GCC New Members Class Session Three Why Join a Church

Transcription

1 I. Why Join a Church GCC New Members Class Session Three Why Join a Church A. Biblical Responsibility to and Church Leaders Heb 13:7 Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Heb 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. These verses mean nothing if there is not some kind of formal relationship between leaders and congregation. The leaders must know who they are instructing, the congregation must know to whom they are submitting. We cannot imitate the faith of a radio preacher we do not know Wayne Mack, To Be or Not to Be a Church Member B. Clarifying the Difference Between and Unbelievers Ac 5:14 And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number, It is not possible to know if someone has been added to our number if we do not formalize church attendance in some way. The church is to have believing membership, not just anyone who desires to join. C. in the Church 1 Pe 5:1-2 Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; It is impossible to shepherd and oversee with excellence if there is no concept of who constitutes the sheep. D. Commitment There is much Biblical precedent for making a public commitment to the other members of the church. This holds us accountable to God and to others! Certainly baptism performs this function, but if one is not baptized in the church, a membership process is needed. E. Ministry and Privileges 1. Physical presence We must be physically present with other people in order to (accomplish the one anothers). A GCC New Members Class, Revision #3 3/1/07 22

2 Christian who is not committed to a local church and rarely meets with the same group of believers cannot fulfill these commands Wayne Mack Heb 10:24-25 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. 2. Selectivity We cannot possibly fulfill these commands to every person in the world... for this reason it is impossible for any believer to fulfill these biblical responsibilities without some kind of formal, regular, continuous relationship Wayne Mack, To Be or Not to Be a Church Member Ga 6:9-10 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. F. Accountability and Discipline Ga 6:1-2 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. This kind of accountability is rendered largely ineffective without some kind of formal church structure. A primary reason for church membership is the seeking of accountability to other members of the body of Christ. II. A Survey of Baptist History A. Reformation The sixteenth century spiritual movement known as the Reformation led many to "protest" some of the theology and practice of the Roman Catholic church. Those holding to these beliefs became known as Protestants. B. Anabaptists Some of these Protestants were distinct from others because they believed that Scripture reserves baptism for only those able to confess their faith in Jesus Christ. This group was called Anabaptists (or re-baptizers ) because what they claimed to be true baptism (the baptism of believers) was considered a second baptism by other Reformation Protestants and Roman Catholics who baptized infants. While the Anabaptist view of baptism was radical, we believe it was also scriptural. However, many Anabaptists were radical for some non-biblical reasons as well, and much of their movement did not continue. Nonetheless, they paved the way for John Smyth of Cambridge to break away from the Church of England in 1609 for the purpose of establishing a church of believers, each baptized upon confession of faith in Jesus Christ. Shortly after, Smyth established the first Baptist church of modem times. These Baptists were known as "separatists because they no longer associated with the national church, the Church of England. Since the church and the state were one, these Baptists were GCC New Members Class, Revision #3 3/1/07 23

3 persecuted for separating and forming individual churches of baptized believers. This is why the first, modern Baptist church is in Holland; the Englishman, John Smyth, was run out of town! C. English Baptists Despite the persecution, in 1612, the first English-speaking Baptist church was founded in London, England. By 1660, almost 250 Baptist churches had been established there. To the extent the reigning king or queen of England tolerated Baptists, the movement flourished. However, to the extent that a reigning queen or king saw the Baptist and, for that matter, the Protestant movement, as a threat to the state, Baptists fled -mainly to the continent of North America. D. American Baptists It may surprise some that in early America, the Baptist movement was not granted freedom to grow. In early-america, Baptists did not have the right to form independent and self-governed churches. Most of the earliest American Baptist churches formed in New England in the 1600's. Roger Williams came to the New World in 1631 with Baptistic convictions. These convictions led to his banishment from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He fled to Providence, Rhode Island in order to establish a Baptist congregation in He stressed the importance of separation of church and state. Baptist churches continued to be established in the United States, but not without difficulty. However, by the time the 1700's rolled around, the few Baptist churches in existence in the US benefited from a time of spiritual revival (the first Great Awakening) and by 1800, the Baptist denomination was one of the largest in the United States. E. Southern Baptists In 1814, the Triennial Convention was formed which brought together Baptists from the north and south. Its purpose was to support foreign missionaries. In 1844, the Triennial Convention decided that slave holders could not be missionaries. Consequently, in 1845, the Southern Baptist Convention was formed in Augusta, Georgia. Their stated purpose was: for carrying into effect the benevolent intentions of our constituents, by organizing a plan for eliciting, combining and directing the energies of the whole denomination in one sacred effort, for the propagation of the gospel. Today, the Southern Baptist Convention is 42,000 churches strong. Notice that the purpose is to carry out the will of the convention s constituents. III. The Reason for Being a Baptist Church Ephesians 2:20 says that the church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone. As Christians, we are indebted to the contribution of those who came before us. GCC New Members Class, Revision #3 3/1/07 24

