Life Groups

Life Group Distinctives

1. Life groups are autonomous. Each group makes its own decisions about meeting times (the group is free to meet on a day other than Sunday), place of the meeting, use of curriculum, a group faicilitator (note the Life Group Directives below), whether food is served, arrangement of child care, etc. (a nursery can be provided on Sunday evenings.
2. In order to be a member of the group, each person will be asked to sign a "commitment to the group" which states a person's desire to make the attendance at group meetings a priority and a willingness to keep group discussions confidential.
3. All groups begin with six to eight people with a commitment to reach out to people beyond the initial circle to those who are not active in church or those who are not connected with others in spiritual matters. Groups should try to limit the toal number to twelve.
4. Ideally, no group should grow larger than twelve members. Groups larger than twelve generally lose strong small group dynamics. The goal is for the groups to build relationships, share conversations, and grow spiritually.
5. All groups form with an understanding that at the end of eighteen months, the group will divide and seek to build new groups of up to twelve members each. Once again, each new group should be in-reach and outreach oriented, looking inside and outside the church for members.

Life Group Directives

1. The group facilitator must be a professing Christian with sound doctrine and direct ties to Trinity Baptist Church, such as faithful membership to the church or Sunday School. A copy of the curriculum should be shared with the small group staff liaison.
2. Each life group member will will be askied to sign the following statement of commitment: I promise to make attendance of group meetings a top priority and will not miss the meetings for petty reasons. I promise to keep matters discussed at group meetings confidential as this will help build trust among group members. While life group discussions will cover a wide range of topics, I commit to do my part in keeping spiritual development as the main reason for group gatherings.
3. Life groups should seek to do their outreach in the first year the group is formed, preferably during the first five months. Groups may add members anytime during the first year with the understanding that twelve is the ideal group number. Larger numbers begin to break down small group dynamics. The later new people are added to the group, the harder it will be for them to bond to the entire group. Therefore, no group members should be added during the second year the group meets.
4. At the end of 18 months, groups will split, forming new groups. Names of group facilitators for the new, divided groups should be passed on to the church staff liaison for life groups. Help will be given if desired for adding new group members. However, it is more likely that groups will be strong enough to add their own members. Each group must still be committed to in-reach and outreach and maintain a commitment to Trinity's life group distinctives.
5. Group facilitators should be willing to gather with church staff periodically for training, sharing of ideas, and discussion of the small group process that's currently in place in order to improve any areas of weakness in the current model.