Find and Follow
I am passionate about helping people find and follow Jesus. Some are like dead beat dad’s, they help people find Jesus, but do nothing to help the person follow Jesus. We need to help people find Jesus and help them grow to maturity so that they can be a spiritual parent, helping another grow to maturity in Christ.
John 15:8 (ESV)
By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
Jesus wants to see our “fruit” remain!
As a Christ follower I am:
Missional - Matthew 28:18–20
Incarnational - John 15:5
Relational - Acts 2 & 4
Intentional - Colossians 1:28–29, Philippians 3:13–14
“No one Accidentally creates Disciples. Discipleship is an intentional Pursuit.” (Building a Disciplemaking Culture by Michael Breen)
Holistic Ministry Approach:
I am committed to obeying Jesus' command to obey Him in both evangelism and discipleship, believing that great discipleship will lead to great evangelism. Christ followers are "fishers of men." You cannot be a true disciple if you don’t have a heart for the lost, because Jesus loves the lost!
We Make Disciples Who Make Disciples (Matthew 28:18–20)
Discipleship is defined as relationship with direction…
Jesus’ invitation to men, “follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” They didn’t ask to become fishers of men, but Jesus told them from the beginning, that if they followed him, they would become “fishers of men.” Jesus was intentional, he was taking them in a direction.
Our church is currently ranked as the 88th largest church in the US, so this speaks to our effectiveness in helping people find Jesus, but it is more difficult to measure how we are doing at helping people "follow Jesus" as a disciple who is growing to maturity in Christ.
The following passages drive our vision to help people follow Jesus by becoming disciples who make disciples...
2 Timothy 2:2 (ESV) and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
Ephesians 4:11–14 (ESV) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, [12]to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, [13]until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, [14]so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Biblical DNA for Vocational Staff
We don’t do the work, we equip the saints to do the work!
The goal is spiritual maturity - that everyone will be equipped to grow to spiritual maturity in Christ.
Three Key Essentials:
Know
You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.
Be
Character development - Behaviors.
2 Peter 1:5–8 (ESV)
[5]For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, [6]and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, [7]and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. [8]For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Do
Obeying by serving Jesus as Lord.
Matthew 7:24 (ESV)
[24]"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.John 13:17 (ESV)
[17]If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
Our Three Core Values:
Worship - Temple Courts
“Let my people go, that they might worship” - this is where it all begins!
Community - Redemptive Relationships
One-anothers - love one another, encourage one another, spur one another on…
Service - Greatness
“The greatest among you shall be the servant of all.” Matthew 23:11
Our primary task is to make disciples, yet we often lose our primary focus.
Consider Fire fighters who have disciplined themselves to remain focused on their primary mission.
The primary job of a firefighter is to be ready and available to put out fires on a moments notice. When the alarm goes off, the firefighter drops everything and responds immediately. He does not say, “I’m unavailable right now because I have to feed the dog, cook the firehouse meals, or shine the pole…
Each firefighter has a primary function on the firefighting team that is committed to putting out fires. One drives the hook and ladder firetruck from the front and another from the back, one hooks up the firehoses and monitors the gauges showing the water pressure. One handles the fire hose nozzle while another sits on the hose, one assesses the type of fire - structural, chemical, biological issues… another coordinates the firefighters to effectively put the fire out by the best means possible.
When there is a fire beyond what the local firefighters can handle, other fire departments come to help, with ”all hands on deck," because they understand that the primary job is to put out fires, no matter where or when…
Firefighters are always available, putting out fires is their first responsibility. Not one of them will be heard saying, “that is not my job, I’ve got a pole to shine.”
