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WelcomE Come see how the Lord is working within the Great Lakes Region! There are many conferences and other events that have started registration already. Please check out some of the events that will be coming in the months ahead.
The Great Lakes Region Where
Is Your Building? By: Eric John Branch, an RCA church planter
in Greenville, Michigan. My response:
Pam’s Coffee House in Greenville,
Michigan. Pam’s is where I meet
people for discipleship and a place where I become part of the Greenville community. Oh, and it also has the
best cup of joe in town! Nearly every
time I tell people that I am a church planter, I get asked two questions: Where
is your building? What time are your services? And my response: the core of
church planting is not finding a location, constructing a building, or even
starting a service—it’s discipleship. Hold on, I’m not
talking about some great book or a 12-week study, but discipleship as a way of
life. I’m talking about discipleship as a method of following Christ that
causes us to get real with each other; discipleship that reaches out to all,
including the complacent pew occupier; discipleship that causes change and
growth—most importantly, the discipleship Christ had in mind when he said, “Go
and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19, NIV). So what is this
new form of discipleship? It is simple: meet for an hour each week with one or
two others. Read 25 to 35 chapters of Scripture in preparation and discuss it
for 20 minutes. Wrestle with it; work on memorizing a verse and listening to
what God is saying. Spend 20 minutes sharing life—accountability, confession,
honest discussion, and growth. Spend 20 minutes in prayer for each other and
all who still need Christ. When you grow to four, divide into two groups and
keep doing it. Make growing and spreading a part of the DNA. Sound too
simple? Maybe it is, but it works. The bride of Christ is not as she should be
and a way to change this is by revitalizing current congregations and beginning
new ministries. Both of these can be accomplished through biblical discipleship.
We are becoming
a part of the advancing kingdom in Greenville—not
through some great slogan, a new program, or a building, but through simply
living as followers of Christ and being disciples. It’s a form of discipleship
centered on evangelism. I’ll be glad to meet with you for an hour and talk
about it; maybe bring a friend or two!
We'd love to hear suggestions on how we may improve this site to serve you better, please contact Andrea Dekker at adekker@rcagl.org
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Highlights .
Church Finder
What's New ? Our Website has a new look! Please feel free to check it out and let us know what you think. Please contact Andrea Dekker at: adekker@rcagl.org with comments or suggestions. Check out one of our New Church Plants Click here for information on our most recent Spotlight article.
Do you have a prayer request, and answer to prayer, or a praise you would like to share with the Great Lakes Region? Click here to find out how. You can also view other's prayer requests and praises at the same link.
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