Life Groups gather together weekly to enable members and attendees of our church to CONNECT with one another and build relationships, REFLECT on the sermon for the week to explore and strategize how to live in response to God's Word for us, and PROTECT one another as we pray for and help others in our group to walk with Christ.

We want to provide a comfortable environment where faith-forging friendships are fostered, confidentiality is honored, and the church's mission to multiply God's glory on the earth can be met by multiplying disciples and groups without facility limitations. That's why we encourage groups to meet in member homes. Life Groups would ideally have one or more hosts who would open up their homes for group gatherings.

While some Life Group Leaders may be comfortable hosting in their own homes, others would find this added responsibility unnecessarily stressful. In other words, you don't have to open your home to lead a group - but you certainly can!

Sometimes groups will determine their in-home hosts before the trimester starts, while other times leaders may want to explore opportunities for group participants to own the hosting responsibilities by asking for volunteers to host on a rotating schedule. If a known and willing host is available, this will be a help for participants looking for a group nearby during the RE-GROUP sign-up period.

Here's the net result: each Life Group should feel free to work out its own schedule of meetings in a comfortable and appropriate environment, altering hosting responsibilities and perhaps even planning one monthly gathering in public (as in, "let's meet on the 3rd Friday of every month at the coffee shop for group time").

Our Life Groups gather weekly.

Life Groups should typically be no less than 8 and no more than 16 adults (plus kids) for mixed gender groups. For men's or women's groups, the group should typically be no less than 6 and no more than 12 adults.

Our Life Groups are set to run in 10-week trimesters. As the trimester winds down, you can choose to commit to another trimester with your current Life Group or seek out a different group that's a better fit for next trimester.

Life groups typically gather for 1.5 to 2 hours depending on the cadence and needs of the group.

Since there's no one-size-fits all dynamic with the participants in each of our groups, we leave the decisions about childcare to each group. For example, groups with small children may choose to have each participant find their own sitters, rotate childcare responsibilities each week among the group, or pitch in to hire a sitter at the place where the group meets.

Each Life Group should consist of no more than 16 participants (12 for men's or women's groups). Leaders may recruit their own group members to reach this group size. However, each group is encouraged to be open to new participants during the RE-GROUP sign-up period that will occur before each trimester begins so long as they have not yet reached a maximum capacity. And every group should have a heartbeat for sending existing members off to start new Life Groups as the need arises.

During the RE-GROUP period, individuals may sign up through our Find a Life Group page to be a part of a Life Group that has availability for new participants. We will also provide new Life Groups for new participants.

While some groups may naturally trend toward certain affinities (families with small children, singles, seniors, individuals living in a particular neighborhood, etc.), we do not regulate affinities as a church unless a group is specifically designed to be just for women or men. In other words, it is perfectly fine for a group to have adults from a variety of backgrounds, ages, and life stages.

For mixed gender groups, the weekly format should allow participants time to break into gender-specific groups for discussion and prayer.

Our Life Groups gather for 3, 10-week trimesters a year with breaks in-between for rest and re-grouping. Individuals can join a new group during the RE-GROUP sign-up period that happens before each trimester begins.

Though we will try to help individuals find community in a Life Group as the need arises, we do want to help running groups grow in their depth of relationships and trust. So, the ability to add new people to ongoing groups may vary based on group dynamics, available group leaders, and the number of individuals in need of a group. Still, with groups meeting for trimester periods, those waiting to get into a group should never be more than a few months away from the next RE-GROUP opportunity.

Our Life Groups are led by Life Group Leaders who have undergone assessment and training by church Life Group leadership. Our mixed gender groups have male and female Co-Leaders, and they break out into smaller, gender-specific groups for discussion and prayer. Our Women's Life Groups are led by women, and Men's Life Groups are led by men.

Each group has 1 or 2 Life Group Leaders who facilitate group discussion and keep the group engaged throughout the week using various communications mechanisms (SMS, email, phone).

Our Life Groups follow a sermon-based discussion model based on a guide provided by the church via the church website each week. Using this guide, groups will explore topics from the previous week's sermon and Scripture, digging deeper into the truths conveyed so that we might better align our lives to God's Word. For a sample of what the Life Group Gathering Guide looks like, see the latest guides posted above.

Our Life Groups intentionally seek to multiply by sending out new leaders and members to start new Life Groups. Leaders champion the responsibility to raise up and develop apprentices who will either be sent out to start a new Life Group for new people or take the lead of the existing group so that its leaders can go and do the same. Most groups should send out a new leader each year. Group participants also have the option to shift to a new group that may better align with their schedule, location, and other preferences between trimesters during the RE-GROUP sign-up period.

Your current Life Group leader should provide participants with an opportunity to re-commit to your current Life Group at the end of each trimester.

RE-GROUP is a scheduled time between Life Group trimesters when individuals are encouraged to find their group for the upcoming trimester.

Every Life Group Leader must first be a member of New Vision Fellowship, covenanting together to protect the unity of the church, share the responsibility of the church, serve the ministry of the church, and support the testimony of the church. These individuals must embody the mission, vision, and doctrine of the church. In other words, group leaders must be "all-in" before stepping into this role, which is designed to help individuals discover what it looks like to live "all-in" for Christ according to the church's design for discipleship based on the Word of God.

If you're a member of New Vision with a fire for leading others to live a meaningful life in Christ, then you should talk with a Life Group or ministry leader in the church to make yourself available for assessment as a potential future group leader. If you would like more information or have questions about leading a Life Group, please contact our Groups Director at groups@nvf.life.

Life Group Leaders pray for the members of their group, facilitate one meeting each week, record attendance, maintain their group's roster on our church website, and lead their groups to plan Deeper Gatherings (aimed at deeper fellowship, devotion, or service) each trimester, maintain communication with their group members and church Life Groups leadership, and look for opportunities to raise up and send out new leaders from their groups. We provide the discussion guides that make facilitation of weekly gatherings a synch.

Each person is different, but we estimate that a Life Group Leader's time commitment might be between 2 and 4 hours a week. We ask that Life Group Leaders to commit to their role for at least one trimester.