The "Arena" of Ministry:  Where all of our ministry takes place.

     The purpose of every activity of our church is to ultimately produce and further develop committed followers of Jesus Christ who live to glorify God.  We see this expressed in Paul's purpose for the church in Ephesus, "...that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ," Ephesians 4:12-13.  Therefore we will evaluate every activity by its effectiveness in contributing to this mission and will modify or discontinue ineffective activities.

    Ministry is all about "BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS," for that is the context in which the discipleship process takes place.  We recognize that different size groups build relationships in different ways.  We call this the "Arena" of ministry, where all ministry takes place.  We will provide the settings for unlimited-sized groups (i.e. worship services) for unity, large-sized groups (i.e. adult classes) for fellowship, and small groups for deeper relationships.

     1.  UNLIMITED-SIZED GROUPS are utilized primarily for WORSHIP where it does not matter how many of God's people gather together.  Our desire is that in our Worship Services we will be growing together in UNITY with God, expressing our praise to Him through music, prayer, thanksgiving, and the proclamation of God's Word in a manner that is challenging, warm, and accepting of newcomers.

     2.  LARGE GROUPS are utilized as the primary method for building FELLOWSHIP with one another through instruction of God's Word, outreach, assimilation of newcomers, meeting needs corporately, challenging believers in discipleship, and serving our community.  Ministries where this size group is found:  Adult Bible Fellowships, Ladies' Bible Study, Women's and Men's Ministries, Student and Children's Ministries, Adult and Youth Choirs, and Body Life Events.

     3.  SMALL GROUPS are utilized as the primary method for building CLOSENESS with each other, encouraging openness, accountability, committment, growth in godliness,  meeting needs individually, developing Christian habits, and serving our community.  This is all part of the disciple-making process.  Our small groups will utilize Bible study, prayer, fellowship, evangelism, and other ministries to help the members become more like Christ.  Ministries where this size group is found:  Small Groups, Accountability Groups, Ladies' Bible Study, Student and Children's Ministries, Stephen Ministry, and Grace Groups (beginning Fall '05).

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