Our Purpose The purpose of Fleetwood Bible Church is to increase love for God and neighbor by making...

Our Purpose

The purpose of Fleetwood Bible Church is to increase love for God and neighbor by making disciples of Christ.

Our Vision

Transforming lives in gospel community.Transforming communities with gospel lives.

Our Discipleship Path

To fulfill our purpose and realize our vision, Fleetwood Bible Church has identified a discipleship path containing three key elements, all centered around the gospel.

GOSPEL

What Is the Gospel?

The gospel is the good news announcement that Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, died for our sins, rose again from the dead, eternally triumphant over all his enemies, so that there is now no condemnation for those who repent and believe in him; instead they have everlasting life, peace, and joy in God, who will restore all things for his glory.

Those who obey Jesus’ first command, “Come, follow me” (Matt 4:19), are his disciples, and the discipleship journey begins.

What Is a Disciple?

A disciple is a Spirit-transformed follower of Christ who is conforming to his image and making other disciples.

Galatians 4:19b“. . . until Christ is formed in you.”

Philippians 3:10b“. . . becoming like [Jesus] in his death.”

1 John 2:6“Whoever claims to live in [Christ] must walk as Jesus did.”

Matthew 28:18a“Go and make disciples of all nations . . . .”

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The FBC Discipleship Path

Fleetwood Bible Church seeks to facilitate a disciple-making movement by challenging people to participate regularly and meaningfully in all three elements of the discipleship path, each of which is centered around the gospel.

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VibrantWORSHIPServices

SolidBIBLICALTeachings

DynamicCOMMUNITY

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Vibrant WORSHIP Services

The 1st key element of our discipleship path is regular and meaningful participation in avibrant worship service.

Psalm 92:1-2“Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.”

1.

In vibrant worship services . . . We seek to meet in the Spirit to praise God. We seek to meet under the Word to hear biblical truth. We seek to meet around the Table to commune with Christ.

We encourage regular and meaningful participation in one of the weekly Sunday morning worship services offered at Fleetwood Bible Church.


Vibrant WORSHIP Services

Some Options:

Sundays at 8:30 a.m.Traditional Worship Service

Sundays at 11:00 a.m.Blended Worship Service

A Future Third Service?

✓ Opportunities to Serve:

Greeters, Ushers, Security, Music, Media, Children’s Church, Nursery, Etc.

1.Vibrant

WORSHIPServices

Solid BIBLICAL Teachings

The 2nd key element of our discipleship path is regular and meaningful participation in a solid biblical teaching class.

2 Timothy 3:16“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

In solid biblical teaching classes . . . We seek to grow in our understanding of the Bible and Christian theology. We seek to be transformed by the renewing of our mind to do God’s will. We seek to come to know God better through the revelation he has given.

We encourage regular and meaningful participation in one of the weekly Bible teaching classes offered at Fleetwood Bible Church.

2.Solid

BIBLICALTeachings

Solid BIBLICAL Teachings

Some Options:

Sunday School ClassesSundays at 9:45 a.m.

Age-Based Bible ClassesWednesdays at 6:45 p.m.

Other Weekly Bible Teaching Classes


Teachers, Assistants, Set-Up and Tear-Down, Food Preparation, Media, Etc.

2.Solid

BIBLICALTeachings

Dynamic COMMUNITY Groups

The 3rd key element of our discipleship path is regular and meaningful participation in adynamic Community Group.

Hebrews 10:24-25a“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.”

In dynamic Community Groups . . . . We seek to share life experiences with each other in authentic gospel relationships. We seek to hold ourselves accountable to the biblical-theological truths we have received. We seek to be on mission with God and others in our neighborhoods and communities.

We encourage regular and meaningful participation in one of the Community Groups offered at Fleetwood Bible Church.

3.Dynamic

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Dynamic COMMUNITY Groups

Some Options:

Fleetwood Area (Valentino) Kutztown Area (Kuchenbrod) Young Adults (Dickinson)

Additional church groups and Home Cell Groups in the process of transitioning to the Community Group format.


Hosting a Group, Leading a Group, Organizing Group Service Projects, Etc.

3.Dynamic

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OverlapThere is some overlap in these three key elements of the discipleship path. For example, a Community Group might have a time of worship, or a Bible teaching class might have a time of fellowship, and a worship service surely has some Bible teaching. But on the whole, each element targets a different and vital aspect of our corporate Christian discipleship.

BalanceNeither under-commitment nor over-commitment is encouraged at FBC. Ideally, members and attendees would participate meaningfully and regularly in one aspect of each of these three elements, along with a place of service. So, to be involved in numerous Bible classes but not in a Community Group would be out of balance.

ServiceServing others is part of our discipleship, and it can happen in numerous ways. We can use our gifts on-site to serve in a ministry of the church, or off-site to serve in a Community Group. In fact, Community Groups can serve the church family together as a team in various ways.

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The FBC Discipleship Path

Walking the FBC discipleship path involves regular and meaningful participation in…

a worship service a Bible teaching class a Community Group

…and the use of one’s gifts and abilities to serve in one area of church life. GOSPEL



DynamicCOMMUNITY

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Our Focus Right Now

We believe the worship services and Bible classes at FBC are fairly strong, healthy, and well attended. We praise God for the fruit and blessings we’ve seen in these areas.

Still, our corporate discipleship at FBC is not complete without dynamic Community Groups, so that is the key element of our discipleship path that we are focusing on right now.

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What Is a Community Group?

A Community Group is a committed group of 10-20 individuals who function as a family within the larger church family—learning, loving, and serving each other while doing life and mission together for the gospel.

