BelongSample

Belong Together with Vision and Purpose

In a recent message, Life.Church senior pastor Craig Groeschel said, “LifeGroups are not just something we do. They are the purest form of the New Testament Church. They are who we are.”

Pastor Craig was referring to the early Church described in Acts. The Acts 2 Church is basically the group of friends we all wish we had. They got together in homes. They ate together and prayed together. If someone needed help, everyone pitched in. They studied Scripture, and they served others together. And through all this, God added to the Church daily. 

What made these groups work? About 90 years earlier, Jesus looked their grandfathers and great-grandmothers in the eye and told them to go and make disciples. We call this moment The Great Commission.

The word disciple comes from a Greek word that basically means student. Jesus, the ultimate teacher, told His disciples to go and be teachers—to make more students. So what did they do? They started by reproducing the classroom where Jesus taught them. They started up more friend groups like the one that changed their lives. Groups that prayed together, ate together, worshiped together, loved each other, and served together. Like their initial group, these new groups placed Jesus, the ultimate teacher, at the center.

These Acts 2 groups were on a mission. The Great Commission. They had clear vision and purpose, and they grew. Your group will need vision and purpose, and you’ll need to talk about it together. 

The good news is you’re already in the right kind of classroom, following the ultimate teacher.

As you begin Episode 2 and read today’s Scriptures, answer this question. How will the people and relationships in and around our group be different because we meet?