4 A. The Apostles taught us concerning the significance of Christ s death and resurrection. B. The early Church Fathers clarified the doctrine of the. C. The Reformers stressed the importance of. D. The early Baptists contended for these specific truths: 1. Local Church a) Not a church sanctioned by the State, b) Not a church defined by the bounds of a parish, c) But a church which voluntarily unites and chooses its own leaders. 3. Church Made Up of - a) You aren t a member because of something your parents did. b) No one can believe for you, c) But each individual must believe for himself. 3. of Believers a) Not baptism to impart some special grace, b) Not baptism as an infant, c) But baptism by immersion as a testimony of a changed life. 4. Church - a) Believers should give evidence of a changed life, b) A church should discipline its members for wrong belief or practice. E. Southern Baptists have a solid doctrinal heritage 1. Founded on Biblical doctrine Through the years [Southern] Baptists have been rightly called people of the Book due to their unswerving conviction that the Bible is the Word of God.... The priority of their cooperative effort in obeying Christ in the Great Commission has driven them worldwide with the Good News of Gospel. The watchword for this people is evangelism. They have maintained this commitment to missions and evangelism when other denominations have dropped the ball and traded the preaching of soul-saving truth for a gospel of social reform. However, there is a doctrinal heritage to the Southern Baptist Convention that many Baptists are not aware of. The central truth of this doctrinal heritage, which has been decentralized over the years, is the doctrine of Unconditional Election.... This truth... was the foundation, the heart, the hub of Bible truth. This doctrine was for Baptists the backbone of Gospel preaching and missionary endeavor. GCC New Members Class, Revision #3 3/1/07 25

5 1. Decline after Robert B. Selph in Southern Baptists and the Doctrine of Election Southern Baptists slowly began to decline after Our six seminaries were flooded with liberal teaching. Below are comments made by students who attended the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary during : More participants reported a less well-defined, more amorphous understanding of divinity. For example, Barbara explained: I believe in God. I m just not sure I believe in God in a real personal sense... Likewise Suzanne answered: That s a good question [Who or what is God?] I don t know. I mean, I really don t know anymore... A common theme for most of these women was a broadening of their conception of God. And, while many participants concluded that they do not know who or what God is, they also reported being comfortable living in that ambiguity.... when I left Southern... the only thing I was willing to say was that God had something to do with connectedness Susan M. Shaw and Tisa Lewis in Once There Was a Camelot in Review and Expositor, 95 (1998) 2. Revival since 1979 The Founders Movement Thankfully, since 1979 Southern Baptists have been reclaiming the heritage that once made them great. In that year a man named Ernie Reisinger began distributing Systematic Theology by James Boyce on the campus of Southern Baptist Seminaries. Boyce was one of the founders of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a firm proponent of God s sovereignty in all things including salvation. This project was highly successful in helping to turn men back from the liberalism that was sweeping the SBC. As a result, in 1982, a group of likeminded men (Reisinger, Tom Nettles, Fred Malone, Bill and Tom Ascol and Ben Mitchell) met in a Holiday Inn in Euless Texas for a prayer to seek God s direction on how this revival might be perpetuated. From this meeting the Southern Baptist Founders Movement was born. The purpose of this movement was to promote instruction to Southern Baptists in both doctrine and devotion as expressed in the doctrines of grace, and the experiential application of those doctrines in the local church, particularly in the areas of worship and witness. Grace Community Church is a whole-hearted supporter of the Founders Movement and our beginning owes much to the faithfulness of men in the movement who have consistently preached the whole counsel of God. F. A Commitment to Missions The basic idea of the SBC is that local churches with a heart for missions can voluntarily work together to effectively spread the gospel. GCC New Members Class, Revision #3 3/1/07 26

