From the Shepherds

Good day, Northside family! I pray your week has been fruitful and blessed by our loving God. I want to share a quick overview of our current Lifegroup ministry.

We would like to express our gratitude to Lindsay Perkins and Chris Torres for all the work that they put into leading the Lifegroup ministry. Lindsay and Chris have both moved to other areas of ministry and we wish them nothing but the best. Tina Wharton, Congregational Care Minister, is the main point of contact for anyone interested in the Lifegroup ministry. Second, Laura and I are now the leadership points of contact.

The big question for us has been, “How are the Northside Lifegroups doing?” So that we could see firsthand, Tina, Laura, and I have been personally visiting the Lifegroup meetings. So far, we have visited 11 groups with just a few more to go. This has been a time to listen, learn, and to offer resources, support, and care.

What we have found is spiritually healthy people doing life together. With a little help reminding folks of the Northside core values—Grow, Serve, Love, Give, and Worship—the majority identified that “Love” covers them all. They feel it is important to be in relationship with God’s people as it brings strength and growth to one another while striving to be disciples of Christ.

We have 624 people and 330 family units currently attending at Northside. Of that number, there are 233 people involved in Lifegroups or accountability groups. This does not include Men’s or Women’s ministries, the small groups our teens belong to, or the Children’s Ministry. A lot of the groups are big enough that personal homes are struggling to be able to accommodate the numbers.

Ideally, starting some new Lifegroups would be very helpful, and we are pleased to report that there are a few groups that hope to start meeting this fall. As leadership looks to the future, the desire is to see everyone here in community—whether that is a Lifegroup, small group, ministry, or accountability group—sharing the love of Christ through discipleship, action, thoughts, and prayer. What we have is a great starting position, but as we begin to envision what could be, and what it will take to get there, we realize it will be a journey that we all will take together.

I believe we are in an exciting time of growth at Northside and I look forward to working together to see what God has in store for us. For now, if you would like to know more about Lifegroups, please contact Tina, Laura, or myself, or visit nscoc.org/lifegroups. God bless.

Tom Zimmer
For the Shepherds