Lifegroups

Outside of Sunday morning, Lifegroups (ABC’s small groups) are the primary place we hope to form connections at Anchor Bay Church.

This is how the early Church experienced community: Christians would gather together in groups, meeting in each other’s homes, sharing in the reality and community of Christ and his Kingdom together. They met in smaller groups to encourage each other, pray for each other, and support each other as they grew spiritually.

Our goal is for Lifegroups to meet once per week. It doesn't have to be a huge time commitment - just a way to regularly connect with one another.

The groups usually shoot for a 1.5 - 2 hour meeting.

The meeting location is up to your group! Often, the Lifegroup leader will host in their home or backyard. Some groups like to take turns hosting among the members! Some groups like to meet at the church! It is up to your group.

We also encourage groups to meet once or twice a quarter for a social get together (and include the kids if you have them!) This could be meeting up at a park on a weekend, or doing a game night!

We believe we were designed to experience committed, intimate relationships with one another.

However, we also acknowledge the difficulty that newer members - or those not in a place to make a long-term commitment - have with the idea of joining something with a long-term commitment. In response, we offer three LifeGroup “seasons” throughout the year so there are easy on and off ramps and encourage groups to take breaks during busier seasons like Advent and summer.

If possible, we encourage members to commit to one group all year to grow and deepen in relationships! And our hope is that relationships will be built to the point that groups do continue to meet long-term!

Great question! The default model for Lifegroups will focus on sermon-based studies that focus on the sermon from the previous Sunday’s service.

Each week, the preacher prepares a few “Going Deeper” questions that are available with our sermon audio.

Generally, meetings consist of a time for conversation and connection, a time of reflection and discussion based on the Going Deeper questions, and prayer. Some groups also eat dinner together.

Sometimes groups decide they’d like to take a break from that model and go through another curriculum together - such as parenting, financial generosity, anti-racism, etc. We have a great list of resources that groups can choose from! Click here to check out that list!

Also, service is a central value at our church. Jesus told his followers to feed the hungry and clothe the naked as a part of how we share who he is in the world. So each group is encouraged to choose one of our partner ministries to be regularly praying for and serving throughout the year - sometimes in lieu of their regular weekly gathering.

Most groups will vary between 8-15 people, depending on the make-up of the group. Our goal is for the groups to be large enough to build community while also being small enough to allow for a closeness between members to grow.

We love families! There are a few ways families with children can participate in Lifegroups.

For families who are interested in including their kids in Lifegroup, we are looking at forming family-friendly groups who would meet on weekends or earlier in the evenings, and would be able to have sermon-based bible studies as families! If you are interested in participating in or leading this type of group, please contact our Lifegroup Coordinator Team.

Adults may choose to join Lifegroups that meet in the evenings after the kids are in bed. The possibility of meeting virtually has opened up new opportunities for parents or guardians to meet together in groups without needing a sitter!

Group members may choose to form a rotation - for instance, a couple or a few members may each sign up to do a Lifegroup "Kids Crew" once a month while the rest of the adults meet together in another spot.

These are just a few options for how we try to include families in our Lifegroups!

OF COURSE! Everyone is welcome in a Lifegroup! Whether you call Anchor Bay your home church or you're new and exploring what it looks like to be in community with a church, you are welcome and we would love for you to be in a Lifegroup! If you’re looking to join a Lifegroup midway through the season, we’ll be keeping an eye on which groups have some extra room or possibly starting a new group if there are others also interested.