Doing Life Group Together

Liz and Teresa always look forward to Wednesday nights — Life Group night. No matter how hard their weeks have been, they knew for a fact that they will get a pick-me-up from enjoying their time connecting with the girls on Wednesday nights. 

This was Liz’ first time being a Saddleback HSM LG leader (High School Ministry Life Group leader). Over the course of their friendship, Liz had listened to Teresa — a Life Group leader veteran — share about all the girls she had the privilege of knowing and guiding. With light beaming in her eyes, Teresa’s joy and excitement about caring for the spiritual growth of these teen girls was evident. To Teresa, this was a unique privilege to come alongside the parents, and play a small part of helping these girls navigate important life decisions and changes while helping them stay focused on Jesus. Liz could see that it was something special — that Teresa truly cherished — and wondered what it would be like to be a part of a group.

Liz had no idea what she was in for when she finally decided to sign up and co-lead with Teresa. Liz didn’t think it was possible to add another weekly responsibility on her plate while caring for her family and holding down a part-time job. But as she took the step of faith, leading became one of the most memorable experiences for her and defined a purpose for a calling she never imagined. 

“I was just amazed by this group of girls,” Liz said. “They were all walking through different trials; but they would share their vulnerability, revealing their faith with our group through how they would draw upon that faith to make tough decisions in life. Even when one girl couldn’t see it for themselves, other members of the group would step in and call them out and encourage each other. It made quite an impact on my life.” 

Teresa, on the other hand, had been a LG leader for over 9 years. Over the course of leading 5 different groups and watching them graduating into college, Teresa has developed a genuine compassion and love for these girls as they grow into young women. She understands what they’re going through at this tender stage of life. 

“They’re all so mature yet so different,” Teresa said. “This last year, three new girls joined our group half way through the school year. You would think that it wouldn’t be easy for the new girls to fit in; but they opened up quickly and it was super refreshing to watch the group just embraced them and made them feel right at home.” 

It has been important to Teresa that they create a safe space for these high schoolers to come together and meet with one another wherever they were at physically, emotionally and spiritually each week. Several years back, Teresa decided to make the most of their Wednesday night precious time together by making meals for the girls before their gathering each week so the girls can have the extra time together.

“I loved sharing a meal together regularly; it wasn’t so programmed like part of the Bible study,” Teresa said. “It was almost like a weekly family Sunday night supper where you hang out with your loved ones and just freely share about your week. The world right now is such an uncertain place. People need something solid to stand on. Wednesday nights became a sweet time for the girls to have a foundation that was one constant thing and a stable for them. These teens are going through so much with all the life choices they have to face. The group was able to help each other through some of the tough decisions.”

When pondering about their fondest moments as a Life Group leader, one specific event stood out for Liz during her first LG leading experience —serve night. Their group signed up to serve breakfast at the Orange County Rescue Mission.

“I was so encouraged to see that as a group of teens, they were so very humble, very willing, very open to get up and meet at 5 AM on a Saturday morning to go serve,” Liz said. “They loved being in the kitchen, making eggs, serving the people their breakfasts. It was a whole different world than what many of them are used to; but they were so teachable and just ready to do what was asked of them.” 

 The group had such an awesome and meaningful time serving together that even now, as this past group had graduated and said their goodbyes, they kept their group text/chat ongoing, and had recently spoken about doing another serve night together as their reunion. 

 “When Teresa asked me to help lead, I was glad it was her because I was looking forward to co-leading with a good friend,” Liz said. “I didn’t really have the greatest high school experience myself, so I didn’t think I’d be good at it. But it turned out to be so much better than I thought it was going to be. I’m still amazed at how much I was able to connect with girls, and that they all felt like I had something to share that they wanted to hear!”   

“For me,” Teresa added, “it is extremely important to co-lead with another person. The experience was so much richer doing it with a friend in Christ.  It was also intimidating at first. But it’s like the verse in the Bible that says, for when I’m weak, then I am strong. So, if I knew what I was doing all the time, I wouldn’t need God to help me and learn about leaning on his power. There was one night, when we didn’t have a planned curriculum for a regular meeting, so Liz and I just decided to have a free sharing night. It turned out to be one of the best nights we’ve ever had. I became vulnerable myself to share my own experiences and how to point everything back to God’s Word. It’s not like they all of a sudden got it but I believe that seeds were planted to help them use God’s word in this tough culture with so many choices and challenges.”   

Liz continued, “I think we created a narrative that night — to help them always look at Scriptures in every trial and situation, so they have a different perspective than just doing things, say, politically correct; like what the public school culture may be teaching them… but rather, ‘what does God say’ about each situation.” 

They both express how much they’re going to miss Wednesday nights with this group of girls; but they also can’t wait to hear future stories and see the impact they’ve made resulting from weekly gatherings, as the girls venture on to college, adulthood, and beyond — and they get to know a new group of girls in the next group they lead together.

Learn more about Life Groups at saddleback.com/ssm