Maturing Together In Christ
“They Devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."
Acts 2:42
Our Discipleship Process
A Survey of our Discipleship Process
A. Our mission is to help everyone "To Be Like Jesus...." We, therefore, want with intentionality to help each other and those who newly join us to be more like Christ - to become more mature disciples. Our goal for each disciple is Jesus-Like Servanthood.
B. Discipleship happens when biological families disciple one another. Discipleship also happens relationally, in informal ways, when individual Christians disciple others, and it is wonderful when things happen this way. We want to supplement these efforts and fulfill our corporate responsibility as a church by positively contributing as much as possible to Christian discipleship. So...
C. We want to 1) Give people the opportunity to move through a clearly understood, user friendly discipleship process. 2) Help them in different ways (differing discipleship opportunities) as they go from infancy to maturity in Christ (one size does not fit all). There will be some flexibility in the process, because our meeting of different people will include different circumstances.
D. Our discipleship process includes the main steps of Hearing, Believing, Relating, Growing, and Loving and Serving.
How does the church work to disciple those with whom we come in contact?
- We Intentionally Incorporate Them into the Body of Christ and the Calgary Church of Christ
Purpose: If they are Christian, we will help them move to become active members of the Calgary Church of Christ - rooted firmly in the Christian Community. If they are non-Christian, we help them to become Christians. For Christians, the key word at this level is: Relating. For non-Christians the key words at this level are: Hearing, Believing and Relating.
Relating to each other at the Calgary Church of Christ will include, for most, being part of the body, being members of our church. In order to help incorporate into our body those who come to join us in the future, the church asks that those who come to join us make known the fact that they wish to be members. This gives us opportunity to discuss with them the benefits and responsibilities that accompany being a member of a local church. Please see the Membership section of the website under "Get Connected".
2. Assist Them in Growth
Purpose: To help every member (including both those who are new who have recently gone through c. above and those who are long time members) grow in his or her relationship with God through reliance on prayer; knowledge of the Bible and doctrine; recognition of the presence of the Holy Spirit in his or her life; being passionate about his or her spirituality; deepening his or her worship experiences; deepening his or her sense of relationship, love community; active service within the body of Christ; and his or her reaching out to the hurting and lost of the world. The key word at this level is: Growing. We want growth to take place through dynamic worship; biblical, life-oriented preaching; profound Christian fellowship; instructive teaching on relevant topics; ministry training and through many other means.
3. Help Them to be Involved in Jesus-Like Ministry
Purpose: To see each member of the Calgary Church of Christ be involved in active ministry, especially that which helps to meet people's deepest needs, including that which propagates the faith among the unchurched. Jesus-Like Servanthood is the goal, so that Christians are loving and serving God and humanity. The key words at this level are: Loving and Serving.