You’re going to need others to help guide you through the inevitable crises of life – when the tragedies of life hit. You don’t want to navigate these alone.
- Nobody should ever have to wait in the hospital while a loved one is in a life and death surgery.
- No woman should ever have to wait alone waiting for the lab report back on a problem pregnancy.
- Nobody should have to wait for news from a battlefield alone.
- Nobody should have to stand at the edge of an open grave alone.
- Nobody should have to wait at home alone for the coroner to come and publicly identify the body of a loved one who just died.
- Nobody should have to spend the first night alone after their husband has died or wife has died.
- Nobody should ever have to spend the first night alone when their wife has just walked out. Or their husband’s walked out.
The fact is, some of these things are going to happen to you. They’re inevitable. You’re going to have loved ones die. You’re going to go through tragedy. You’re going to get bad health news. You’re going to find out one day that you are dying. And this is why you need other people in your life. Only a fool would go through life totally unprepared for something that you know is inevitably going to happen. The time to build your safety net is now.
What is God’s safety net? It is a group of other believers. You don’t need a hundred, but you absolutely need a handful! Now the question begs: How do I build this safety net so that I don’t have to face the crises of life alone? I’m glad you asked! Let me give you THREE STEPS TO BUILDING MY SAFETY NET.
Step #1: Graduate from New Day University. Building your safety net/support team is a process, it’s not something you do overnight. And that process begins with graduating from New Day University. At NDU you’ll learn how to join a serving team and get in a growth group. You will meet people at NDU but since the classes are lecture based, they’re not the best environment to begin really connecting with people and getting to know each other. No – the real benefit of NDU is that it tells you HOW to begin connecting with others (i.e. by explaining how to join a serving team and how to join a growth group). Ok, step #2 in building your support team is:
Step #2: Join a Growth Group. Once you learn how to join a group, your next step in building your safety net is to actually go ahead and join a group. This is where you BEGIN meeting people and getting to know others at our church. This doesn’t really happen on Sundays and it doesn’t really happen at NDU. But it begins to happen in your Growth Group. Now as you participate in a handful of Growth Groups, you’ll begin learning who you really click with, who you have chemistry with, who you enjoy being around and spending time with, etc. Once you identify these people, it’s time for step three…
Step #3: Start a Life Group. When you find the people you look forward to seeing each week, when you find the people you want to do life with and grow spiritually with, it’s time to start a Life Group with them. Whereas Growth Groups are short-term, Life Groups are long-term. Whereas Growth Groups place a special emphasis on content (marriage curriculum, finance curriculum, addiction recovery curriculum, etc), Life Groups place a special emphasis on relationships. In other words, in a Life Group you’re there because of the relationships, not because of the content. And it’s here in a Life Group that you finally have the safety net and support group you need in life. So this is the place we ultimately want people to arrive at at New Day.
If you’ve never graduated from NDU, that’s your next step. There’s no need to sign up for NDU, just show up on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th Sunday of each month. If you’ve graduated from NDU, but haven’t joined a group that’s your next step. You can sign up at the Blue Tent on Sunday (this week and next) or online at newdaychurch.cc/groups If you’ve been a part of groups for awhile and know who you enjoy spending time with, your next step is to start a Life Group. To start a Life Group simply visit newdaychurch.cc/groups and follow the instructions.
If you’re in a group, you’ll have others to guide your faith through the inevitable crises of life.