Amazing Grace Community Church Fellowship Class
Amazing Grace Community Church 138 Leed St., Northumberland, PA 17857 www.AGCCNorry.org (844) 374.AGCC (2422)
*Portions of this material were written by Rick Warren at Saddleback Church. Permission to reproduce this material does not extend beyond this publication. Scripture translations are from the New International Version unless noted otherwise.
*Portions of this material were written by Rick Warren at Saddleback Church. Permission to reproduce this material does not extend beyond this publication. Scripture translations are from the New International Version unless noted otherwise.
WELCOME TO AMAZING GRACE COMMUNITY CHURCH’S FELLOWSHIP CLASS!
We’re glad you’ve chosen to find out more about Amazing Grace Community Church. This self taught or small group class is the basic introduction to our church family. We encourage you to walk through this class with a friend or two and ask questions or discuss notes along the way. The elders will also be available to answer any questions you may have. This class is designed to help people better understand what Amazing Grace Community Church is all about. It’s also designed to strengthen our fellowship by bringing people into our church family. Because of the common misconceptions about church membership, we prefer to call it a “fellowship” class, rather than a membership class1. Another great resource that we highly recommend is the book, I Am A Church Member, by Thom S. Rainer (copies are available from the pastor).
Our mission at Amazing Grace Community Church is simple; to love God and others with all our being and to go and make disciples of Christ. Disciples grow to full maturity in Christ in the context of being committed members of the body of Christ. And the greatest demonstration of love we can show is to bring people to Jesus, build them up, and send them out to bring others into His family. The first step in that process is bringing believers into fellowship with Christ and the local church.
Since we have or anticipate having people from different church and unchurched backgrounds, we make no assumptions as to what a person knows when they come. Rather, we use this class as a common starting point on which to grow. Because of the nature of this class, it is a prerequisite to becoming a legal member of this church.
Our mission at Amazing Grace Community Church is simple; to love God and others with all our being and to go and make disciples of Christ. Disciples grow to full maturity in Christ in the context of being committed members of the body of Christ. And the greatest demonstration of love we can show is to bring people to Jesus, build them up, and send them out to bring others into His family. The first step in that process is bringing believers into fellowship with Christ and the local church.
Since we have or anticipate having people from different church and unchurched backgrounds, we make no assumptions as to what a person knows when they come. Rather, we use this class as a common starting point on which to grow. Because of the nature of this class, it is a prerequisite to becoming a legal member of this church.
THE BASIS FOR THIS CLASS:
Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Take note of the word fellowship.)
Eph. 2:19 (LB) You are a member of God’s very own family.... and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian. (Take note of the word family.)
Eph. 2:19 (LB) You are a member of God’s very own family.... and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian. (Take note of the word family.)
KEY TRUTHS:
1. God expects you to be a vital part of a church family. God has His family on this earth to fulfill a great mission and purpose. As a member of a family, like a member of a body or a team, we all have a part to play, a function to perform in the fulfillment of God’s great purpose. There are over 30 commands in the New Testament you could not fulfill without being part of a church family (i.e., the “one another” commands).
2. A Christian without a church family is a contradiction. Reread Ephesians 2:19. A Christian without a family is like a guy who says, “I want to be a quarterback, but I don’t want to be on any team”. It is clearly the will of God in the New Testament for Christians to not only believe, but to belong. Jesus has called us first to have a relationship with Himself through faith, but also to have a relationship with other believers. People become Christians by committing their lives to Christ. But they become part of a fellowship of believers by committing themselves to other Christians.
2. A Christian without a church family is a contradiction. Reread Ephesians 2:19. A Christian without a family is like a guy who says, “I want to be a quarterback, but I don’t want to be on any team”. It is clearly the will of God in the New Testament for Christians to not only believe, but to belong. Jesus has called us first to have a relationship with Himself through faith, but also to have a relationship with other believers. People become Christians by committing their lives to Christ. But they become part of a fellowship of believers by committing themselves to other Christians.
1. For corporate purposes, our fellowship constitutes official membership at Amazing Grace Community Church.
THE GOAL OF THIS CLASS: That I will commit myself to the Lord and to the local church.
2 Cor. 8:5 First they committed themselves to the Lord and then to us by the will of God.
The community talks about “THAT church.”
The crowd talks about “THIS church.”
The congregation talks about “OUR church.”
Our strategy and goal involves bringing people in from the community, building them up in the congregation, and sending them out into the community to repeat the process. To put it another way, we are in the business of life change and life change revolves around commitment. As we follow Jesus Christ, we become more like Him. The more we follow Him, the more like Him we become. And as we become like Christ our lives are changed. We are transformed. Like a caterpillar to a butterfly.
Life change is the result of progressive commitments. The greater the commitment, the greater the life change.
It will be the commitments that you make in your life that will change you and transform your life for God’s glory, beginning with the commitment to fellowship with God and His people.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION: Discuss the commitments you have made in your life. How do you define commitment? What role should commitment play in the local church?
The community talks about “THAT church.”
The crowd talks about “THIS church.”
The congregation talks about “OUR church.”
Our strategy and goal involves bringing people in from the community, building them up in the congregation, and sending them out into the community to repeat the process. To put it another way, we are in the business of life change and life change revolves around commitment. As we follow Jesus Christ, we become more like Him. The more we follow Him, the more like Him we become. And as we become like Christ our lives are changed. We are transformed. Like a caterpillar to a butterfly.
Life change is the result of progressive commitments. The greater the commitment, the greater the life change.
It will be the commitments that you make in your life that will change you and transform your life for God’s glory, beginning with the commitment to fellowship with God and His people.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION: Discuss the commitments you have made in your life. How do you define commitment? What role should commitment play in the local church?
CLASS OUTLINE:
The Lord wants us to be a part of a family/fellowship. There are three things that make us just that. At Amazing Grace Community Church we have a common salvation, a common statement of who we are and where we’re going, and a common structure. (Click on the following "Session" links)
SESSION ONE: OUR SALVATION • The Meaning of Salvation • The Symbols of Salvation
SESSION TWO: OUR STATEMENTS • Our Great Statements • Our Faith Statement • Our Vision Statement Who are we and why are we here? What do we believe? Where are we going?
SESSION THREE: OUR STRUCTURE How do we get things done?
The Lord wants us to be a part of a family/fellowship. There are three things that make us just that. At Amazing Grace Community Church we have a common salvation, a common statement of who we are and where we’re going, and a common structure. (Click on the following "Session" links)
SESSION ONE: OUR SALVATION • The Meaning of Salvation • The Symbols of Salvation
SESSION TWO: OUR STATEMENTS • Our Great Statements • Our Faith Statement • Our Vision Statement Who are we and why are we here? What do we believe? Where are we going?
SESSION THREE: OUR STRUCTURE How do we get things done?