The Gospel Church exists to share the gospel and make disciples who know they are loved and sent.
The gospel tells us that we are loved with a love without end and that we are sent by God to speak of Jesus (words) and show his mercy (deeds) in the time we have. Gospel-centered discipleship will send us to one another, to others, and to Jesus himself, whose love for us amazes us, compels us, inspires us, and changes us continually.
In a sea of endless resources, voices, and examples, we want to provide our church with a simple framework for Gospel-centered discipleship. After all, there is always a trellis that gives direction to the vine. That is where our discipleship pathway comes in.
The Discipleship Pathway
If we had to sum up the pathway in a nutshell it would be this – To develop conviction, character, and competency in Christ through sound doctrine, spiritual discipline, and community practice.
The pathway is the means by which we hope to accomplish our mission of sharing the gospel and making disciples who know they are loved and sent. We know that our life with Christ cannot be boiled down to a few simple steps. However, this is our attempt to develop well-rounded disciples of Jesus and integrate the various ministries of our church. We pray that it provides a clear path and expectations for you as you grow in the ways of Jesus.
Living out the Pathway
Each semester, our church leadership will choose an area of theological focus to center upon. This focus will be the umbrella idea that drives development in our conviction, character, and competence across all areas of our church.
To develop conviction, we will focus on providing biblical teaching, both on Sunday mornings and throughout the week, and we will provide extra resources that complement our theological focus.
To develop character, we will practice the spiritual disciplines corporately in worship services, communally in our Life Groups, and individually.
To develop competence, we will look to put the conviction and character elements into practice through our Life Groups and through serving opportunities in our church, in our community, and throughout the world.
Beginning in January 2025, our theological focus will be “The People of God”.
In our worship services you will see us integrate practices of the spiritual disciplines that help us grow in habits that help us to live as the people of God. Additionally, we will offer classes on subjects like the Reformation and Biblical Literacy, and provide curated resources that will further our understanding of who God calls us to be. Finally, we will leverage our Life Groups and various serving opportunities to continue to reinforce the theological truths we are encountering as we seek to understand how we live as “The People of God”.
This pathway is meant to be more flexible than it is rigid. we know that we each will walk it out a bit differently. As a result, we invite you to settle in to this structure, own it for yourself, and commit to practicing it with your fellow partners of The Gospel Church. In developing your conviction, character, and competence in Christ, we believe you will be a disciple who shares the gospel and knows they are loved and sent.
Next Steps
The church staff has provided next steps for each of the buckets of our discipleship pathway: conviction, character, and competency. We encourage you to prayerfully consider one or two specific steps that God is leading you to focus on. If you have questions about any of these next steps, or want more information on how to grow in these areas, please reach out to the church staff.
Remember, our journey towards Christlikeness is one that will never end. Take it one step at a time and trust the love of God, the grace of Jesus, and the power of the Spirit will go with you each step of the way!