Why Do We Exist? VISION: #forwardmotion To be a REGIONAL CHURCH PLANTING CHURCH that gathers people so they might KNOW Christ, GO with Christ, and GROW in Christ.

! REGIONAL CHURCH Being a regional church involves reaching people in Red Lodge and throughout Carbon County, and bringing them together to have a maximum impact throughout the Northwest.

! CHURCH PLANTING CHURCH A church planting church is one who starts other churches with the intentions of being a part of a multiplying movement that makes disciples.

MISSION: #missionofGod We have no other mission than the one God gives us in scripture. The heart of our mission can be summarized in three passages taken directly from the Bible: THE GREAT COMMISSION (Matthew 28:19-20) “Go into all the world…make disciples…baptize them…teach them…” THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS (Matthew 22:36-40) “Love the Lord your God… Love your neighbor as yourself.” THE GREAT PROMISE (Matthew 16:17-19) “I will build My church…” GOAL: #multiplyingmovement To make as many people as much like Jesus in the shortest amount of time possible, and teach others to do likewise.

What Do We Say When People Ask What We Are All About?

Knowing, Going, and Growing

We are all about gathering people so they might KNOW Christ, GO with Christ, and GROW in Christ.

What Is Our Plan To Help Make Disciples?

small groups ~ relationships ~ scripture ~ ministry The L.I.F.E. Network will consist of small groups formed in Red Lodge and throughout Carbon County for the purpose of making disciples of Jesus Christ. In these groups people will experience unconditional love, receive Biblical instruction, develop life long friends, and learn to follow the example of Christ through a mentoring relationship. Our small groups will be called L.I.F.E. Groups and will consist of a Leader, an Apprentice, and a Host. Each L.I.F.E. Group Leader and Apprentice will practice the “Eight Highly Effective Habits of Small Group Leaders.” (Dave Earley) The Apprentice will develop leadership skills in preparation for starting another L.I.F.E. Group. The Host will provide a place for the group to meet, and he or she will prepare refreshments. The groups will be networked together by studying the same material, worshipping together in Red Lodge on Sundays, and doing ministry and missions together at various times and locations. Love “There are so many exhortations to love one another in the New Testament that any group that does not have love as its main goal needs to reconsider it priorities.” David Earley (Mark 12:33, ff. & John13:34) Instruction The Leader of the group will be responsible for delivering Biblical instruction as prescribed by the Pastor or those given responsibility for the L.I.F.E. Network. The Word of God will be shared, discussed, and applied to real life situations.

Friendship Everybody needs friends. The Biblical term used to describe what happens between friends is fellowship. Within the group people will grow in their relationships with God and with one another. Example Group Leaders will set the example for the members and continually point them in the direction of following the example of Jesus Christ. The L.I.F.E. Network will function as the core Disciple-Making activity of Church of the Rockies.

The L.I.F.E. Network

This visual aid pictures the strategy for reaching Carbon

County and establishing a regional

church planting church with L.I.F.E.

Groups in each community.

How Will Church Of The Rockies Reach Out? FRIENDSHIP EVANGELSIM Our evangelism strategy is simple and straightforward. Make friends and reach people for Jesus Christ. Making friends and being a friend was a part of Jesus’ life, and it gets to the heart of what a relationship with God is all about. In John 15:12-15 Jesus calls those following Him, friends. In James 2:23 we read “Abraham was called the friend of God.” We believe that Jesus reached out to people and reached people through friendship. The story in Mark 2:13-17 is an example of this. Building genuine relationships with people is the primary way we will attempt to lead people to faith in Jesus Christ. COMMUNITY CARE “Every community has a story… And that particular context must be thoroughly understood and considered by any church wanting to make an impact on its community in a meaningful way.” (Robert Lewis) Church of the Rockies will seek to understand the real needs of the community as well as the major issues and challenges we face. We will work to meet those needs by:

• Caring for the community • Cooperating with the community • Creating new opportunities for the community

COMMUNITY CARE TEAMS Community Care Teams will be the backbone of our organizational structure. As we grow, CCTs will be formed with specific areas of our community in mind. Examples are as follows: Community Care Team A will reach out to the academic community; Community Care Team B will reach out to the business community; Community Care Team C will reach out to those in our community who work in the area of critical care, and the ministry will grow and expand as the Lord leads.

Each Community Care Team will have a CCT Leader that will be responsible for the following:

1) Gather a team to assist in planning, preparing, and executing a CCT event once a quarter.

2) Manage the activity or event within the designated budget amount. 3) Promote activities and events so the entire church can be involved

through prayer… 4) Follow up the event with the appropriate letters, phone calls… 5) Meet with the Pastor, Staff, and other leadership to plan the annual

budget. 6) Participate in the Quarterly Church Celebration by sharing about

recent Community Care Ministry. 7) Community Care Team Leaders will serve for one year. 8) CCTs will form around the event being planned and then dissolve

after the follow up has been completed.

What Do We Value As A Church? Values are important because they provide the rationale for the way we do ministry and missions. Our CORE VALUES define who we are. They also dictate our strategy for accomplishing our mission and reaching our goals.

BIBLICAL RATHER THAN PRAGMATIC We want to give ourselves wholeheartedly to God’s Word and methods, rather than rely on popular trends, thoughts and opinions. PEOPLE RATHER THAN PROGRAMS Investments will be made in people more so than in programs. As leaders, we want to equip people to do the work of the ministry. Therefore, we believe it is more important to spend time and resources on individuals and families. We will not rely on programs to do the work of disciple-making. MISSIONAL RATHER THAN ATTRACTIONAL While activities and events will be a part of what we do, they will certainly not be foundation upon which our ministry is built and therefore out of necessity sustained. We want to be a base of ministry, not simply a place of ministry. Instead of ministering on the basis of people coming to us, our approach is to equip people to take the ministry to the world. SIMPLE RATHER THAN COMPLEX We don’t want people to spend all there time at church programs or church-wide activities, instead we want to free them up to make disciples in their homes and neighborhoods. We also believe that a simple model is much more reproducible. (Simple Church by Thom Rainer) INCARNATIONAL LIVING The real question is not what would Jesus do? The real question is what did Jesus do? We cannot go wrong doing the things Jesus did, so by design we will allow the life and works of Christ to guide our steps and activity leading us to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the world. IRRESITABLE INFLUENCE “Without practically attractive, spiritually compelling, proof-positive lifestyles, what good are our claims and pronouncements about a life-changing God?” (Robert Lewis) The new church will be driven by the question, “If our church was to cease to exist today, would it matter to anybody else besides us?” It is imperative that we start a church that makes a difference in the community.

EXTERNAL RATHER THAN INTERNAL FOCUS “The Church exists for those who have not yet been to church.” (Jim Henry) With intentionality, our ministry focus will be external rather than internal. Based on the Great Commission we understand the word “GO” to mean “GO. Our desire is for the members of the Church of the Rockies to be the “salt” and “light” of the world. Our presence needs to be seen and felt more in the community than in a church building. SACRIFICAL RATHER THAN COMFORTABLE As followers of Jesus we have developed a burden for lost and hurting people. We want to sacrifice our resources and even our lives for the sake of the glory of Christ among those with urgent spiritual and physical needs throughout our city and our world.