If you are anything to do with LifeGroups you will inevitably hear a lot of talk about In, Out, and Up. Together they create an easy to remember check and balance on what LifeGroups are and what they do.
Put simply you can think of In, Out and Up as the three legs of a tripod or stool. If any one leg is shorter than the others then it will become unstable and eventually topple over. So In, Out and Up need to be kept in balance with one another. That doesn't mean that they need to be in balance perfectly every week, but over the course of a few weeks all the LifeGroup members need to work together to ensure In, Out and Up are in harmony with each other.
So what are they?
In
In is any activity which builds up the members of the group individually or together. So an example might be caring for one another through difficult time. That's about someone receiving into their lives love and support when they're in trouble. LifeGroups need to do that. Another example will be the group studying the Bible together - receiving into their lives God's truth and purpose for their lives and their community. In is anything which builds one another up in love, in discipleship, in life.
Out
Out is any activity which reaches out to new people in our community or transforms the community with the love of Jesus. Reaching out doesn't necessarily involve door knocking in smart suits to tell people about Jesus! It could do, but we would expect this to be a rare thing. Out more particularly would be simply being good neighbours! Mowing someone's lawn for them, washing their car, hemming some curtains, doing some shopping or accompanying someone to the hospital if they have no one to go with. Out is about showing people that Jesus loves them and treating them with the love that Jesus would love them with. To love someone completely DOES also involve sharing our faith with them too, inviting them along to church, or to LifeGroup, or some other event where they might make a connection with God or His people.
Up
Up is any activity which reaches UP to God. This could be prayer, worship, Bible study again, praying for healing, prophesying, healing, singing - Anything which loves God and shows God that we love Him. There are lots of ways to reach up to God, you don't just have to sit in a small group and sing songs. Lighting a candle, keeping silent, walking in the garden...all these can be UP activities if they are used to focus our hearts on a God who loves us.
Over time we will be developing resources on this website for all our LifeGroups to access further articles and resources to help them keep In, Out and Up fresh and in balance with each other.
Our LifeGroups are deliberately and purposefully OPEN! This means they always have room and always have desire for new people to join them. If you would like more information about joining a LifeGroup please get in touch with us today.
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.