A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
L.I.F.E. Groups
Monthly rhythms for small groups
THE MISSION
To help those who are far from God find RealLife in Christ.
Our RL Groups are built upon four different pillars. We call these the ABCDs:
A
Accountability
People can depend on their RL Group to be consistent. Whether we host, lead, or attend —people can count on us.
B
Belonging
We value people. Anyone who attends a RL Group will experience an environment where they are wanted, welcomed, and seen. We don’t do criticism; we opt for compassion.
C
Connection
We have fun. RL Groups are not intended to be boring. We commit to having fun outside our regular meeting times and make it a point to share real life together.
D
Discipleship
We set an example for what it looks like to experience Real Life in Christ. To do this, we commit to our L.I.F.E. model on a monthly basis.
THE L.I.F.E. MODEL
Every month, RL Groups will experience Real Life in Christ
in four distinct ways.
Using the acronym L.I.F.E., our model is built around the four basic activities of being with Jesus together:
RL GROUPS LOW DOWN
What do you mean by monthly rhythm?
To experience real life in Christ, we need to engage God and others the way that Jesus did.
When we observe Jesus’ life, we see that He makes each of these four things a priority in his life.
Why four rhythms?
At RealLife, we have two kinds of Groups: Short or long term.
Whether you lead a short-term or a long-term Group, we desire both to embrace the 4-rhythms of RL. This creates unity and continuity across our Groups system.
For the far-off and the found
A RL Group is more than a consistent connection for friendship and community (which is fantastic); they are also intentional times for personal and spiritual growth with Jesus.
How to structure rhythms within a group:
Learn
Many groups participate in sermon discussion, Bible studies, or find group resources on the Anthology app.
Invest
We believe in sharing meals and building relationships with people in any stage of their faith journey.
Follow
Apply what you are learning and practice spiritual disciplines
Engage
We encourage our Groups to serve each other and their community in a variety of ways.
RHYTHM 1
Learn
One of the fastest and most reliable ways to experience real life in Christ is to study what the Bible says about who God is. That is why this is a consistent monthly rhythm for all our Groups. The easiest way to do this is to use our Sermon Discussion Guides on the app under the RESOURCES tab. The sermon discussion guides are built from the most recent Sunday sermon but do not require one to attend RealLife to learn about God and the Bible. We also have an entire library of sermon discussion guides available, so you can pick any topic that interests your Group and use them.
Long Term Groups
Use the sermon discussion guide on the RL app to facilitate your learning time.
Short Term Groups
1) Discuss the sermon on the app, or 2) discuss the chapter, video, or teaching content that you have chosen to go through.
NOTE: Using our rhythm roadmap may take short-term groups a little longer to go through a study or book. We want to ensure you experience all four rhythms in your meeting times, so selecting shorter curriculums can make space for other ways of connecting and growing.
RHYTHM 2
Invest
One of the most profound and simple ways to experience real life in Christ is to share a meal together. Jesus ate with all kinds of people; most often, he ate with those others wouldn’t associate with. We want to be the kind of church that shares meals with believers and unbelievers. The INVEST rhythm does not have to be limited to your Group participants; this can also be the one time a month you invite new people to the area or the church to join you for a meal. (Note: You are welcome to share a meal every week, just not less than once a month.)
Long Term Groups
Eat a meal together. We recommend sharing the responsibilities of hosting, cooking, and cleaning. The goal is to be around a table together without any other agenda or purpose.
Short Term Groups
Eat a meal together. You can still discuss the book or material you are going through, but the conversation should be more: what are you learning? instead of adding new material.
RHYTHM 3
Follow
We must practice following in Jesus’ footsteps to experience real life in Christ. We have two ways to do this: 1) You can utilize our sermon discussion guides and find the “follow” practices at the end. 2) If you are familiar with spiritual practices, use Practicing the Way’s Prayer Guide or develop your plan using THIS LIST of options. Either of these options, when done regularly, enable new and old believers to grow in their faith.
Long Term Groups
The “follow” rhythm is not intended to be the full focus of your night but rather a portion of your time. Feel free to open or close your gathering with a meal or sermon discussion, just be sure to practice a spirutual discipline as well.
Short Term Groups
We recommend using our Follow Practices Section (download here), which lists practices and easy ways to start them. Depending on the length of your study or resource, choose one or two practices to engage in for the duration of your time together.
RHYTHM 4
Engage
Every month we encourage our Groups to serve their community. This can look a lot of different ways. If you need ideas, here are a few:
- Under the EVENTS tab, our RealImpact team will post current or ongoing service opportunities on our app (app store: reallifencw).
- Nominate a new person every month from within your Group and serve them. This can look like weeding their garden, babysitting their kids, fixing a broken faucet, paying an outstanding bill, attending a special event, cleaning out their garage, or simply asking them how they would want to spend that time.
- You can choose a cause in the community and ask them if you can serve regularly.
Long Term Groups
You will engage with your immediate or larger community for your fourth rhythm. Ideally, you would meet at the location of your “engage” activity, but it isn’t required. You can easily engage with your Group and prep for a service opportunity without going somewhere different. The goal is to ensure that our Groups are not solely focused on our well-being but on the well-being of others in this valley too.
Short Term Groups
For your fourth rhythm, have each attendee draw each other’s names at the beginning of the gathering. The name drawn will be each person’s “engage” focus for that week. Serving that person can look a multitude of ways. You can give them a gift, write them an encouraging letter, donate time to something they care about, babysit their kids, etc. The big idea is to give and receive without any strings attached.
NOTE: Short-term Groups can continue to cover their chosen material in the 4th week of their rhythms, however, make sure your “engage” week includes a tangible serve activity too.