Partnership Process Checklist 1. Enroll for New Partner Class 2. Attend New Partner Class 3. Sign and return Partnership Covenant to an Elder 4. Attend Partnership Interview a. You will be contacted by an Elder to schedule the interview. i. Includes: 1. Sharing of Personal Discipleship Story (Testimony) 2. Verbal Confirmation of Partnership Covenant 3. Registration for Serve Positions 4. Individual (or Family) Picture taken, contact information recorded. 5. Enrollment in Life Group of Choice 5. Baptism (if necessary) Updated 8/2016
-Jefferson CityMission (What are we supposed to be doing?) Our Mission is to make disciples by leading the people of our community and world into a totally-committed relationship with Jesus Christ. We believe that a disciple of Jesus might be defined as one who is: o Learning God s Word, o Living out their Faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord, and o Leading others to do the same. Purpose (Why do we exist?) Our Purpose is to Glorify God and Advance the Gospel. Core Values: (expanded beginning on next page) I. Connection Transformation by being in the presence of God II. Spiritual Formation Transformation into the image of Christ III. Community Transforming the way we see each other IV. Gospel Advancement Transforming our world
Expansion of 4 Core Values: I. Connection Transformation by being in the presence of God Being new creatures in Christ, God now lives in us through His Holy Spirit. As a result of being born again, God s children now desire to adore, worship, and communicate with our Lord and Savior. Connecting with God should be the natural desire of a person who has truly tasted the grace that God has made available to us through the cross of Christ. But what does regularly connecting with God look like? We believe it specifically includes two things. They are: 1. Corporate, Family, and Individual Worship We desire to acknowledge God s supreme value and worth in our personal lives and in the corporate, contemporary worship of our church. We also believe that the family should devote itself to worshiping Christ in the home through a regular time of family devotion. 2. Corporate and Individual Prayer and Fasting Truly connecting with God and being in relationship with him brings with it a desire to communicate with our Savior. In the sixth chapter of Matthew Jesus gives us an example and template for prayer and fasting. It is obvious in scripture that these two spiritual disciplines are vital in order for a people to be in right relationship with God. At Freshwater, we will rely on private and corporate prayer and fasting in the conception, planning, and execution of all the ministries and activities of this church.
We believe that when God s people truly connect with God, through worship, prayer, and fasting their lives will be forever changed. In a nutshell, real connection brings about response. As a result, we see people connecting with God through genuine worship, as God meets them and works in the hearts of His people. feel the baptismal waters stirring, as new believers are baptized as a testimony to lives changed by God s grace. see people communicating with God through heartfelt prayer and fasting, petitioning God to transform their own lives as well as the lives of those they love. see Life Groups prayer walking their communities, begging God to transform their neighbors, coworkers, and friends. II. Spiritual Formation Transformation into the Image of Christ Prior to the ascension of our Lord, Jesus gave his followers the duty of making disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). Making disciples is a long, yet worthwhile process in which a person is taken from spiritual darkness into an ever-growing relationship with their personal Savior. At Freshwater we refer to this process of making disciples as Spiritual Formation. Put succinctly, Spiritual Formation might be defined as Our continuing response to the reality of God s grace shaping us into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, it occurs through the work of the Holy Spirit, in the community of faith, for the sake of the world.
You ll notice that, according to this definition, we believe spiritual formation occurs in the community of faith (the church). It is for this reason that the church must take Spiritual Formation seriously. It is not acceptable for us to assume that people will become more like Jesus. Rather, we will foster a community in which being shaped into the likeness of Christ is the normal result of being part of Freshwater. But in reality, what does it mean to be shaped into the likeness of Jesus Christ? How can a person know whether they are becoming more like Jesus or whether they are becoming more like the world? And most importantly, is there a plan or process that a person should follow in order to become a totally-committed follower of Jesus as they partner with Freshwater? Since making disciples by leading the people of our community and world into a totally-committed relationship with Jesus Christ is the mission of Freshwater Church, how will we know when spiritual formation and discipleship is taking place? We believe that the partners of Freshwater Church must be those that are o Learning God s Word, o Living out their Faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord, and o Leading others to do the same. With those distinctions in mind, Freshwater is a place where five elements of spiritual formation will be embraced and encouraged on a regular basis. They are: a. Emphasis on Covenant Church Partnership b. Expository Preaching c. Training and Encouragement in Personal Evangelism
d. Regular Opportunities for in-depth Bible Teaching in Life Groups and Bible Teaching Seminars e. Spiritual Formation of the Family We believe that when a group of believers wholeheartedly and in the Spirit of God embraces these five elements, lives will be transformed and people will become more like Jesus. As a result of these five elements of Spiritual Formation being embraced, we see. people continually becoming more like Jesus, as the Holy Spirit shapes us into the image of our Savior. the nurturing of a love for scripture, as God s word is not just read but rather is consistently taught both in the pulpit and in Life Groups meeting throughout the city. people living life together, as they learn to lean on one another in their time of need, as well as hold one another accountable. an emphasis on church partnership, as new partners are shown what it means to embrace the mission of Freshwater in regular New-Partner orientation classes. people coming together for quarterly Bible Teaching Seminars (Deeper Sessions), in which God s word is dug into at a more intense pace than is usually experienced. families being transformed as Fathers lead their families in the ways of the Lord, ensuring that their family is one that honors God in all that it does.
