The Impact of Life Groups | Trinity Talks Podcast

Now I'm so glad that we have Wally and Richelle and Zareen with us here today for today's

segment of Trinity Talks.

Now all three of you are in a life group and today happens to be a Life Group Sunday here

at Trinity.

So thank you for joining me.

Thank you, Elizabeth.

No, I was hoping we could talk a little bit about life groups here at Trinity, how to

get involved, some of the benefits.

But I also wanted to mention that today's during our sermon, we talked about family.

So before we get started talking about life groups, would you guys be okay with playing

a little game of Family Feud?

Sure.

Why not?

I'll tell you one thing, the answer has to be yes, because you've got whiteboards right

in front of you and I've got some questions in front of me.

So if you are familiar with the game Family Feud, what we're going to do is try to come

up with an answer that the majority of people who would have been surveyed would have answered.

So if 100 people were surveyed, they're going to answer questions and you're going to try

to come up with the majority answer for that.

And maybe I'll give a prize out after this segment, who knows?

I don't know, I don't have a prize yet.

But keeping your answer secret from one another.

So we surveyed 100 people.

Name a fruit that you might eat in the morning.

Oh, all right.

Oh, Rochelle.

I don't know if Rochelle's ever eaten fruit.

Do I eat fruit in the morning?

The majority of people would have answered.

I'm not sure who these 100 people are, just so you know, but 100 people.

All right, it's time to reveal your answers.

Okay.

Well, banana, banana, banana.

And actually, the number one answer was banana.

So you're going to be in charge of keeping track of your own points, everybody.

We have five questions.

You're making this very seriously.

You are.

Wow.

We're in it to win it.

All right.

Question number two.

Name something that people lose often.

Name something that people lose often.

All right.

This seemed to be a quick answer for everybody here.

All right.

Time to reveal your answers.

Oh, no.

Oh, all right.

Last minute.

Oh, I'll have to read that.

Okay.

All right.

It's okay.

We've got keys, keys and mitten.

I had keys and I got a key.

Mitten.

I had keys and I changed it.

Yeah.

The top answer actually is keys.

Okay.

Mitten did not make the top five.

Every day we're looking for someone's mitten.

That's right.

So it must always be just one mitten too, right?

All right.

So question number three is, if I can pull out my notes here.

All right.

Name something that people are often afraid of.

Okay.

This is going to be debatable.

It's debatable.

We're trying to come up with the answer that most people would answer.

Oh, not you per se, unless you feel like you do reflect the majority.

Okay.

Okay.

I think.

All right.

You think you've got it?

All right.

It's time to reveal your answer.

The dark spiders.

No, no.

I switched to spiders.

Oh, you switched to spiders.

The dark spiders and snakes.

Oh, no.

Sorry.

Wally has the dark.

I have the dark.

The top answer.

Actually, you all made the top five.

Number one was spiders.

Number three was darkness.

And number four was snakes.

I'm very impressed with us.

I think so too, you guys.

I think Michelle was in the lead.

I think she is.

I do think.

Yep.

Keep track of your own points.

I almost said the dark because my son is every night the dark.

Right.

It's just in my head.

The dark.

But spiders was number one.

All right.

Question number four.

Name something people do to relax.

Being a contestant on Trinity Talks is not one of those answers.

You make it relaxing.

Maybe listening to it is.

All right.

So reveal your answer if you've got it.

We have read a bubble bath and have a bath.

All right.

Number one was read a book.

Oh, well done.

Take a bath.

Made it to number five.

OK, this is the tiebreaker.

Tiebreaker right here.

All right.

I guess this next question would really depend on maybe who is being surveyed.

But number five says name a famous landmark.

Canadian.

I'm not the famous landmark.

OK.

So we've got some thoughts going on.

I have some some erasing, some people questioning their spelling possibly.

I'm questioning my spelling.

Does spelling count?

Spelling does not count here.

It's good.

Tiebreaker.

This is the tiebreaker.

All right.

Name a famous landmark.

Time to reveal your answer.

We've got Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty and Statue of Liberty.

All right.

Number two was Statue of Liberty and number one was Eiffel Tower.

So I think Molly wins family.

Family Vogel.

Congratulations.

I'm happy for you.

It was a close game.

It was a close game.

And yeah, so we'll get you your prize later.

That was good.

It was good.

Well done.

So we are, as I said, we're talking about life groups today.