6 IV. SBC Specifics A. History and Purpose The SBC emerged in 1845 in a context of national strife. The Triennial Convention (1814) was an early experiment. The original purpose of the SBC was to more effectively support missions. B. Organization The SBC is very big, but very local. Churches are independently members of local associations, state conventions, and the SBC. It is all voluntary, with the local church being the most important unit. C. How a Church Participates Any Baptist church can be a part if it is in friendly cooperation and is contributing. The ultimate expression of a church s participation is through sending messengers to the Annual Meeting of the SBC. The SBC legally exists for only 3 days a year. The ongoing work is carried on by the Executive Committee. D. Uniqueness as a Denomination We are an unusual denomination, in that we have reversed the typical logic. The SBC exists only because of the participation of local churches. The SBC could disappear tomorrow and the local churches would continue to exist. So the SBC is well-suited to modern hesitance towards denominationalism. So being Southern Baptist is about cooperating with other Baptist churches. Authority in most denominations functions this way: DENOMINATIONAL HEAD LOCAL CHURCHES GCC New Members Class, Revision #3 3/1/07 27

7 But authority in the Southern Baptist Convention works like this: LOCAL CHURCHES SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION Each local church is autonomous. E. Three levels of Southern Baptists: 1. Local level: Chilhowee Baptist Association (CBA). Comprised of 86 churches in Blount County. 2. State level: Tennessee Baptist Convention (TBC). Comprised of all the Southern Baptist churches in the state of Tennessee. 3. National level: Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Comprised of all the Southern Baptist churches in the nation. All three organizations have an annual meeting where each church sends messengers who make decisions for that year. The amount of messengers sent depend upon the size of the church. In this way, it is local churches who govern the conventions made on a local, state, and national level. Grace Community Church currently sends 2 messengers on the state and national conventions. Some day you may go! God desires every area of my life to be governed by His Word. As I pursue this goal through the various callings that God has placed on me as a wife, mother, teacher, etc. I derive both strength and encouragement from fellowship with the people known as Baptists. --Donna Ascol Why I am a Baptist in The Founders Journal, Summer 2000 GCC New Members Class, Revision #3 3/1/07 28

8 F. Our Commitment to the Cooperative Program The Cooperative program is the means through which we participate in giving to the SBC. Currently our giving is very selective as we desire to have church funds used for the best possible purpose. 1. Chilhowee Baptist Association - $ Chilhowee Baptist Center - $1, Southern Seminary - $600 V. Grace Community Church Distinctives A. Calls If you ve been attending our worship services, one of the things that you may have noticed is that we do not give an alter call, or an invitation at the end of each sermon. We have reasons for this. But it should be stated first and foremost that we believe that people must be invited to come to Christ. The invitation to come to Christ is one that we are called to make. Should we shrink back from such a call, we would be rightly accused of being ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Thus we should do everything possible to be more proficient in extending God s great invitation to come to Christ. However, God s invitation that must be extended to all is not synonymous with man s invitation system. Only since the 1800s has this system been employed to bring men to Christ. --Jim Ehrhard, The Dangers of the Invitation System The presentation of Christianity as a rehearsal of facts, without any attempt to apply these facts to the conscience, and without any call to trust in Jesus as a mighty Saviour, falls far short of apostolic preaching. --Iain Murray, The Invitation System Our sermons are full of exhortations to come to Christ, to believe, to repent, to follow Christ, to give your life to Jesus, to be saved, to receive Christ, to give your life to Christ, etc. The traditional invitation system is not wrong in and of itself. So the use or nonuse of the invitation system should not be a gauge of evangelicalism. However, we believe the modern day invitation system lends itself to some confusion. Here s why: 1. Coming forward may lead one to believe that something else is necessary in addition to repentance of sins and believing in Christ for salvation. Therefore, one may put eternal hope in the fact that he or she has come forward even if he or she has not truly believed. God does not open a door to salvation at the time of the invitation, nor does He close it afterwards. How many of us have heard the words, if you want to receive GCC New Members Class, Revision #3 3/1/07 29

9 Jesus, come forward now or if you want to be saved, come to the alter and pray. What happened to, if you want to receive Jesus, believe in Him or if you want to be saved, repent of your sins and trust Christ by faith now. Sometimes shut up that enquiry-room [don t have an invitation]. I have my fears about that institution if it be used in permanence, and as an inevitable part of the services... If you should ever see that a notion is fashioning itself that there is something to be got in the private room [at the alter] which is not to be had at once in the assembly [during worship], or that God is more at that penitent form [at the alter] than elsewhere, aim a blow at that notion at once [stop doing it]. --Charles Spurgeon 2. It may elicit an emotional response based upon the persuasion of the speaker. Sad as it may be, people are often coerced into coming forward during an alter call when they have not believed or have no intention of believing God s promises. One preacher said once that I used to be psychologist. I can prick your emotions and get almost every one of you to come down this aisle. It very often happens that the converts that are born in excitement die when the excitement is over... Some of the most glaring sinners known to me were once members of a church; and were, as I believe, led to make a profession by undue pressure, wellmeant, but ill-judged. --Charles Spurgeon The Soul Winner 3. It may give one assurance who has never been converted. That is exactly what the invitation system does. It encourages people to make a response that settles things and, through subsequent counseling, to never doubt that decision. Anyone who is involved in personal evangelism can share countless examples of persons who, though presently in gross sin, will nonetheless tell the evangelist that they are fine because they made a decision for Christ a certain number of years ago. --Jim Ehrhard, The Dangers of the Invitation System B. of Elders We ve put this section into the distinctives category because the leadership of our church differs from most Southern Baptist churches. 1. Christ is the head of the church There is only one ultimate authority in the church Jesus Christ. All leadership functions underneath His guidance and authority. Col 1:18 - He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. Underneath the Lord Jesus Christ, We believe that Scripture gives us two offices, elders and deacons. 2. Biblical Mandate for Elder/Overseer/Bishop/Pastor The New Testament uses these four terms interchangeably. GCC New Members Class, Revision #3 3/1/07 30

