If we are to belong to Christ, then we are to be a disciple (or learner) of Christ. If we are to learn Christ, then we must understand and participate in his discipleship model. Jesus modelled the best discipleship group of believers the world has ever known. Paul went on to adopt and adapt this model within a church context, and we have tried to do the same by including same sex discipleship meetings, family / home based fellowship meetings, and broader gatherings of the saints for praise, worship and fellowship (on Sundays).
In this regard, baptism and bibles constitute a critical part in belonging to People of the Way.
Baptism as an outward / public demonstration and declaration of the internal miracle of salvation, and the lordship of Jesus Christ. Here is a helpful resource to work through if this is something you are considering - Get Baptised
Reading the Bible is a Christian's most important spiritual discipline, as without doing so, it is impossible to know and follow Jesus. Accordingly, having a bible, reading the bible and understanding the bible, are all critical aspects of being a disciple of Christ.
But it can't end here, because without being plugged into the life of the church through 1 of our 4 spiritual units, you cannot know and be known by the family of God! In this regard we have 4 elder led spiritual units or groups. in which the men and woman of the church are cared for spiritually. They are;
The Lion Unit (Led by Grant & Saskia Butler)
The Eagle Unit (led by Sean & Dannean Krige)
The Ox Unit (led by Dalton & Chezney Yule)
The Man Unit (led by Lorenzo & Joanne Delaurentis)
Maturing spiritually involves having both the spiritual life and spiritual skills of a disciple. This is what it means to be a mature and equipped follower of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-14), culminating in Jesus commandment to disciple the nation's (Matthew 28:18-20 - the great commission). Accordingly, the ‘core business’ and associated fruit of a mature Christian faith, must involve being and making of disciples. But what does this actually mean and look like?
Our chosen podcast platform is Podbean, and so you might be required to download the app, in order to play these messages optimally.
3 key elements or aspects related to what we Bring to whom we Belong are;
We should search out and bring in the lost and hungry sheep of the Shepard
We should bring attitudes that help to build a Kingdom (Jesus) Culture, which includes the 3P's (punctual, prepared, participative) & 3H's (honest, humble, hungry)
We must bring our spiritual gift/s, which is turn must be recognized, facilitated and released
We must bring our Ephesians 4 APEST gift/s, which in turn must be recognized and implemented
In this regard, there are many spiritual gift assessment tools out there, but here's the best one we've come across, together with some teaching on each of the gifts themselves
Spiritual gifts assessment - Servant profile (gifts, personality & passion) assessment.pdf
Spiritual gifts info - Get Gifted.pdf
Equipping gifts assessment and info - https://5qcentral.com/product/apest-vocational-assessment/
Recommended books;
Primal Fire - Reigniting the Church with the 5 Gifts of Jesus (by Neil Cole) - Numerous books have been authored on this topic - but few have been done so with the same degree of experience and practical theology. Certainly one of, if not the, most well balanced and authentic teachings on the biblical application of the 5 fold ministry.
As we know, there are different aspects or elements to every battle. It is critical from the outset to understand these items, as it helps any warrior to plan / count the cost accordingly. Within the context of a spiritual battle, there are 4 key battlegrounds where every disciple of Christ must take ground for the Kingdom and they are;
Our Home
Our marriages, children, family and friends constitute this most critical of battle grounds. If we lose here, we lose...
Click here shortly >>>
Our Church
This involves our fighting with and for fellow disciples of Christ, as well as participating in Sunday meetings & celebrations...
Click here shortly >>>
Our Work and Rest
We spend more time in this battle ground than any other, so we'd better get good at succeeding and resting here...
Click here shortly >>>
Our Community
Loving our neighbours, and and serving the needs of our communities, is a critical aspect of living the faith...
Click here shortly >>>