What Is the Heart of Our Lifegroups?

Question: As I am leading Lifegroup, what is the heart of Lifegroup? What is the target I need to keep in mind?

The Heart of Lifegroup

A few years ago, I had the privilege of sitting in a small group with Mark Zuckerberg. Literally, we had an hour and a half together where he was asking faith leaders, "What makes faith work in America? What connects people together?"

I found myself saying these four things. I said, "Everybody in life is asking four questions: Who is God? Who am I? What is my purpose?" But the fourth one is key: Who's my tribe, or who's my people, or who am I going to do it with?

Mark seemed to resonate with that. He's never quoted me, never called back, but he seemed to resonate with that, because that's the nature of God. God knows that we need to know who He is. We need to know what our purpose is, but He knows that it's not going to happen apart from community.

Jesus and Community

In the wisdom of God, we see the life of Jesus living out community among His people. And before He ascended to heaven, He said, "The Holy Spirit is going to come on you to be my witness, but I need you guys to wait in community for me to come." So 120 gathered in community. They waited on the Lord, the power of God showed up, and they preached the gospel. It says 3,000 people came to Jesus in a day, and then what happened would change the world. They began to meet as the church, the people of God, house to house.

The Biblical Foundation: Acts 2:42-47

I want to read to you what God has called us all to be a part of in Acts 2:42 through 47. These new believers were meeting house to house, and here's what it said:

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe, and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common. They began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day, continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Why Lifegroups Matter

Many people have asked so many times, "Why do we keep doing lifegroups? Why is lifegroups central to Antioch Community Church?" That's because it is in the Word of God, and the Word of God always works.

When God falls on a people and they begin to meet house to house and have those experiences of encountering God together, of living in relational unity and love and care for one another by giving and eating meals and loving each other and investing in each other's lives, then they find themselves literally being the mission of God inside their lifegroup, but also having something to invite people into, which is a relationship with Jesus and the people of God, which lasts a lifetime.

The Reality of Lifegroup

Lifegroup at times can be really messy. Many times you come really tired and say, "Is it really worth it?" But when you worship together, when you carry each other's burdens together, when you get involved in each other's lives, and you use Acts 2:42 through 47 as your plumb line, as your adjustment—"Hey, how are we doing? What can we do better? What does lifegroup look like when it looks like Acts 2:42 through 47, even one little part of it?"—you find the Spirit of God comes alive again in God's intended desire for us to live and walk and do God's will through the context of community.

I don't know how many times people have given radically to one another and changed somebody's life, meeting house to house. I can't count—every week, literally, people pray for one another in their crisis and in their needs. Laura and I have had the privilege of being a part of seeing people healed physically, seeing marriages healed, seeing lives restored, just because we showed up together at Lifegroup and we were there at the moment that it was needed.

I often say this: You never know when you need Lifegroup until you need it. We have to be in community, in proximity to God and His people, meeting house to house, so that when our need arises, we're there and we have the ability to access the people of God for the glory of God.

God's Design for Community

There's so many things I could say about lifegroup, but let me just end by saying this: when we live as God intended in the context of community, everything that God intended can happen in and through our lives. So we're never gonna give up. We're never gonna give up on gathering house to house. We're never gonna give up on looking how to do it better. We're never gonna give up on loving each other deeply and sacrificing by showing up week by week to Lifegroup. And we're never going to give up training and developing lifegroup leaders and men and women to live out the purposes of God in a biblical way so that the glory of God can be seen.

A Story of Impact

One last story: We had a lifegroup that was meeting on campus, and as they were meeting, at the end of every lifegroup, they would pray for people who don't know Jesus. So they're praying for this particular girl named Lane.

Well, what they didn't know was that the walls were kind of thin between the apartments, and Lane was on the other side, sitting on her bed, deeply depressed, wondering if she should take her own life. And she hears this group of believers praying for her—to encounter God, to be healed, to be saved. And she literally jumps off the bed, comes out of her house, knocks on the door, walks in and said, "I'm Lane."

And they were like, "Yes!"

She said, "I just heard you guys praying for me. I need Jesus."

She would not only get saved, but would be discipled and eventually become one of our leaders. I've seen that happen in small ways and great ways, over and over and over again—not only the people of God having their needs met, but then by praying for and engaging in a lost and broken world, having the opportunity to invite people into something that can change their lives.

The Heart of It All

As Mark Zuckerberg and a group of us sat there together, I realized, no matter what we're all after, we do know how God has made us, and He's made us for Himself, and He's made us for relationship. Through the Word of God in Acts 2:42 through 47—what we call lifegroup—He's created the vehicle for us to see His glory and His goodness manifest week by week as we pursue Him.