10 Compare Titus 1:5 with Titus 1:7 Compare Acts 20:17 with Acts 20:28 Compare 1 Timothy 3:1 with 1 Timothy 5:17 Read 1 Peter 5:1-3 *The word pastor is only referred to once (Ephesians 4:11) and its function is the same given to that of elders/overseers. a) Three Basic Functions of Elders: (1) Teach Ephesians 4:11-2; 1 Timothy 3:2, 5:17; Titus 1:9 Although on e of the elders will most likely be designated the primary teacher of the flock, every elder must be qualified to teach and desirous of exercising this function wherever appropriate. Teaching is the way the elders feed the flock. Tit 1:9 holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. (2) Govern 1 Timothy 5:17, 3:4-5; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:12; Hebrews 13:17 The elders function as a body of equals to guide and direct the everyday affairs of the church. 1 Pe 5:1-2 Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; (3) Shepherd 1 Peter 5:1-5, Acts 20:26-31 The elders are to provide the deepest care and protection for the flock that the Lord has placed in their care. Ac 20:28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. b) The qualifications for elders 1 Tim 3:1-7 The fact that elders are required to have certain spiritual characteristics indicates their appointment by the Lord to lead the congregation. c) Relationship of the Elders to the Congregation God s Word clearly teaches that the elders are to lead the congregation with wisdom, humility, service, and careful communication. We believe that the nature of elder qualifications (1 Tim 3:1-7, Titus 1:6-9) and the commands in Scripture for the members of the congregation to submit to the elders (Heb 13:17, 1 Peter 5:5, 1 Thess 5:12), lead to the understanding that the elders hold the final human authority in the church. With this authority comes the responsibility to know the needs of the flock and to encourage continual input from the members of the church. Elder leadership does not in any way downplay or dismiss the priesthood of the individual believer, but allows for the proper oversight of the church in a Biblical manner. GCC New Members Class, Revision #3 3/1/07 31

11 C. Biblical The word deacon is a transliteration of the Greek word diakonos which means to serve. 1. Qualifications of deacons 1 Tim 3:8-13 Deacons must have essentially all the same characteristics of elders except the gift of teaching. This office is certainly a high calling. 2. Function of Deacons Their function is broad in that they serve in the practical matters of life that arise in the church such as finances, food, clothing, hospitality, care of widows, etc. Deacons do not function like elders. Deacons do not exercise authority over the flock nor do they need to be able to teach. Their role relieves the elders of practical tasks so that the elders may devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word Acts 6:1-7. Deacons function efficiently when one deacon is assigned to a specific task. For instance, Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D. C. has a broad range of deaconal functions. 1. Deacon of Budget and Finances 6. Deacon of Radio & Website 11. Deacon of Hospitality 2. Deacon of Administration 7. Deacon of Sound 12. Deacon of Service Preparation 3. Deacon of Grounds 8. Deacon of Audio Duplication 13. Deacon of Child Care 4. Deacon of Buildings 9. Deacon of Member Care 14. Deacon of Ushers 5. Deacon of Bookstall & Library 10. Deacon of Community Ministries D. Church 1. What is a Church Covenant a. A Church Covenant is both a promise and a sign of a commitment : 1. To God 2. To the Church 3. To Others 4. To our Families b. A Church Covenant is an ethical statement. c. A Church Covenant is a summary of how we agree to live as a church. d. A Church Covenant is a biblical standard. Therefore, a church covenant is much more than a piece of paper that one signs for membership! As Paul spoke of the use of spiritual gifts and about the composition of the body of Christ (church), he provides a beautiful picture of how a covenant community of believers might live: 1 Corinthians 12: But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it. GCC New Members Class, Revision #3 3/1/07 32