And if you're here with us at the church, then you would know that we have some people

from life group leadership talking to members of the congregation about how they can join

a life group.

But I'm glad that you're here with me, because I'm sure all of you have your own story that

you come with about the life group that you're in.

So would you mind telling me when you joined a life group here at Trinity and maybe also

the why?

Absolutely.

I can go first.

Yeah.

So my husband and I have been going to Trinity.

For just over, it was 2022, the August of 2022.

So we started going to be started looking for a life group pretty quickly once we started

attending here.

And then around in the winter of that year and then 2023, we found a life group.

And there's been some movement and changes in where we've been, but we've been with

the group now for just over a year.

And so it's been lovely and yeah, life groups for myself and my husband have always been

like a really integral part of our individual faith, but then also our faith as a couple.

Just being in a smaller community, having our faith encouraged by other people.

For me, getting in the word is really important, but I really struggle with that on an individual

level.

So having that accountability and doing it with other people, gaining their perspective

has always been really important.

And now we have young children and so having that family aspect is also really life-giving

for us.

That's great.

Thank you.

Thank you, Rochelle.

My husband and I joined Trinity not long after you, as it turns out.

We started in November of 2022.

Okay.

And we had heard a lot about life groups almost every year.

We heard a lot about life groups almost immediately and just how all positive things, but how

fantastic they are.

And so we participated in the Alpha course in the spring of 2023 and Wally and Jane Vogel

were leaders and had at that time mentioned that they will be starting up a life group

in the fall.

So we started our life group just last fall with Wally and Jane.

And we'd made some wonderful relationships in Alpha.

And so we wanted to continue those relationships.

And for me personally, I wanted to build friendships with like-minded individuals following Christ

and deepen my own faith and be more engaged in the Trinity community.

Thank you.

Thanks, Serene.

And what about you, Wally?

So my wife Jane and I actually started a life group over 30 years ago when life groups first

started up.

And it was a great experience.

And we did it for really the connections and the growth potential.

And we grew a lot as we led the group.

Then that group went its course over many years.

And then I've been part of a men's group that meets on Thursday mornings.

And again, it's about connections, it's about growth, it's about getting up early.

So you have to do that.

And that's been great.

But Jane and I were talking for quite a while that we wanted to do a group together again.

And that's Alpha became sort of the conduit to start that group.

And we just love it because even if you've been doing this for many years, you still

learn something every everybody brings a perspective to the group and everybody can learn from

one another.

And that's what we love.

I love that.

I love that.

So you've already alluded to this, that your groups look a little bit different.

While you mentioned you have a men's group, I know that there's then each Rochelle and

Zareen, you have different groups.

Could you tell me a little bit about who's in your group?

What the composition of your groups look like?

We're a fairly homogenous group in that we're all men, fairly similar age and stage.

But as I said, we do you have to like getting up early in the morning.

And you know, on a typical week, you know, out of about 10 members of the group on a

typical week, we get about five that show up.

And that's just the ebb and flow of people's schedule.

And we really do walk with one another.

I find men particularly don't necessarily naturally talk about themselves and their

relationships and so on and so forth.

In other contexts, you tend to talk about sports and work and what have you.

So this is a safe place for people that for men that get to know each other and to share

that sort of dimension of your life.

Perfect.

Great.

Our Wednesday night group with Wally and Jane, there are men and women, I would say older,

not old, in our group.

We got a thumbs up there.

And there are some couples and some singles.

And the group is comprised of people who are at different stages in their walks of life.

So we've got people who, like myself, want to deepen my relationship with God.

We've got some someone who's just starting on the journey.

We've got people who want to share their journey.

We've got people who are very deep into their own journeys.

So a very diverse group.

And there's a lot of interaction.

And we're always, to Wally's point, we're always growing from one another and learning.

Thank you.

I love that.

So our group was born out of a need that my husband Andrew and I kind of recognize.

We have young children.

Weeknights can be kind of tricky with school and then after school activities and dinner

and bedtime.

So we were kind of looking for other families that were in a similar position.

And so we're made up of families slash parents who have children.

And so it's a large group and there's six families and each of them have one to four

children.

So we meet on Sundays after the service from one to three.

And so we usually all pack a lunch.

We eat it for a little bit together.

And then the kids go do some activity and then we study for an hour or so together.

And depending on the size of the group, we've been meeting at our home.

But as it's grown, we've now been meeting in the church here in the basement.

