Sowing & Growing
The Life Group Convention on 1st May, held at the Holiday Inn Atrium in Outram, was attended by 58 church members. It opened with a brief session of worship, before proceeding to an icebreaking activity which filled the hall with warm laughter.
Rev Dr Kow Shih Ming opened this year’s Life Group Convention by reminding us of the well-known parable of the sower: just as a seed can only grow in the right environment, life groups too, must cultivate a proper and healthy environment, in order to bring about spiritual growth. After that is achieved, we must work towards encouraging more people to join our own individual life groups.
But how should we go about this task? According to Rev Kow, we can do so by first becoming an attractive life group. How can a life group be “attractive”?
1) Through WORSHIP, by lifting God up through song and praise so that others can encounter Him too.
2) Through the WORD; we should always be centred on the Word and the Truth.
3) Through WORKS; faith without works is dead (James 2:26), so, by daily living the way Jesus has called us to, we become attractive to those around us, and even to those who may not yet be believers.
4) Being a WITNESS, which means acting out and expressing the Gospel message with our voice and our actions.
5) Through WONDER; we should expect to see real signs and wonders within our life groups and to constantly live with the expectation that He is present and that the reality of God will be manifested.
However, a life group is more than just a means to meet up with friends. Rather, a life group is a gathering of people who are centred on Jesus. So, we must always be aware of where our focus is. Is it still on Jesus and on God’s agenda?
By the end of the convention, although our brains may have been overloaded by the amount of knowledge imparted to us, we were also able to feel a new sense of resolution in fulfilling our Church’s vision of reclaiming life groups. It is our sincere hope that even more people will sign up for next year’s Life Group Convention on 1 May 2024.
Tan Shieh Jeanne