III. Community Transforming the way we see each other The revelation that God himself became nothing so that we could become rich (2Cor. 8:9) transforms the way we view other people. One who is transformed by the Gospel can no longer look away in shame or down in pride upon anyone. But because we ve been loved, we can love and consider others more significant than ourselves (Phil. 2). This truth helps us to embrace one another in love while also holding one another accountable to the calling that we have received. We believe that all of this can be summarized in one word: Community. So, how will Freshwater show the value that we place on community in the body of Christ? We believe that Biblical community is best experienced in small groups of believers meeting on a regular basis to study God s word and live life together. These small groups will be called Life Groups and will function both as an avenue of Spiritual Formation but also as an avenue to experience true, heartfelt, biblical community. The impact that Life Groups will have on Freshwater and the world will be at least two fold. First, Life Groups will act as missional units. Life Groups will be on mission together, whether it be serving in a benevolent ministry, giving an evangelistic witness, or going on a mission trip together. Second, Life Groups will act as the primary tool in which spiritual formation occurs. When Jesus gave us the great commission (Matthew 28), the disciples would have understood his command to make disciples as meaning to make followers of Jesus the same way that He had: Invest in a small group of people for an extended period of time by living life together, loving each other unconditionally, and rallying around the word of God.
This is exactly what Biblical Community looks like and, therefore, will be the model for our Life Groups. As a result we see people coming together in a welcoming, caring, nonjudgmental environment in which all people have an opportunity to seek God together. Life Groups on mission together assisting church plants and missionaries in our state, country, and world. people experiencing life together as they see that their home is a place for ministry to occur and for us to be transformed into the image of Christ. Life Groups bonding together in prayer as they lift up the struggles of life and praise God for the blessings experienced by all. people learning to prayerfully depend on one another, so that the burdens of life can be shared in the community of faith with the people of God. the partners of Freshwater taking ownership of those that are in their Life Group, seeing that their own spiritual formation is intimately connected to that of others. groups growing and sending out its members to start new groups so that more people can become totallycommitted followers of Jesus Christ. And we anticipate a time when every Life Group is sending at least one member from that group every year on an international mission trip.
IV. Gospel Advancement Transforming our World As Christians we believe that our purpose in living is to Glorify God. Just as the Psalmist says in Psalms 29:2, a heart that is in love with God seeks to Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name. It is only when we embrace our purpose in living (Glorifying God) that we can then accept our mission in life (Advancement of the Gospel by making disciples). Simply put, Freshwater exists to Glorify God and Advance the Gospel. But, you might ask, how are we to advance the Gospel? We believe that intentional, devoted advancement of the gospel hinges on two characteristics. Those characteristics are: 1. A Mobilized Congregation This means that every partner of Freshwater is, in many ways, a minister. We will minister to one another by serving the Body of Christ. We will minister to our community and world by sharing Jesus and making disciples. 2. An Insistence on Reproduction Freshwater does not exist for itself. Rather, we exist for God. We believe that our purpose is best lived-out through the planting of sister churches across the world. Our reproduction strategy will include prayerfully partnering with other churches of like faith and practice as well as with Missouri Baptist Convention and Southern Baptist Convention entities in order to plant and support church plants and missionaries in our state, country, and world. Our prayer is that by our first birthday Freshwater Jefferson City will be planting its first international church plant and that by our third birthday we will be actively planting our first sister church in the United States.
Gospel advancement is vitally important for the health and future of Freshwater Church. As a result we see the planting and nurturing of new churches across our community, state, country and world. see a church that is mobilized for ministry, where all people are encouraged and expected to take the position of a missionary. see life groups coming together for regular mission work in their community as they reach out to those that do not have a totally committed relationship with Jesus Christ. hear believers sharing their faith at work over coffee, at home around the dinner table, and at the park while their children are playing, see commissioning partners of Freshwater to go into both short and long-term missions so that churches might be planted and nurtured in our community and world.