And so we'll see if it continues to grow, what will happen.

But yeah, it's also diverse in terms of where people are at in their faith journey.

And it's just a really safe and welcoming environment.

And so I'm really thankful that we cater to the noisiness of the children and there's

a lot of grace there, which is just wonderful.

It sounds wonderful that the children probably develop a relationship with one another as

well, which may be nice to see that grow out of that.

So I know that this is just a snapshot of some of the different types of groups we have

at Trinity.

I myself am part of a women's only small group.

So I know there's so many different types of groups and it's lovely to see that people

of all stages and walks are able to join in.

And I know that when you join into your life group, you come in, sometimes it's weekly

that you meet, sometimes you meet bi-weekly.

I'm wondering what your particular life groups look like when you meet.

What types of questions or conversations do you use to guide your sessions?

How does your life group look structurally?

I can jump off what I was just saying.

So yeah, we actually meet every other Sunday from one to three.

And right now we're diving into, we just started a manuscript study, which is an inductive

study of the Book of Mark.

But in the past we've tried to coincide with the studies that the church is doing.

We did an independent study that we just chose as a group.

So is that what you mean?

Absolutely.

So we kind of just ask each other what we want to do and we've just been moving through

different types of studies together.

Well, that's very nice.

What about you, Zuri?

We meet every Wednesday from seven to nine p.m. at Wally and Jane's home.

And it starts with coffee and tea and desserts and fellowship.

And at some point in time we venture into the great room to start our lesson.

And there's no, well, it's very, very interactive and there's no set agenda, I would say.

We've had evenings where perhaps Wally and Jane have had a prepared agenda, but there

have been people who've come in and they've had some things that are maybe heavy on their

hearts or they just want to pick a specific, they have questions about a specific scripture

that they've read and they're struggling to get through.

So it's very, it's very informal.

But for the most part, we have lessons and we studied the four letters of James.

We had a video to start that, which was fantastic.

The graphic video and just watching the artist go all over, all over the place to make sense

of the letters.

It was just amazing.

So we'll have some, we'll read some verses.

We'll have some discussion.

There will be some discussion questions and we'll grow and learn from that.

So I'll just echo what Zerreen said in that.

Yeah, with that group, we're very much trying, because it's all people that are new to the

church, less than two years at Trinity.

So there are a lot of questions that come up.

We want to respond to that, not just have a set lesson.

We have a lesson plan and we work through it, but we're prepared to set that aside and

say, okay, there's something going on here that we should, or a question that we should

answer.

And one of the great things that we did, we had, we really enjoyed it when the gift of

hope service was on, that was on a Wednesday night, which is the night we meet.

So we said, listen, instead of our regular meeting, why don't we meet for coffee at Tim

Hortons, then go to the gift of hope service as a group.

And we did that.

It was really special because a lot of the people brought along friends or spouses that

weren't part of the group, but that got to meet the group and be exposed to Trinity.

Very nice.

Very nice.

Very flexible.

Sounds like you're very flexible.

And then what about your men's group?

How do you structure that?

So the men's group, so obviously everything that's said in the group is confidential,

but I think I can reveal the fact that we're virtual and Bill Crawford joins from his hot

tub on Thursday mornings.

Amazing.

So that's one of the advantages of being virtual.

But the men's group is following the sermon questions.

So every week we're discussing the questions and talking about the sermon, at least until

we wander off topic, which we're known to do.

Which you're known to do.

All right.

At least you're honest.

And if you have not seen that we have sermon questions, they're posted.

They're posted every week on our website.

You can actually ask the church and we can get you roped into our planning center, send

them out through the groups as well to you.

So you get notified every week when they're up.

So that's great.

I know my personal group, we have been working through a book study recently.

So as you see, there's lots of different structures that we have for our life groups.

So would you also be able to share some of the benefits that you maybe personally have

experienced or witnessed through being in a life group?

I know we all come to them from different places.

So what benefits have you personally witnessed?

For me, I think I alluded to this earlier.

Just it has always been an avenue that deepens my faith because of the community aspect.

On a Sunday, there's lots of ways to be involved, which is really beneficial and wonderful.

But getting to know a smaller group of people and where they're at in their faith journeys

and where they can encourage me has always been something that has benefited my faith

journey.

And so honestly, a deepening sense of faith and encouragement just in my life and other

things that are going on in my life, having people to pray with you and talk with you

has been wonderful.

