LIFE Groups Spotlight: Bouma Family

By Lea Lee, LIFE Groups Coordinator 

This month’s LIFE Group Spotlight – where we highlight a specific LIFE Group at LBF and their leaders – features the Bouma family.

Names: Curt and Jody Bouma

Tell us about how you came to faith in Jesus Christ. Jody and I were both raised in Christian homes; Jody was Seventh-day Adventist and I was raised Christian Reformed. We both feel like we have trusted in God since childhood and gave professions of faith and were baptized in our teenage years.

Tell us about your family. Jody and I were married about six years ago, and now have three young boys: Luke, Cole, and Case. Jody is full-time mom who always works overtime and I work for Kaiser Ontario and Assure Pregnancy Clinic. We both feel so blessed by the church, our LIFE Group, and this family of boys.

Tell us about how you found LBF. We found LBF while we were trying a few local churches after we were married. It was a men’s group at Chick-fil-a that got me connected to Jason and Russ, and I talked Jody into going to LBF.

How long have you been leading a LIFE Group at LBF? About 2.5 years ago we purchased the Truth Project and decided to invite our neighbors over to watch the video series. The group lost some, then doubled from 6, and now over half the group are LBF members. The babysitters are overwhelmed!

Tell us a bit about your LIFE Group. Our LIFE Group is young couples that are pusuing truth in the Bible. We are all committed to our marriages and raising children to love Jesus. We are studying the books John wrote right now. Before this we went through Ephesians. About every five weeks the men and women separate, where the men discuss the C.S. Lewis book they’re reading and the women discuss various books.

What are some of the discussion highlights you have had this year? One of our discussion highlights was the last part of Ephesians where we learned about marriage. Of course, sacrificing and submitting was fun to discuss as couples.

What has been the most encouraging thing that has happened in your LIFE Group? One of the most encouraging things about our group is watching all of the amazing children. We had new baby Dakota adopted last year, Emma and Case were born, and Deacon will be born this year. The group also had an amazing ski trip to Mammoth with guitar-only worship on Sunday morning by a fire during a snow storm.

How would you describe the importance of the LIFE Group you lead? This LIFE Group strengthens marriages, guides us as parents, encourages sleepless mothers, creates accountability with personal friendships, and keeps each of us excited about reading the Bible. Learning, growing, and staying in Christ is just easier with church teaching, reinforced by personal relationships founded in Christ.

What would you say to someone that is wary about joining a LIFE Group? It is hard to be consistently growing in sanctification. The LIFE Group connects you to people personally where you get to talk and ask questions while studying. You get to help others and when you are facing something difficult that may be personal, a LIFE Group friend is a good place to turn.