Why are you here?

How do you make disciples?

Vision 2020 Process: “make disciples” Scriptures pertaining to Christ’s mission and design for His church Need for a framework for discipleship to translate Mission Statement into Ministry LBC Mission Statement (see insert) Connect – Care – Equip – Reach (See insert for ministry objectives/definitions for each)

Vision 2020 Process: “make disciples” Scriptures pertaining to Christ’s mission and design for His church Need for a framework for discipleship to translate Mission Statement into Ministry LBC Mission Statement (see insert) Connect – Care – Equip – Reach

A Vision for Discipleship Deuteronomy 6:4-6 1 John 3:16-18 Validate each objective Why Connect is foundational Validate this framework for discipleship i.e. “why these 4?” Connected Caring A Vision for Discipleship Deuteronomy 6:4-6 1 John 3:16-18

I. Connect “Internal ministries of the church for the purpose of building and nurturing, through the Holy Spirit, a community of believers in an ever-growing intimate relationship with one another which is grounded in our ever-growing intimate relationship with God and Jesus Christ.”

I. Connect Validate the objective definition for Connect “Internal ministries of the church for the purpose of building and nurturing, through the Holy Spirit, a community of believers in an ever-growing intimate relationship with one another which is grounded in our ever-growing intimate relationship with God and Jesus Christ.” Validate the objective definition for Connect “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit” 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 The Spirit makes us a family: children of God who “have access in one Spirit to the Father” as “members of the household of God” who “are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” Ephesians 2:18-22

I. Connect Validate the objective definition for Connect “Internal ministries of the church for the purpose of building and nurturing, through the Holy Spirit, a community of believers in an ever-growing intimate relationship with one another which is grounded in our ever-growing intimate relationship with God and Jesus Christ.” Validate the objective definition for Connect Paul had a great yearning for the local churches under his charge and care: “that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love” Colossians 2:1-2 Through Christ “the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God” Colossians 2:18-19

We know It is a relationship I. Connect “Internal ministries of the church for the purpose of building and nurturing, through the Holy Spirit, a community of believers in an ever-growing intimate relationship with one another which is grounded in our ever-growing intimate relationship with God and Jesus Christ.” Validate the objective definition for Connect We know It is a relationship “this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” John 17:3 “let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me” Jeremiah 9:24

We know It is an intimate relationship I. Connect “Internal ministries of the church for the purpose of building and nurturing, through the Holy Spirit, a community of believers in an ever-growing intimate relationship with one another which is grounded in our ever-growing intimate relationship with God and Jesus Christ.” Validate the objective definition for Connect We know It is an intimate relationship The church is the Bride of Christ - Ephesians 5

I. Connect Validate the objective definition for Connect “Internal ministries of the church for the purpose of building and nurturing, through the Holy Spirit, a community of believers in an ever-growing intimate relationship with one another which is grounded in our ever-growing intimate relationship with God and Jesus Christ.” Validate the objective definition for Connect We know our relationship with one another is grounded in our relationship with Him “We love because he first loved us” 1 John 4:19 And so, it is a love relationship we experience (Deuteronomy 6:5 & John 14:21)

I. Connect Validate the objective definition for Connect Connect is foundational in our approach to discipleship (Revelation 2:1-5) “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent” Revelation 2:4

I. Connect Validate the objective definition for Connect Connect is foundational in our approach to discipleship (Revelation 2:1-5) Connect is an essential aspect of Biblical Discipleship

Connect is Essential – Train of Thought Matthew 28:20 - Obey all that Christ has commanded Romans 13:9 - Paul teaches every command in Scripture can be summed up by obeying the command to love Jesus makes a similar point in Matthew 22:37-40 with the 2 greatest commandments – love God, love one another - then goes on to say that “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” So if… the disciple is to obey all that Christ commands every command can be summed up in our love for God and one another our ability to love in this way is rooted in the foundational connection God gives to us by the Spirit through Faith in Christ Then Connect as we have defined & validated it is an essential aspect of the church’s work in making disciples

II. Care “Internal ministries of the church for the purpose of intervening to relieve debilitating burdens, both physical and spiritual, of the needy and hurting members of the Body”

II. Care Validate the objective definition for Care “Internal ministries of the church for the purpose of intervening to relieve debilitating burdens, both physical and spiritual, of the needy and hurting members of the Body” Validate the objective definition for Care Galatians 6:1-5 with the key verse “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (6:2) “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak…” Romans 15:1

II. Care Validate the objective definition for Care “Internal ministries of the church for the purpose of intervening to relieve debilitating burdens, both physical and spiritual, of the needy and hurting members of the Body” Validate the objective definition for Care Care is an essential aspect of Biblical Discipleship

What is love? Scripture teaches our love relationship with God & one another is authentic when it is lived out “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” John 13:35 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” John 14:15 At the core of this love lived out is the caring action of meeting the needs of the needy and hurting as John teaches... “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” 1 John 3:16-18

Care is Essential – Train of Thought Love fulfills every commandment Authentic love gives of oneself to meet the needs of others: an act of caring that fulfills the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2) Therefore Care, as we have objectively defined it, is essential to our life of discipleship because it is the life that evidences that our love relationship with God and one another is authentic Implication of all the above: Care ministry is not the purview of a few…Care ministry is an essential dimension of the life of every disciple of Christ …both to give and receive it

Care is Essential – Train of Thought Therefore, a Care ministry at LBC must entail every believer in our Fellowship as we engage in the “Internal ministries of the church for the purpose of intervening to relieve debilitating burdens, both physical and spiritual, of the needy and hurting members of the Body”

A Vision for Discipleship Connected Caring A Vision for Discipleship