Mission Statement

For the world to believe in real God they must be able to see real people who are serving God on a real time basis. To produce real people in real time our ministry will focus clearly on soul-winning and effective discipleship. Since our priority is to become first in evangelism, we must be first in discipleship also.

To achieve this aim we will need to radically revise and expand our strategy and format for discipleship. The last four decades of the 20th century witnessed a serious decline in the American church’s emphasis on discipleship. With the emerging focus on worship and the subsequent shift of attention away from the world and onto the consumer church, the purpose and value of discipleship was lost. The result is that Sunday School and other institutional discipleship ministries declined drastically.

But like the stock market the consumer bubble has burst and a fundamental adjustment is underway. Churches that want to meet the challenges of the 21st century will of necessity elevate the priority of discipleship to define cause, inspire commitment and achieve community as they move away from the consumer church model.

We will advance to meet the demands of relevance and reliability in discipleship ministry. First, in Sunday School, we will diversify our adult education program and provide a wide range of elective classes that address our five objectives of Bible knowledge, Doctrinal purity, Membership maturity, Evangelism focus, and Life/Cultural relevance.

Second, we will utilize the traditional Wednesday night schedule to augment the full development of the believer’s spirit, soul and body. Specialized classes on health/fitness, life transitions/crises, life vision/mission, family/marriage and other areas of focus will provide importance, completeness and balance to our discipleship model.

Third, we will focus on the 13th year of a child’s life to process fundamentals of the faith with them on a personal basis. This “Rite Of Passage” for these rising teens will establish a firm foundation for their years of development into adulthood and prepare them to function as strong members of The First Church team.

Fourth, our other specialized ministries like Men’s Ministries, Women’s Ministries, etc. will provide small group opportunities for focus on discipleship. Whether producing better fathers, sons, and brothers or better mothers, daughters, and sisters, we will be intentional about life transformation with the goal of becoming like Jesus Christ.

Finally, evangelism and discipleship events will be utilized throughout the year as catalytic motivation for new people to be introduced to the priority of experiencing real God as real people in real time. This is our mission! We must not fail and with God’s help we will not. Together we are attempting to do something so great for God that apart from His help it is doomed to fail.

For those serious about their Christian faith this discipleship model will afford the appropriate balance between interest and need and will assist the Holy Spirit in His mission “to teach you all things and remind you of everything Jesus has said” (John 14:26). I hope you will take a look at our discipleship ministry and enlist in the goal “to become a mature disciple of Jesus Christ.”