12 2. What Should You Expect in a Church Covenant a. First, a church covenant should be Biblical, rooted in Scripture. b. Second, a church covenant should be focused on the body, not private, but corporate. c. Third, a church covenant should be brief, short enough to be used. Church covenants are particularly helpful situations like these: Matthew 18:15 - "And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 1 Corinthians 5:1-2 - It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father's wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. 3. What does our Covenant Say? a. Commitment to Grace Community Church in general Having come by the grace of God to know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and having been led by the Holy Spirit to this part of the Body of Christ, we do now before God and in the presence of this assembly of believers, most joyfully and solemnly enter into covenant with the members of this part of the Body of Christ, known as Grace Community Church. b. Commitment to God within the New Covenant... We affirm God s covenant with us and our covenant with Him through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We understand that our part of the covenant is to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and that this is expressed by continuing trust in His promises and obedience to His commandments. c. Commitment to living personally and corporately in Biblical and ethical standards... In joyful and solemn covenant with this part of our Lord s Body, we commit ourselves to seek to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to forsake sin, to regularly and cheerfully give of ourselves and God s spiritual and material gifts to us for the building up of the Body, to watch over one another in brotherly love, to lovingly lead all those committed to our care, and to lovingly submit to all God appoints over us. Commitment to grow in our relationship with Christ by: forsaking sin, or being holy giv[ing] of ourselves financially and in all other ways watch[ing] over one another in brotherly love lead[ing] those committed to our care submit[ting] to all those in authority over you (husbands, elders, government, bosses, etc.) GCC New Members Class, Revision #3 3/1/07 33

13 Commitment to our Statement of Faith... We accept the Grace Community Church Affirmation of Faith as our basis of belief. Commitment to live in dependence upon the Holy Spirit As God is our witness, to this we commit ourselves, admitting our total dependence on the Holy Spirit for our fulfillment of this covenant. E. of Membership Our membership process is also something that is unique to most Baptist churches. 1. Complete the Membership class We want to be sure that every prospective member of Grace knows what we believe and how we seek to live this out. It is unwise to make a commitment as serious as church membership without having all the information possible about the church. 2. Share your testimony with two elders If, after completing the membership class it is your desire to join the church, please contact one of the elders to let them know of your desire to share your testimony with them. They will set up a time to come and meet with you 3. Share you testimony with the church The next step is to share your testimony before the congregation. If you are to partner with them in ministry it is important for other members to know how you came to be a part of God s family. 4. A time of testing After sharing a corporate testimony your name will be put in the bulletin for two weeks to allow any questions or concerns about your membership to be voiced by the congregation to the elders in private. 5. Covenant Commitment If there are no issues to be addressed than you and any other perspective new members will covenant with the church during a public meeting of official welcome! You may wonder why we go through so many steps in membership. This is not to make being a member overly difficult, but only that proper care would be taken to protect the purity of the church and for both the congregation and the joining individual to realize the seriousness of the membership commitment. VI. Getting Involved at Grace A. General Participation 1. Attend Sunday morning 2 Ti 4:1-3 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will GCC New Members Class, Revision #3 3/1/07 34

14 accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 2. Find a small group Ac 2:42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 3. Consider Wednesday night training 2 Ti 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 4. Attend members meetings 5. Get on the Friends and Family List B. General Ministry/Spiritual Gifts 1. Pray Eph 6:18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 2. Grow in Christ personally 1 Ti 4:7-8 But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 3. Develop redemptive relationships Tit 2:3-5 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. 4. Develop discipleship relationships 2 Ti 2:2 The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 5. Get involved in various areas of ministry 1 Pe 4:10-11 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 6. Seek evaluation and respond accordingly Heb 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. GCC New Members Class, Revision #3 3/1/07 35

15 C. Specific Ministry 1. Consider an existing ministry a. Children s - Ron O Dell b. Youth Chris Riser c. Missions Andy Smith d. Jail Chris Slate e. Music Jon Cooper f. Audio/Visual Steve Creasy g. Building/Maintenance Tom Webb h. Women s Ministries Chris Riser i. Men s Ministries Chris Riser 2. Consider helping start a prospective ministry a. Library/resources Ron O Dell b. Prayer Ron O Dell c. Evangelism Ron O Dell d. Visitation Chris Riser 3. Consider starting a new ministry a. Consider your giftedness b. Seek counsel c. Make a plan d. Contact an elder/deacon Php 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 1 Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. GCC New Members Class, Revision #3 3/1/07 36