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A slideshow by Grace Church of Philly that relates our core values and practical discipleship commitments as a Christian community in Philadelphia. For more information, please contact us via our website at: http://www.gracechurchphilly.org
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Simple Church Model
Grace Church of Philly2009
Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And
behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
How do we intend to carry out the Lord’s command to “make disciples” of all the
nations of the world?By having biblical values and practical discipleship
commitments.
Our Values (TRIM)
TransformationalRelationalIncarnationalMissional
Our Discipleship Commitments (4G)
Biblical Basis for 4G1 Peter 2:4-10 - 4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ…. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Gather – Grow – Give - Go
1 Peter 2:5, 9 …you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house (WE GATHER), to be a holy priesthood (WE GROW), to offer spiritual sacrifices (WE GIVE) acceptable to God through Jesus Christ… 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (WE GO).
The ‘Simple Church’ Approach
ClarityClarity is the ability of the
process to be communicated and
understood by the people.
Clarity of Commitment
•Our plan to make disciples (Matt. 28:18-20) is where the rubber of our vision meets the road of practical ministry. •GCP exists to Gather in Christ, to Grow like Christ, to Give to Christ, and to Go for Christ.
Clarity of Commitment
•Our discipleship commitments are also our discipleship process. •This brings simplicity, clarity, and unity to the ministry process.
We Gather at GCP•Gathering in Christ:
Gathering involves a gospel- centered celebration where diversity comes together in unity in the worship of Jesus Christ as Lord.•Gathering is primarily Sunday AM worship
We Grow at GCP•Growing like Christ – understanding and applying the implications of the gospel for all of life
Growth takes place best in relational environments where the Bible is studied and applied.
•Primarily happens in Grace Groups
We Give at GCP•Giving to Christ
Giving involves the stewardship of one’s life for gospel and kingdom purposes, includes the use of one’s time, treasure, and talents.
•Primarily happens through serving the church and the community in tangible ways.
We Go at GCPGoing for Christ – ministering the gospel to the church, the city, and the world
Going includes those venues outside the church where one’s gifts may be used to strengthen and advance the kingdom of Jesus Christ both locally and globally.
Primarily happens through strategic and natural efforts to share the grace of Christ.
Clarity of Values Empowers Our Commitments
TRIMTransformationalRelationalIncarnationalMissional
Clarity of Values Empowers Our Commitments
TRIMTransformational
Prayerfully depending on the power of God’s Word
and the Holy Spirit to transform any life.
Clarity of Values Empowers Our Commitments
TRIMTransformational
The grace of God means that there is no one alive who is
beyond the hope of redemption and
transformation in Christ Jesus.
Clarity of Values Empowers Our Commitments
TRIMRelational
Joyfully offering love and grace to everyone
regardless of where they are on their spiritual
journey.
Clarity of Values Empowers Our Commitments
TRIMRelational
•First, this means we will actively cultivate redemptive relationships with believers as well as non-Christians.
•Second, we will be conscious of and welcoming of non-Christians in our midst.
Clarity of Values Empowers Our Commitments
TRIMRelational
•Third, we will communicate not just what we believe but why, in a way that invites questions, engages people in dialogue and takes a process approach (not a crisis approach) to communication.
•“Many people simply have ‘process personalities’ – they will never come to faith if they are pushed. They need to come in stages.” - Tim Keller
Clarity of Values Empowers Our Commitments
TRIMIncarnational
Practically living out the gospel of grace within the
culture.
Clarity of Values Empowers Our Commitments
TRIMIncarnational
We want to be deeply involved in our communities.
“We don’t back away from godless people but instead embrace godless people because we
understand the hearts of lost people conquered by the lordship of Jesus builds the
Kingdom.” –Ed Stetzer
Clarity of Values Empowers Our Commitments
TRIMMissional
Intentionally committed to engage those who either
do not know or misunderstand Jesus.
Clarity of Values Empowers Our Commitments
TRIMMissional
Being intentional about and absolutely committed to adapting
everything we do in worship, instruction, community, and
service so as to be meaningfully engaged with the non-Christian
society around us.
Clarity of Values Empowers Our Commitments
TRIMMissional
Being missional, we understand that we are co-citizens with non-Christians
and seek to build redemptive relationships in the culture
instead of totally separating ourselves from the culture.
Clarity of Values Empowers Our Commitments
TRIMEach of the TRIM values undergirds
and empowers every aspect of the 4G commitments.
Clarity of Values Empowers Our Commitments
• Our Gathering is Transformational, Relational, Incarnational, and
Missional…
• Our Growing is Transformational, Relational, Incarnational, and
Missional…
• Our Giving is Transformational, Relational, Incarnational, and
Missional…
• Our Going is Transformational, Relational, Incarnational, and
Missional…
Clarity of Values Empowers Our CommitmentsHow we fulfill our
commitments (4G) should always reflect our values
(TRIM).
Clarity – Measuring the 4G’s
“What gets evaluated gets done.”
Q: Will evaluation aid progress? A: Seriousness and urgency will be encouraged and the right things will be focused upon, if evaluation occurs.
Clarity – Measuring the 4G’s
We should measure horizontally not vertically, i.e. we cannot measure one’s
relationship with God; we can only measure levels of involvement.
We should measure at each level in our process, i.e. the entire 4G (gathering,
growing, giving, going).