Thank you.

I would say to add to that, I mirror exactly what Rachelle said, and I would say I've

developed meaningful relationships with people who have the same values and want to follow

Jesus.

I've said that before.

The group has bonded and formed a trust with one another.

And that is very supportive, I think, for everybody.

And one of the things I neglected to mention during a typical week, we also end in prayer.

So we go around the room and we ask for what their prayer requests are, and everybody has

an opportunity to pray for each other.

And so I really feel that for me personally, I've seen prayer answered.

I have definitely, which is so uplifting.

And the other thing I've learned is how to interpret scripture from different perspectives

so I can actually apply it to everyday life.

That is really important to me.

That was another reason that I joined Life Group, because I wanted to understand scripture

and be top of mind in my day to day.

I love that.

Thank you.

Yeah, that's great.

Yeah, I think I'll just pick up on what Zerreen said about the bonds that are formed.

And I think that happens even more over time.

And when I think back about the many years that we've been involved in groups, I'll just

pick one example.

When this was many years ago when our kids were young and one of our girls had to go

to the hospital and the other girl, we didn't know what to do with it.

We didn't have family in town and so forth.

We called somebody from our Life Group and they were there literally in 10 minutes.

They took our daughter out for ice cream and what have you.

And we just knew that she could be looked after, we could trust them.

There was absolutely no question.

There's many other examples I could give over the years, but it's that sense of there's

a bond there that you just wouldn't probably get in any other context other than by getting

to know somebody through a Life Group over time.

That's beautiful.

Sometimes when we say when we're thinking about Life Groups that we're doing life together.

Yeah.

And after we've just heard a sermon about family and God's intent for our families,

what a beautiful testimony to just some real life practical applications.

So if someone out there is interested in joining a Life Group, and I know that people are,

but they have some hesitations, do any of you have any words of encouragement for these

people who may be contemplating joining a Life Group?

I mean, I think for people just to know that it is a very safe and welcoming space that

even if they want to try a group and aren't sure if it's going to work logistically for

them, just to try it and not feel the pressure of, oh, now I need to continue going to this

one forever because I've gone once.

Because I think especially when we were trying to figure out how our Life Group would fit

into our lifestyle, we obviously created one.

But just for people who are out there, just to try it and know that there's no judgment,

it's safe, it's welcoming, and to remind them again that it's just been a super encouraging

thing for me.

And so I would hope that they would also feel that way if they came.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So you've sold me.

I'm going to join a Life Group.

How do I do it?

I know there's a few different ways that we can join a Life Group or even just ask more

questions.

So what are some of the steps that I would go to now if I'm interested?

So I'm a techie, so I'm going to suggest Church Centre.

Church Centre.

Through the Church Centre app, you can see the groups that are there.

You can express interest in the group and then use it once you join the group to access

resources.

Excellent.

Yeah.

So if you are part of Trinity, you can join the Church Centre app.

And there's some instructions online how to do that.

And excellent.

One way is Church Centre.

Thank you.

Another way would be getting in touch with Sally Hirkman, which is, I hope I get her

email right.

It's just sally at trinitystreetsville.org.

Perfect.

So you can email her and she oversees all the Life Group stuff.

So she would be someone to get in contact with.

Excellent.

So just to clarify, it's sally at trinitystreetsville.org.

That's right.

Right.

And another way is to get invited by somebody who is a member of a current Life Group.

That's how my husband is actually involved with the men's group.

And he was invited by someone who was already in the men's group.

That's great.

And just so you know, everyone who's watching, we didn't rehearse that, but that was a perfect

answer.

That was just, that flowed so beautifully.

One other way is there's a Life Group interest form.

So if you are interested here at church, there are some forms over at the welcome desk that

are called Life Group interest form, and you can fill out your information that way as

well.

I love that Wally mentioned that his group is online.

If you happen to be watching online or you're not able to get out on an evening or early

morning, you can join online because we do have some online groups as well.

A lot of them were born out of COVID, which is one of those beautiful things that came

from the pandemic is that we've learned to connect over technology.

I myself zoom into my Life Group as well.

So we are starting up a couple new online groups in addition to a couple in-person groups.

So don't let that be a deterrent for you.

If you're interested in joining, there's a way to join Life Groups.

So thank you very much.

Thank you so much, Wally.

This was a great conversation and I'm so grateful for the element of community that Life Groups

bring to Trinity.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Wally.