“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” Psalm 133:1closePsalm 133:1
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
133:1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity! (ESV)
The church is not just a building that we go to on Sunday mornings. It is a group of people, the body of Christ. That goes far beyond the walls of any paticular building and extends into the relationships we have with other people. This is just one of many reasons why Life Groups are important to us at River of Life. They have shown to really bring our congregation together. They’ve proved to make River of Life a community where people know and care for one another and we desire for all of our community to be a part of that.
This coming Sunday October 30th, Life Groups at River of Life will be starting up again! If you are new to River of Life, or have yet to be involved in a Life Group we greatly encourage you to give one a try. Life groups are small groups of people that get together to grow and support one another. They are regularly scheduled gatherings that focus on the bible and how God’s Word fits into every day life.
At River of Life we emphasize and encourage three major aspects of living. We believe that as a christian it is important to connect to God, commit to community, and work towards changing our world. Life Groups are a great way to work on all three. Reading and striving to understand scripture is a great way to connect to God, regularly meeting with the same body of people is committing to community, and supporting members of our community through life’s challenges is a great way to begin changing the world. Each life group takes on a community service project as we feel a sense of responsibility for our town and our neighbors.
“After getting married and moving away from the church I had grown up in I was really missing my church family and all the friends I had at my previous church. When [my husband] Jay and I began attending River of Life church we got involved with Life Groups and began hosting one in our home. At first I thought it would be just a Bible study, but it ended up being a lot more. I found a church family again. My Life Group allowed me to grow in Christ side by side with other Christ followers and grow into a family with them as well. It really has been a great experience.” -Aimee Graciani, ROL member
Christians of any age and with any amount of experience find themselves in challenging situations. Fellowship with other people who strive to live and understand a Godly life helps keep us strong through perspective and support. We are all just human but can get through the trials of this life with each other. Anthony Foxworth, our lead pastor explains “God has created us for community and the best way that we can grow in our faith is to be in community with other people who are seeking to be changed by Jesus. Life Groups are key to being held accountable in our lives and [in our] faith (which all of us need whether we admit it or not), having a sense of belonging to others (we are not in this alone) and that we are cared for and are able to care for others when they are in need. All of us have a next step we need to take, Life Groups is the place to find out what your next step may be!”
You may be asking yourself “How do I sign up?”. Well, there are a few ways. You can make a note of it on your connection card at church on Sunday and someone will contact you. You can click on “connect” on the River of Life home page which will lead you to another link for “Life Groups”. There is a sign up station and listing of current Life Groups in the church at the “Connection Point”. But also, if youre bored and in need of fellowship one night, please don’t hesitate to just show up at any of the groups. You are always welcome!
