What will happen to Home Churches?

We are grateful for the Home Church program and the way it has served SonCoast. Life Groups are designed to build on and serve us beyond the design of Home Churches. As we move forward at SonCoast, we want to provide an environment that reflects our mission statement:

A Community of Believers Equipping Families
and Individuals for Biblical Living

As we move forward, we want to emphasize the importance of community and caring for one another. We also want to provide an organized manner for people to gain the skills for biblical living.

What if I am already in a Home Church?

We would like to see our existing Home Churches become part of our Life Group ministry. We do encourage current Home Church leaders and participants to consider becoming Life Group leaders and helping start additional Life Groups. Our goal is to have Life Groups strategically located across the Boca Raton and Delray Beach area.

Will my Life Group have to split up at the end of every year?

No! Life Groups will launch each year in September and meet through May. September will be dedicated to leader training which will focus on the identified curriculum for the year as well as equipping the leaders with the mentoring/coaching skills needed to develop the members of the group. We want Life Groups to be growing spiritually as well as numerically—with that in mind, groups may need to split from time to time. If your Group grows to the point that it’s time to multiply into two or more groups, the end of the year is a great time to do that.

The core values of Life Groups include evangelism and multiplication (2 Timothy 2:2). Our prayer is that God will bless every Life Group with the kind of growth that will make multiplication of the group a natural result.

How do you invite new people to your Life Group?

One way to invite new people is to “go fishing” before and after our Sunday morning service. Be available on Sunday morning to be a part of the First Impressions group and help people integrate into SonCoast’s community of belivers. There are always visitors who are unfamiliar with SonCoast. There are also people who’ve attended SonCoast before but who still aren’t plugged in. Life Group leaders and members can also use all-church activities to meet new people and invite them to their Group meetings.

Of course, your friends and coworkers all deserve an invitation as well. Think of your Life Group as the best party you attend all week—who wouldn’t you want to invite?

What will we do with our kids during Life Group meetings? How do Life Groups help the faith of my children to grow?

Groups will be designated as “With Children” or “Without Children.” Groups with children will be responsible for incorporating the children into the group. Each group with children attending will have the freedom to minister to the children in different ways. Some groups may allow the adults to take turns doing Bible study, worship and play time with the kids, separate from the adults. Other groups may have a designated person or a babysitter who always spends the group time with the children. Groups can keep the adults and children together for the whole meeting time, or children might worship and pray with the adults and then go to another room while the adults have Bible study and sharing time.

SonCoast believes in the importance of families and the importance of intergenerational influence in the lives of children. In those Life Groups with children, parents and other adults have the opportunity to model faith for children of all ages through worship, Bible study and faith conversation. Children have the chance to experience living faith and contribute to the community of believers. Additionally, the small size of Life Groups allows children to take leadership roles: starting songs, contributing prayers, and joining in faith conversations with parents and other adults.

Can our Life Group study something other than the topics suggested?

Yes! We believe there is great value in the congregation growing together by applying the same spiritual lessons. We plan to provide good study and discussion guides that will help our community of believers grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. But we also encourage your Life Group to branch out periodically and study other topics for four to six weeks out of the year.

We recognize that there may be special needs that arise in your group that need to be addressed. Consider the life stage needs of your group and choose appropriate topics: for example, marriage enrichment or financial management. The Family Life Ministry will make curricula available for Life Group use. Please keep the Life Group ministry coordinators informed about what you’re studying so that they can help with any leadership issues that come up.

I’m concerned about worship in my Life Group. How can we do it effectively?

Worship time can be a very special event for a Life Group. Praise and worship in a small group can be a wonderful opportunity for growth. We encourage all the Life Groups to devote some time to worship each meeting. Some Groups will worship in song; others will worship through prayers of praise or readings from the Psalms. Some groups may designate one person to plan and lead the worship time; other groups may want to open the time up for suggested songs. Together you will find a way to praise and worship that glorifies the Lord!

Will Life Groups be involved in ministry and service?

Ministry is one of the exciting elements of participation in Life Groups. By serving one another and your community, you will find that your Life Group is demonstrating Christ’s love for the world around you. As groups minister and serve, they will find new meaning to Jesus’ answer as to what is the commandment of most importance, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30-31 NIV)