discussion this week is very open-ended, embrace the discipleship opportunity!
Continue to cultivate Lifegroup as a safe space for people to honestly process what God is doing in this season. While there is a clear invitation around giving, this is also a chance to listen for the Lord in other areas of surrender and growth. Feeling stretched is often part of discipleship. We can respond to God’s leadership without having all the answers, while still bringing our questions to Him together. If you or your group need support, reach out to your Region Leader.
Free Week is coming up soon! Free Week is coming up soon. Start thinking now about how you’ll plan for it.
Consider what your group's needs are, and meet them creatively!
Quick Guide
CONNECT
Icebreaker Question
Worship God through singing
COMMIT
REACH Discussion on Proverbs 3:1-6
COMMISSION
Pray for those in a unique season of needing to trust God.
“Include Us” Prayer
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Have a retreat (either a day or a weekend)
Go camping
Extended Core Group Time
Prayer walk your neighborhood
Attend a member's event, game, or other hobby
Challenge everyone to invite an unbelieving friend/family over for dinner with no plans but to eat and be yourselves.
Family get together at the park.
Jump To…
Connect
How we encounter God and One Another
Hospitality & Prep
Pray as a team 10–15 minutes before Lifegroup. Listen to the Spirit & follow His lead, especially on who to encourage corporately.
If your host is present or members arrive early, invite them to join!Ensure a welcoming environment.
Make sure snacks are set up for this week!
Connect with One Another through an Icebreaker Question
Gather together to share names and answer an Icebreaker question:
What is a book, movie, or show that has stayed with you long after experiencing it?
Share why we are here and transition to announcements
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In Lifegroup, we Connect with God and each other, Commit to being formed as disciples, and live Commissioned on mission.
You can then say, “This month, I think we are experiencing the Commit to being formed as disciples in a deeper way. Growing as disciples requires commitment because it is hard, and the REACH Initiative is certainly challenging us to wrestle with some hard questions. After we share some announcements and reach out to God in worship, we are going to have a conversation where we can share our questions and wrestle through them together so that we can grow as disciples together."
Share Announcements
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Speaking of REACH, we would love for everyone to show up on Sundays and bring their REACH Journal to write down what they are processing so that when we come together we can make the most of our time processing together.
You can also sign up for daily prayer prompts for this month as we also REACH in prayer together. Text REACH to the church number: 281.771.1333.
Corporate Fast happening this week. We encourage you to jump in on whatever level to seek God together. (Idea: break the fast together before the Worship & Advance Commitment Night.)
The Worship & Advance Commitment Night is on Thursday at 7pm at the Vineyard. We will worship and pray to break the fast. There will also be an opportunity to make your REACH commitment in advance of commitment Sunday on March 1st. Regardless, we want everyone there on March 1st.
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You can say this verbatim: "We want to grow not only in loving one another, but in becoming a people of love and service to those who cannot repay us. One of the clearest opportunities for this is serving in our Sunday Kids Ministry. If you are interested in a low-stakes team that will help create a safe, fun, and welcoming space for children to encounter God, please let us know and we will send you the form!"
Send this link for them to sign up in your GroupMe:
https://forms.gle/wYEd1eKqWwSVJxHR8Another opportunity would be to help out with our future location's lawn care. we have a lawn care team caring for the Mangum property’s grass, and we need more volunteers! Members of this team will sign up to go do lawn care at the property on a rotating basis. If you are interested, email operations@antioch.ch.
Connect with God through singing
Worship God through music and singing corporately. Share clear vision and help make it easy to engage.
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You can say, “Before we ever discuss how we are led to respond to God in trust, we have to begin with the fact that He is worthy.”
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Select songs with care.
Start with a strong, familiar song.
Prioritize familiar songs or give vision for new ones.
Choose songs that flow naturally together.
You can use our Songs We Sing Playlist to pick songs.
Prepare song sheets.
Check out THIS TEMPLATE.
Commit
How we respond inwardly together
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Pick one question per section; use supplements as needed.
Let the Spirit lead—don’t force depth.
Listen well, redirect, and pause to minister.
Plan group locations and regroup time.
Proverbs 3:1-6
This discussion is intentionally open-ended. Allow plenty of time and let the conversation go wherever it leads so long as it is working through the challenges of hearing God and responding with trusting obedience as disciples of Jesus. You can use the questions below to guide when needed.
Read the passage twice in two different translations, then ask 1-2 questions per section to guide your discussion.
Warm up:
Trust is always a risk until we experience God as trustworthy, but that usually comes after we take that reach. When was a time that God came through when you trusted Him?
Know it:
What most impacts you from this passage?
Additional Questions: What themes or words are repeated in this passage? What concepts are drawn to mind as you read it?
Group Dynamic Tip: It may be good to pause, invite the Holy Spirit again, and have everyone reread the passage silently and slowly. Then re-ask the question.
What are some promises present in this passage?
Additional Thought: We don't want to read these through a prosperity gospel lens, but we can read them through a discipleship lens. Through our trust in Him, God is forming us according to His greatest good for us.
Share it:
How are you needing to trust the Lord?
Group Dynamic Tip: People may feel pressured to share details related to REACH. They are welcome to share as vulnerably as they like, but invite any response while choosing to return to the key goal—we want people to respond in trust as disciples of Jesus.
Aware that many in our church will be making a REACH commitment concerning their finances, what are you trusting God for on their behalf?
Additional Question: Do you struggle to trust God for any of these?
What are you trusting God for in the next two years as we keep ministering together?
Conversation Caution: Depending on how the REACH Initiative goes, we will likely be remodeling the building in two years. This is a good point to remind one another that facilities facilitate vision. We believe the building will catapult our vision, but regardless, how are we trusting God in the midst of this journey altogether?
Additional Thought: Consider reaching the lost, setting the lonely in families, greater levels of freedom and reconciliation. Invite people to be specific and share the dreams they have for use as a church—the people of God.
What are you trusting God for BEYOND the next two years?
Live it:
How can we support one another on our unique journeys of trust so that we grow?
From this, transition into the Commission to pray for the things you have discussed.
Commission
How we respond outwardly
Transition to Ministry
Transition from conversation to ministry.
Ask the group, "Who is in a situation where their need to trust God is being really stretched?"
Pray for those who are based on the responses. If it is one or two people, pray for them as a group. If it is for a large portion of your group, break into smaller groups and pray for one another.
Alternatively, you can pray some of the prayer points from the fast using the website: antioch.ch/prayer.
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Have someone read Acts 1:8 and then open it up for someone to share an upcoming opportunity they may have to share Jesus
You can say: As believers, we are commissioned by God to be good witnesses in our contexts wherever the Lord leads us. We want to take time to pray for those of us who, in your contexts, think you'll have a clear chance to share and represent Jesus. Who thinks they have a situation like that?
Include Us Prayer
Close by having a member pray an "Include Us" Prayer, that the Lord would use and include you to be good witnesses and bear fruit that spring up from intimacy with God.
Debrief Together
Think Pastorally, not just Practically
Debrief Questions:
What are we thankful for from this meeting?
What was challenging? What should we learn from it?
Is there anything going on that we should follow up about?
Who can we help own Lifegroup more? How? (Connect with them, delegate a part of LG, encourage during LG, etc.)
Make sure to:
Take attendance, adding new members through the link or QR code.
Provide a moment for reflection and feedback for those who were delegated roles