LIFELINE GROUPS!
Lifeline Groups!
It’s an exciting time at GBF. The Lord has seen fit to expand our church family over the last several months and He has blessed us with additional space to accommodate our growing family for Sunday morning worship services. Our Sunday morning Community Groups, and Wednesday night ministries continue to equip and reach people to MAKE DISCIPLES, which is the mission of our church.
Also, beyond the walls of our church, the biggest and most effective avenue we have toward making disciples are our Lifeline groups. A Lifeline group is a small group of people, meeting in a home on a regular basis, for the purpose of authentic community and spiritual growth.
We have several Lifeline groups currently meeting. Five groups meet at homes in Gunter, one meets in Van Alstyne, and one in Howe. And this coming Sunday, as announced yesterday, our 8th Lifeline group will begin meeting, a second one in Howe, for a total of 8 active Lifeline groups!
This is very exciting at many levels as Lifeline groups are both Biblical and practical toward reaching the goal of making disciples.
Biblically speaking, there are 25 + “one another’s” to be lived out by Christians in Scripture, beginning with Jesus’ command to:
“…love one another” (John 13:34) and expanding throughout our New Testament. While many “one another’s” of Scripture can be accomplished in big group settings, a smaller, more intimate setting like a Lifeline group is great place to foster and ensure we are serving and being served, at a more personal level. Also, in Acts 2:46 we see that the early church made an intentional practice of spending time together “in their homes”. If the first Christians held valued this, we can surely make good use of it today!
Practically speaking, there’s something very unique, warm, and disarming about meeting in someone’s home. We are more likely to laugh, more likely to share, and more likely to shed a tear with someone in the relaxed setting of a home. Plus, when we share the name of Jesus in a home we take a step toward expanding Christ into all of life. As Christians we have a weird tendency to categorize our life into Sunday morning at the church, our life at home, and our work or school life. Lifeline groups work to break that bad habit and begin to see Christ for who is…our life (
One more, on the practical side of things, Lifeline groups allow us to stay small and CONNECTED as we continue to grow numerically. Lifeline groups display our value for people and discipleship over numerical growth at all cost. Our mission is to MAKE DISCIPLES not merely gather large quantities of people at given times to stroke egos, ease insecurities, and make us feel like we are a part of something “cool”. We weren’t commissioned to look or feel cool; we were commissioned to MAKE DISCIPLES (Matthew 28:19). Discipleship requires real, life one life, knowing and being known, living out “one another’s”, authentic community, leading to spiritual growth.
Being in a Lifeline group is an investment in the life of other Christians. Participating in a Lifeline group is a platform for us to be known as disciples. Jesus said that we are to be identified as HIS DISCIPLES by our LOVE FOR….drum roll please, ONE ANOTHER (John 13:35).
Do you feel like something is missing in your spiritual life? Feel like there is storehouse of blessing and opportunity to serve that you need to tap into? It could be that you need to join a Lifeline group!
If you are interested in joining a Lifeline group please ! Groups meet at various times, at different frequencies of meeting, and at different places. You are sure to find a group that is a fit for you to serve and be served. Here are some names of people who are in some way involved in Lifeline leadership. If you have been a guest in our church, you likely know one of these folks; ask about their Lifeline group and how YOU can get involved!
Jeff and Amy Crelia
Rob and Michelle Cook
Roy and Casey Layman
Theron and Janna Whitley
Jason Carney
Jarod and Lara Martin
Kris and Gane Roberts
Stewart and Kris Freeney
Byron and Shelly Baird
Pat and Sharon Autry
Brian and Marcy Ross
Tom and Jane Mrozinski
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GBF Mission - Make Disciples
Our Vision - We envision a committed body of believers deeply CONNECTED to Christ and to one another, GROWING into a dynamic, mature relationship with Him, and SERVING God and our communities with all that has been entrusted to us.
Grace Bible Fellowship - CONNECT, GROW, SERVE
