By Jasmyn Stamper

The start of a new year is always a time for introspection and reflection. Everyone is making resolutions, tweeting out: “New Year, New Me” and thinking about where they want to be by the end of the year. As you and your LifeGroup think about your 2020 vision, here are some steps for figuring it out, some questions for reflections, and some pro-tips.

Practical Steps to Figure Out Your Group Vision:

1. Pray together. Take some time to ask God to give you guidance, direction, and clarity.
2. Talk about it with one another. Maybe someone’s personal vision will inform the group vision. Maybe someone has a really great idea or goal for the group. You won’t know unless you have a conversation.
3. Make a decision. You can’t stay in the planning stage forever, and before you get busy again, you and your LifeGroup should definitely have a clear and concrete vision.

Questions to Help You Discover Your 2020 LifeGroup Vision:

1. What was your vision last year? Look back and reflect on how LifeGroup went last year. Did you achieve everything you wanted to? What went well and what didn’t? Reflecting on your last year can definitely help inform the next one.
2. How did you feel last year? As a LifeGroup, how did you feel? Did you feel like you were open and honest? Were you mostly guarded? How do you want to feel as a group this year?
3. What did you accomplish last year? Is there anything you want to build on or do again that you accomplished last year together? Do you want to keep working with a local mission partner? Do you want to keep consistently serving together? Do you want to learn something new as a group again?
4. Do you have a LifeGroup bucket list? Pastor Chris Hodges challenged us to “Dream Again” and to make bucket lists. Share what’s on your individual bucket lists and support one another in those dreams, and even come up with a LifeGroup bucket list of things you want to do together. Are there any commonalities between lists? Is there something your LifeGroup hasn’t done together yet?
5. Do you want to change your group format? Maybe you want to spice things up and change how or where you meet. Maybe you all want to do Bible Plans or LifeGroup studies together. Or maybe you want to have a party every quarter instead of just at holidays. Whatever the case may be, check in and have a conversation about how everyone feels about your hangouts.
6. Are you looking to expand? Do you as a group want to invite more people to join or do you feel like you want to close the group?
7. What’s your word for this year? Maybe have everyone share their one-word vision for the year. See if there’s a theme because that common thread may be your LifeGroup’s word for the year. It may inform your group’s vision and plan for 2020.
8. Where do you see the group at the end of the year? Complete this sentence: By the end of the year, I want this LifeGroup to ______. Maybe it’s add more people because you see a bigger group. Maybe it’s serving at a local mission partner because you see your LifeGroup as an opportunity to invest in your community. Maybe it’s going to the movies because you see the group hanging out even more.
9. How can you have even more fun? LifeGroup is already a lot of fun. But what would be the cherry on top? How can you plan to have some real, organic fun? Game nights every month? Icebreakers to start off LifeGroup? Streak competitions in the Bible App?
10. How can you invite God into your LifeGroup and your lives even more? As a LifeGroup, what is a next step each of you can take? Whether it’s serving, giving, sharing your faith, reading your Bible, or praying more, figure out ways people can partner up to hold each other accountable for taking some next steps and continuing to grow in their relationship with God.

Pro-Tips:

1. There’s a Bible Plan for Everyone. So do one, two, or tons with your LifeGroup. Doing a Bible Plan together is a great way to engage with one another during the week.
2. Find a local missions partner. Your LifeGroup can make a difference in your community, and you can serve together at a local mission.
3. Engage with more Life.Church spiritual growth tools. Life.Church has a lot of podcasts you can engage with: LC Parents, Craig Groeschel’s Leadership Podcast, the Life.Church podcast. Not to mention there are other great online resources on YouTube, the website, at your campus, and in the YouVersion and LC App. There’s also articles that continue the conversation about Pastor Craig’s messages at finds.life.church! You can engage with the content throughout the week or even during your LifeGroup meeting.
4. Serve at your campus together. There’s nothing like serving together! This can be a great next step to take together as a group, and the church definitely needs each and every one of your gifts and talents. Even if you all feel called to different teams and ministries, you can still check in with one another and share what service you’re serving at.
5. Use the YouVersion Bible App to help your group dynamic. There are so many cool ways you can engage with the Bible App, and there are even more ways you can use it to leverage your LifeGroup.
6. Explore our LifeGroup resources. You can do a LifeGroup study together on a shared, felt need, and you can grow closer to God and each other as you go through the studies and videos.
7. Prioritize what’s important. If someone’s child has a game schedule that interferes with group, maybe your LifeGroup should be out at the baseball field that week. If someone is starting to feel burned out, remind them what a relief LifeGroup can be. Life can get busy, but make sure you make time for what’s really important.
8. Let go of stress, anxiety, and worry. If you or anyone in your group is struggling, take the time to find the help you need or to encourage them to find help. Whether that’s help from your LifeGroup, the church, a doctor, and/or God, get the help you need.
9. Stop comparing. Comparison is a trick of the enemy. Not every LifeGroup is the same. Do what works for you and what works for your group.
10. Don’t be afraid to try something new. Spice things up every once in a while. Don’t let things get stagnant in LifeGroup. The New Year is a great excuse to shake things up a bit.
11. Figure out your next steps as a LifeGroup. As you do life together, how can you grow together?
12. Remember you don’t have to spend a lot of money to have a good time. Maybe someone in your group has a limited budget. Maybe you want to spend less money at LifeGroup. You can still have fun on a limited budget. Fun fact: memories, laughter, and love are free. As long as whatever you do has a lot of those things, you’re set.
13. Don’t forget why you started your LifeGroup. You wanted to walk with people through the ups and downs of life. You wanted some lifelong friends. If there’s a rough week, remember why you started the group in the first place.
14. Be an inspirational leader. Be consistent. Be dedicated. Be empowering. And be present.
15. Have fun. That’s it. Just have fun.