LIFE Groups

We believe real life change and growth happens most naturally in the context of small groups. LIFE Groups really are at the heart of New Hope and are an ideal way for you to plug in to our church and engage with the Gospel. We are convinced that God will use us to advance His kingdom as we unwaveringly pursue becoming a network of missional communities. So, if you are looking for a place to be known, celebrated, and challenged to become all you were created to be, then we suggest that you connect with a LIFE Group today!

Please contact us (newhope@newhopeks.org) if you would like to get involved.

Why LIFE Groups?

New Hope’s vision is to become an authentic community who passionately follows Jesus Christ and prepares people to impact the world. We believe that much of this vision becomes a reality as the church meets in homes out in the community. We call these home groups LIFE Groups. LIFE stands for:

Learning biblical truth
Intercession (prayer)
Fellowship
Extending LIFE to others

LIFE Groups are truly “more than a meeting.” In order to pursue these four functions, LIFE Groups engage in a variety of activities as a community and out in the community. Most of these activities happen in homes throughout the Manhattan area.

How are LIFE Groups different than Bible studies or care groups?

The Dead Sea is a helpful illustration on this point. The Dead Sea is “dead and smelly” because it has lots of water pumping into it, but has no meaningful outlet. Thus, its “life” evaporates in the heat and no living thing can survive in its toxic waters for the long haul.

We believe that the classic Bible study or care group model runs the risk of becoming toxic as well. We definitely value Bible study and caring for one another. However, if there is no meaningful “outlet” or common mission beyond the group, then we believe that the group will eventually become toxic. At that point, more Bible study and more caring simply add to the group’s toxicity. In other words, we want to avoid the “holy huddle” syndrome that plagues much of American Christianity. As a result, LIFE Groups seek to intentionally engage the non-believing world all around them.

Why focus so much on LIFE Group planting?

The primary way that we seek to avoid the “holy huddle”/“Dead Sea” syndrome is by moving toward a LIFE Group planting movement. Every LIFE Group is expected to move towards planting a new LIFE Group at the proper time (note: this usually takes a couple of years). For this to become a reality, the group’s leaders must inject the vision for multiplication into the very DNA of their group. We believe that progress towards LIFE Group multiplication is typically the best measure of whether or not a LIFE Group is healthy. Multiplication will not occur unless authentic community is created, people are being reached with the Gospel, disciples are being made, and new leaders are being equipped. We also believe in team leadership because it helps prevent “personality cults” and leader burnout (not to mention that it is the model shown in the New Testament). So, with this in mind, LIFE Groups provide an ideal arena for developing leaders to learn to lead, aiding in establishing leadership for eventual new group plants.