“Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” Colossians 1:28

The elders at Grace have been seeking the Lord’s guidance to develop a discipleship plan that will help us more effectively realize our vision to present everyone mature in Christ. While our vision statement remains the same, we have refined our mission statement through study, prayer, and collaboration. We are also encouraging our Grace family to embrace a ministry mindset that is Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered, and others-focused.

As we look left and help one another move right, our ministry mindset will be summed up by these four words.

PROCLAMATION
of the Word in multiple ways (Romans 10:17)

PRAYERFUL
dependence on the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18)

PEOPLE-focused
as God’s fellow-workers (1 Corinthians 3:9)

PATIENCE
and perseverance in the task (James 5:7-11)

APPLIED TO OUR MINISTRIES

Currently, our Discipleship Plan is general in scope. For instance, we have begun to consider how our regular Sunday worship gatherings can be shaped by our mission and mindset. Over the next two years, the various ministries of Grace will work to apply our new mission statement and mindset to their plans and programs. The initial steps of our discipleship plan will include the following:

Reminding the Grace Family of our vision and introducing them to our new mission statement through a sermon series in the fall.

Training our ministry leaders to evaluate and set goals for respective ministries guided by our new mission statement and mindset.

Reemphasizing Grace Groups as our primary way of making disciples according to our new mission statement by

1. Training of our Grace Group shepherds to equip their members to look left and help others move right
2. Encouraging people to join a Grace Group
3. Improving the process by which people join a Grace Group

APPLIED TO OURSELVES

We are encouraging all members and regular attenders of Grace to consider our personal spheres of influence and set goals to look left and help others move right toward maturity in Christ. To make these concepts and ideals into concrete steps toward making disciples, we want to be asking ourselves questions like these.

• Over the past year, how have I been looking left?
• Who has God placed in my proximity that does not yet know Christ, and what steps can I be taking to engage them and build a relationship?
• With whom can I initiate opportunities to evangelize by presenting the good news of Christ?
• Is there a newer believer I can help more firmly establish in the grace and knowledge of Christ?
• Is there a more mature believer I can help equip to look left and pursue the work of disciple-making?
• Am I regularly committing these people and these desires for fruitful ministry to prayer?