Sermon Central
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Small Groups: Our "Plan A" For Discipleship
Contributed by Don Jaques on Sep 12, 2006 (message contributor)
Summary: All people should benefit from getting involved in a Christian small group.
Our Mission
To create an (adj)____________ Christian community that effectively reaches out to (adj) ____________ people with (pl. noun) _____________, (pl. noun) _________________ and (pl. noun) _________________ so that they may experience the joy of (pl. noun) _________________ and a (adj)_________________ life of discipleship.
Our Vision
To see a prevailing, multi-location (noun)______________ emerge that will (verb)_____________ the spiritual (noun) _________________. This church will convene in (number) ___________ of (adj)__________ groups, with worship centers strategically located in every (noun)_________________.
Hopefully you recognize this as a messed up version of our Mision and Vision here at Christ the King. It’s there in the program week after week – but sometimes we can forget the importance of sticking to it. In every organization as time passes, more and more layers of activity get added, until it can be hard to recognize the organization compared to how it started.
I am concerned that here at CTK Oak Harbor we may be in danger of drifting away from our original mission, vision, and priorities. Almost 6 years ago a group of people came together from across the community to see a new type of church started here in Oak Harbor. With the passage of time many of those original people have moved away, and now the majority of those who are part of our church have come in the past couple of years. While that is great – it also means that if we are going to hold onto our identity – which is unique – we all have to keep hold of our original mission, vision, and priorities.
That’s why I’m going to be returning to our foundational priorities this month. It’s time for us to brush up on CTK 101.
Our Mission
To create an authentic Christian community that effectively reaches out to unchurched people with love, acceptance and forgiveness so that they may experience the joy of salvation and a purposeful life of discipleship.
Our Vision
To see a prevailing, multi-location church emerge that will transform the spiritual landscape. This church will convene in hundreds of small groups, with worship centers strategically located in every community.
Our Priorities
1. Worship: We are devoted to worshiping God as a lifestyle.
2. Outreach: We are dedicated to reaching people who do not know Christ as their Savior.
3. Small Groups: We are determined to care for each other through small groups.
Why Small Groups is our Plan A (and why we don’t have a Plan B) - 12 min
In the NT you can find approximately 50 scriptures that deal with the nature of the church – who we are and what we are to be about. Within these 50-some scriptures you find 21 “one another commands” in the NT which instruct disciples of Jesus how they are to relate with other disciples. The overarching command is to LOVE one another, which is found in
John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
But that LOVE is shown through the other 20 commands, which include…
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Galatians 5:13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature ; rather, serve one another in love.
In today’s busy culture – how can we possibly live out these commands? The best way I know is by investing time in relationships with a small group of people who are dedicated to living out these commands!
That’s why our “Plan A” at CTK is to challenge every person who attends here to “think small”. That is – to make small group ministry a priority in their lives.
This is not just because “the Bible says so”, but because when we do so, when we “think small”, it will produce BIG results in our lives and for the Kingdom of God.
So, what are these BIG results?
Before I answer that question, let me put it out there to you – over half of you attend a small group. Why do you do it? What keeps you coming back? Why do you think someone ought to “think small”?
