LifeGroups Ideas

LifeGroups Ideas

Below is an inexhaustive list of ideas we have compiled to help your LifeGroup become a more well-rounded 5-purpose LifeGroup.

WORSHIP
-- Listen together to worship song on CD or watch worship DVD
-- Sing together with CD
-- Sing together with instrument
-- Spend time as group in prayers of adoration
-- Read a Psalm together
-- Meet outside in nature
-- Share what God is doing… “I praise you God for….”
-- Take up offering in LifeGroup
-- Service project
-- Attend a worship concert together
-- Himprov – Bent Tree Bible Fellowship
-- Do some worship art together – painting, journaling, poetry
-- Visit other worship services together
-- Have children lead a time of worship at LifeGroup
-- Have a worship time with families at LifeGroup
-- Have group share stories of how they worship personally
-- Watch a movie together and discuss the spiritual implications of it (see www.wingclips.com for ideas of movies to see)
-- Listen to a song that applies to the study
-- Pray Scripture
-- Talk about how each person worships daily
-- Celebrate church traditions (i.e. Advent, Lent, Passover, etc.)
-- Celebrate Communion as a LifeGroup
-- Meet once at Dallas Arboretum and enjoy creation
-- Memorize Scripture and recite to each other
-- Have someone dramatically act out a section of Scripture
-- View art and discuss the spiritual implications of it
-- Talk about ideas for family worship at home

REACH
-- Get involved together with someone who is hurting
-- Get personal with each other and follow up
-- Ask a friend how you can pray for them
-- Lunch session with co-workers
-- Start a group at work
-- Meet people through your children – playgroups, kids at LifeGroup
-- Multiply your group to make more room for others
-- Host a LifeGroup blog and invite friends
--Focus on neighborhood – invite over for BBQ
--Take natural neighborhood opportunities to meet neighbors (Halloween, National Night Out)
-- Host a book club
-- Respond to crisis as a group
-- Show "Jesus Film" or “Most” (available at church) and friends
-- Serve together in Legacy’s English Language Program for internationals (see June Zheng)
-- McGruff house
-- Get involved in your home owners association
-- Pray for friends
-- Prayer walk the neighborhoods of each of your group members
-- Movie night – buy a bunch of dollar movie tickets for a certain movie at a certain time and pass them out to people in everyone’s neighborhood
-- Serve parents while kids are trick or treating
-- Go to baseball game together and invite friends
-- Superbowl Party and invite friends
-- Be a real person
-- Come as a group to church events and invite others
-- Invite neighbors to participate in community events and causes with your group
-- Join a sports team together
-- Invite someone you’ve never met to sit by you in church
-- Meet at McDonald’s or Chick-fil-A – meet parents while your kids play
-- Servant Evangelism (acts of kindness in community)
-- If a group member has a hurting or sick friend, have your group sign a card (write prayers) and mail
-- Block party in neighborhood of one of your LifeGroup members
-- Get to know extended families of group members - invite them to parties
-- Set up open chair at every meeting and talk about it
-- Keep a running list of friends, neighbors, co-workers the group is trying to reach
-- Paryt at home, park, pool specifically for inviting new friends
-- Have group meeting at Starbucks or somewhere you can intentionally engage people

CONNECT
-- Use ice breakers
-- Eat together
-- Game: "Life Stories"
-- Serve together in a crisis
-- Go camping as a group
-- Building project
-- Have each person share their personal story
-- Care enough to ask
-- Create an intimate atmosphere
-- Leaders need to model transparency – be the first to share
-- Be vulnerable
-- Be comforting
-- Be accepting
-- Use Yahoo Groups or have a group blog
--Rotate houses and leadership to get to know each other better
-- Parties and games
-- Double-date nights
-- Gender-based gatherings
-- Lunches together
-- Starbucks
-- Bowling, Main Event, etc
-- Go as a group to an event
-- Help each other with home projects
-- Book club
-- Take prayer requests, pray and then email requests to group
-- Stay in touch through email/phone through the week
-- Accountability partners
-- Celebrate special moments in the lives of your group’s families
-- Weekend retreats together
-- Movie nights
-- Share secrets
-- Be available
-- Shopping Day


GROW
Things to get group out of comfort zone:
-- Service project
-- Share and hold accountable
-- Talk about money
-- Share your family budget with LifeGroup and hold accountable
-- Meet new people even if you are shy
-- Go camping
-- Go rappelling
-- Go mountain climbing
-- Go canoeing
-- Road trip together
-- Serve others in uncomfortable places
-- Pray for each other
-- Time of worship
-- Involve in social need – shelter, AIDS home, etc
-- Pray as a group for group members to grow together
-- Create healthy conflict – e.g. hold a debate
-- Mission Trip together
-- Get non-talker to talk
   1) Stop the talkers
   2) Get to know them… then call on them
   3) Give responsibility
   4) Split into smaller groups

-- Memorize Scripture
-- Give assignments to share next week
-- Serve homeless as a group

Things to share when you are together:
-- Family issues
-- Testimony
-- Personal prayer requests and praises
-- Things you are learning
-- Your dreams
-- Your fears
-- Have a “be transparent night”
-- Who are you?
-- How does your Christian experience applied to work?
-- Share missed opportunities
-- Share how you nailed it or blew it this week
-- Share struggles
-- Share what God’s been telling you
-- Share how each person has personal time with God
-- Share stories of risking something and succeeding
-- Share a time when you saw God move supernaturally
-- Dig into God’s word
-- Share stories where you stepped out in faith
-- Share an experience of growing through trials
-- Talk about how people are doing with Life Mission Questions
-- Share stories of hearing God’s voice and obeying
-- Share stories of God’s movement among us
-- Gender-based accountability or Bible study groups

SERVE
-- Serve at a hospital together
-- Provide air conditioners/fans to needy
-- Coats – gather them and go together to give away
-- Serve a LifeGroup member with a need (meals, yard work, etc)
-- Do fund raiser together for a cause or for the church
-- Serve another LifeGroup with a crisis (meals, etc)
-- Serve a friend or family member of one of your group members
-- Watch the kids of another LifeGroup while they have a party
-- Poll your group for one-day home projects among the group that need to be done and then schedule a time through the year for the group to do each project
-- Serve people in nursing home
-- Shoes and clothes for anyone in need
-- Serve by hosting a LifeGroup
-- Clean a park
-- Serve at a community organization like CITY House, Habitat for Humanity, etc.
-- Help someone move
-- Lend an extra car
-- Serve together in a ministry of the church on Sunday morning or another time of the week
-- Pray for people
-- Serve internationals among us – serve in Legacy’s English Language Program
-- Go on mission trip together
-- As a group, sponsor someone to go on a mission trip
-- Serve in the LegacyKids Ministries together
-- Sponsor Compassion International child together as a group
-- Serve in soup kitchen