Clarity – Measuring the 4G’s
Gather
Grow Give Go
John Doe
+ + + -
Jane Doe
+ - - -
We Must Have a Decongestant
Attitude
Congestion is anything that hinders the sequential movement
of people to greater areas of commitment.
Movement To Commitment
Movement is the sequential steps in the process that causes people to move to greater areas
of commitment.
We NEED a simple process that moves people.
We want to relieve congestion!
Movement Patterns
What are our patterns of movement?
1 Peter 2:5-9 Becoming a spiritual house >>>>>
being a holy priesthood >>>>> offering spiritual sacrifices >>>>>
showing forth His excellencies.
Movement PatternsGathering>>>>>
Growing>>>>>Giving>>>>>
Going>>>>>
Transition Transition Transition
Movement
We are interested in both qualitative and quantitative
movement.Quantitatively we are concerned about the number of people in the
4G’s.
Qualitatively we are concerned about deepening the quality of our values
(TRIM).
Alignment
Alignment is the arrangement of all ministries and staff around the
same simple process.
Alignment maximizes the energy of everyone involved.
Alignment
“When a local church body is not united in the same direction, the
body is ineffective. The world watches this confusion... A simple church is a congregation designed
around a straight- forward and strategic process that moves people through the stages of
spiritual growth.”
Alignment
Unite around the process
Unity is important in the values (TRIM) that empower the commitments (4G)
and in the commitments themselves.
Alignment
New Ministry AlignmentHow to check the fit of new and
existing ministries:
1. Does it align with our 4G discipleship commitments? (Ministry additions must fit the 4Gs to be launched.)
2. Will this ministry accomplish one of the 4Gs and express our TRIM values?
Alignment @ GCP
GATHER GROW GIVE GO
Sunday Worship
Grace Group Ministry Teams
Community Service
Ministry Forum
Everyday Evangelism
Ministry Forum*
The monthly 90-minute meeting of Ministry Forum is divided into three segments:
• First Segment – Motivational Word or Training.
• Second Segment – Small Meeting. Meet in four teams with Leadership Team member directing the four separate meetings, i.e 4G. Actual planning and work should be done in this segment.
• Third Segment – Large Meeting. Leadership Team member gives a short synopsis of what was discussed - issues raised and suggestions given. *In the pre-launch stage, the leadership team is the
Ministry Forum.
Ministry Forum
GCP Organizational Structure
Ministry Forum
Eight Key Questions
We should always ask the following eight questions at each meeting. Even if it seems redundant, we should do it each week.1. Are more of us gathering as
His Church?2. Does our gathering reflect
our values? 3. Are more members of the
church involved in intentional growth environments?
4. Do our growth venues reflect our values?
Ministry Forum
Eight Key Questions
We should always ask the following eight questions at each meeting. Even if it seems redundant, we should do it each week.5. Are more of us giving of
ourselves and our resources to serve others?
6. Does our giving reflect our values?
7. Are more of us involved in reaching into our community and the world with the gospel?
8. Does our going reflect our values?
Focus
“Focus is the commitment to abandon everything that falls outside of the simple ministry
process.”
Focus
1. Eliminate non-essential programsEphesians 5:15-16: Pay close
attention to how you walk – not as unwise people but as wise – making the most of the time because the days are evil.Be wise stewards of time.
Be wise stewards of money.
Focus
2. Limit Adding
We must be careful not to add.
We must have the “less is more” approach.
We must provide options, not more programs.
Focus
3. Reduce Special Events
Use special events strategically so that they serve one of the 4Gs
(gathering, growing, giving, going).
Focus
4. Easily Communicated
•We must be able to easily communicate the simple process.
•It must be our conviction and who we are.
• E.g. Our 4G discipleship commitments are the discipleship process.
Focus
•Gathering – continue developing a welcoming, relevant, biblical Sunday AM worship experience that reflects our values (TRIM)*.
•Growing – strengthen and expand Grace Groups and other venues for growth that reflect our values.
•Giving – developing service and stewardship opportunities in the church, the city, and the world that reflects our values.
•Going – develop means to model and encourage glocal outreach that reflects our values.*TRIM Values – Transformational, Relational,
Incarnational, Missional.
Transitions
Developing and Defining Strategic Transitions
•How do we move more people into more consistent gathering (i.e., Sunday worship)?
•How do we move more people from gathering into growing (i.e., Grace Groups)?
•How do we move more people from growing into giving?
•How do we move more people from giving to going (both locally and globally)?
Transitions
Church-wide events, membership class, and other special events serve as bridges, or transitions, into
one of the four segments of discipleship.
•Bridges to Gathering•Bridges to Growing•Bridges to Giving•Bridges to Going
Transitions
Examples:•A church-wide picnic can be designed to introduce new people to the church and invite them to worship;
or to take time to introduce small groups and their leaders to service opportunities.
• A retreat can be focused on building relationships and introducing people to
growth or service opportunities.
Transitions
Any special event needs
to be designed as a
bridge to transition
people into one of the
four segments of discipleship
(4Gs).
Complexity
“Church complexity is costly. The cost is beyond time and money. The kingdom is not
expanding. Lives are not being changed. Transformation is not happening. Churches are not growing” (Simple Church, p.
228).
Committed to Simplicity
May we gather in the name of Christ, reflecting our core values.
May we grow in the likeness of Christ, reflecting our core values.
May we give to the glory of Christ, reflecting our core values.
May we go for the sake of those who do not know Christ, reflecting our core values.
Core Values: Transformational, Relational, Incarnational, Missional.