GRC’s Discipleship Focus
GRC exists to glorify God and make him known as we join God in bringing life-changing transformation to individuals, families, and communities wherever we live and serve. God has designed that to happen through discipleship, which was the central task Jesus gave to his church in the “Great Commission” (Matt. 28:18-20).
Discipleship is not a program. It’s not limited to a particular ministry. It’s a way of life for believers who are seeking to follow Jesus. Every Christian is a disciple of Jesus, and we seek to “make disciples” as we invest in one another’s lives through our relationships and the various ministries of the church. Thus, all of our ministries are part of the Discipleship Pathway we’ve developed that helps people take the next steps in their journey of becoming mature and equipped followers of Jesus. One of the most strategic ministries for making disciples is our Life Groups.
Life Groups Are Central to Our Efforts to Make Disciples
Life Groups are groups of 4-5 people led by a trained leader which focus on personal spiritual transformation, deep biblical community, living a missional lifestyle, and equipping disciples to do the same in the lives of others. It’s a ministry that seeks to make disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples…
Life Groups are unique from other kinds of groups in that they’re typically more:
- Intensive—weekly meetings with homework and expectations for activity outside of group time
- Intimate—a small number of same gender participants creates a context for more personal sharing
- Accountable—participants share how they’re repenting, trusting in the gospel, and seeking to change
- Missional—while all ministries encourage missional living, LGs expect it as central to their purpose
The “engine” that drives these groups is not legalistic rule-keeping or personal performance, but the Gospel itself. We continually remind ourselves and each other of God’s grace to us in Christ, and we grow in applying the Gospel to more and more areas of our hearts, so that “Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Cor. 5:14-15).
The Growth and Availability of Life Groups
We would love for everyone at GRC to find their way into a Life Group at some point, but our capacity is limited by available leadership. Most years, we’re able to launch new leaders who have already spent 2-3 years in a Life Group, who then receive extensive training over the summer and participate in our monthly leadership meeting.
If you’re interested in learning more, please join us at a special Life Group Info Session this Sunday, June 14th at 10:00 AM in the Sanctuary. If you’re unable to attend, but would like to learn more about all aspects of the Discipleship Pathway here at GRC, reach out to me at peter@graceredeemer.com. When I return from my shortened sabbatical in early July, I’ll reach out to you as soon as possible!
Join us in praying for our Life Group leaders, and especially for those who have been newly-trained! Pray that God would continue to raise up equipped disciple-makers for our church, through Life Groups and other ministries of GRC.
Peter Wang serves as the Senior Pastor at GRC.