Discipleship
Before Christ ascended into heaven, he gave us this command: “make disciples.” As the CityChurch of Forest City, we take this commandment seriously and consider it to be the most important thing we do as a church family. Here’s what discipleship looks like for us as the CityChurch of Forest City:
1. We meet together regularly for the mutual edification of one another. This happens on Sunday mornings during our gathering time, Sunday nights in our house churches, and throughout the week as we live life together. As the family of God, we believe that we must meet together as much as a family would and interact with one another as a family would. It is in our meeting together that we engage one another in conversation about life, the gospel, and the teaching of Christ. For us to do discipleship effectively, we believe that we have to meet together regularly (Hebrews 10:24-25).
2. We establish believers in the First Principles of Christ and the Apostles. As the CityChurch of Forest City, we believe that every believer needs to be established in and master the teaching of Christ. For us to do that, we use The First Principles Series put out by BILD International.
The First Principles Series is a set of 13, six-session, dialogue-based Bible study guides for use by church leaders and mature Christians to establish believers and churches in the faith, sort of a 21st century catechism. Rather than a typical information-based, fill-in-the-blank approach, the series employs a highly effective learning process involving biblical passages and readings, community dialogue, and personal reflection and projects. Teaching core principles of Christ and His Apostles, this series guides participants in becoming firmly established in their faith (Colossians 2:6-8; Hebrews 5:11-14).
3. We invest significant time in the lives of the heads of households, making sure they master the First Principles and are dedicated to leading their wives and children in the understanding and the practice of the First Principles. In order for our churches to be established, we need families to be established; the responsibility of establishing families falls squarely on the shoulders of the heads of households. Our desire is to equip heads of households, so they can disciple their family and fulfill their role and responsibilities as laid out in the household texts in the New Testament (Ephesians 5:22-6:4; Colossians 3:19,21; 1 Peter 3:7).