A Community Group is NOT primarily:

A Bible study A program of the church A social club designed to meet “my needs” A cause-based or activist group A weekly activity to check off the list

Rather, a Community Group is a smaller group of people within the larger church family who intentionally do life and mission together as part of their corporate discipleship.

William T. Ham“There are many things which a person can do alone, but being a Christian is not one of them. As the Christian life is, above all things, a state of union with Christ, and of union of his followers with one another, love of the brethren is inseparable from love of God.”

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Why Are Community Groups Important?

We were made for community. It’s part of who we are as human beings made in the image of a God. God has revealed himself as the divine Three-in-One, a single, triune community of love, joy, and mutuality. Moreover, God has said it is not good for us to be alone. He made us to be in relationship with him and each other. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ, both are possible.

Resisting the Culture of Individualism We live in a culture that prizes individualism—one that views community as something to consume rather than commit to. And let’s face it, community is not always easy. But when we remove ourselves from the center, and put Jesus at the center, community is transforming.

Philippians 2:3-4“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

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The Original NT Community Group

The twelve disciples were a community group. This band of men had little in common besides Jesus, yet within three years, their lives and community were transformed into a world-changing movement for Christ. They learned, loved, and served together as they followed Jesus.

When Jesus is at the center of a group of people (i.e., when we allow Jesus to increase while we decrease), lives are transformed. That is why Fleetwood Bible Church has identified as our vision:Transforming lives in gospel community.Transforming communities with gospel lives.

We believe that gospel community is vital, and that Jesus Christ is central to life transformation. Therefore, we are seeking to connect everyone to community life at FBC.

Ephesians 4:15-16“Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

DynamicCOMMUNITY

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What are the Values of Community Groups?

Each Community Group will be different, but the “DNA” common to all of them is the following set of core values:

GOSPEL—we strive to follow Jesus: CG members seek to hold themselves accountable for the biblical truths they have received. They ask each other, “What is Jesus saying to you?” and “What are you doing about what Jesus is saying to you?”

COMMUNITY—we strive to love one another: CG members seek to share life experiences with each other. They strive to care for one another by learning each others’ stories and practicing the “one anothers” of Scripture.

MISSION—we strive to bless the community: CG members seek to be on mission with God and each other in their communities. They look for ways to connect with their neighbors in order to bless them and connect them to God.

Short-Circuiting DiscipleshipIn the Great Commission, Jesus does not tell us merely to “teach,” but to “teach them to obey all that I have commanded.” Accountability for what we’ve been taught is done better in smaller groups than larger ones.

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What Do Community Groups Do?

Community Groups will likely have certain “rhythms”:

Weekly or Bi-weekly Possibilities

Meet together Eat together Learn together Pray together Reach out together

Monthly or Quarterly Possibilities

Serve together on specific mission Celebrate life events together Guys’ and girls’ night out Participate in FBC baptismal services Attend FBC congregational business meetings

C. S. Lewis said that true friendship is born when one person says to another, “What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . . .” Loneliness is then pushed back, and the image of God is lived out through us as we do life together.

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Some Other Aspects of Community Groups

Some Community Groups will launch their discussions from the Sunday morning message. Using a pre-prepared guide from the sermon, they ask, “How do we live out what we heard in the message?”

Some Community Groups might be geographically based, targeting a certain neighborhood or community for prayer and missional outreach.

Some Community Groups might have a few unbelievers in them. This is not only acceptable but desirable, as unbelievers can be loved for who they are and perhaps birthed into the kingdom of God.

Most Community Groups will meet in homes, though a few might meet on-site at FBC for certain reasons.

DynamicCOMMUNITY

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Corrie Ten Boom“How rich is anyone who can simply see human faces.” Corrie was right. And seeing human faces is even more important in this age of digital technology, media saturation, and personal isolation. Genuine Christian community is the antidote to these trends of depersonalization.

Some Other Aspects of Community Groups

All Community Groups will be led by an accountable leader. Group leaders attend a 6-week training series (“Turbo Group”) and then meet periodically thereafter for coordination (“Huddle”).

All Community Groups will have an expectation of multiplication.

What ties all the Community Groups together is our DNA (i.e., gospel, community, and mission).

DynamicCOMMUNITY

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Anonymous“If you and I both follow Christ, then how can we be strangers?”

What About Home Cell Groups?

Our existing Home Cell Groups are in the process of morphing into Community Groups. Most of them already do a great job providing Bible study, fellowship, prayer, and encouragement for believers, and that’s a good start. Usually what’s needed to convert a Home Cell Group to a Community Group are some “nudges” toward:

Missional experiences and community involvement Accountability for biblical teaching already received Cataloguing and sharing stories of God at work The presence of a few unbelievers in the group A desire and strategy for multiplication

In a nutshell, the primary difference between a Community Group and a Home Cell Group is intentionality concerning our DNA (i.e., a deliberate effort to balance gospel, community, and mission).

To alter the DNA is to create a mutation!

Charles Colson“Though I know intellectually how vulnerable I am to pride and power, I am the last one to know when I succumb to their seduction. That's why spiritual Lone Rangers are so dangerous—and why we must depend on trusted brothers and sisters who love us enough to tell us the truth.”

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What About Other Groups at FBC?

FBC will continue offering a few “service groups” and “care groups” for members and attendees as needed, but we are in the process of aligning most of our other small groups to the Community Group DNA. Remember, neither over-commitment nor under-commitment is encouraged.

RAMP IT UP: Are you involved in one circle? Then pray about adding a second. Are you involved in two circles? Then pray about adding the third. Are you serving the church family with your God-given gifts, or are you simply being served by others? Each element of the discipleship path is vitally important.

SCALE IT BACK: Are you involved in multiple groups inside one circle? Then cut something in order to be more balanced. The reason many believers are “over-fed and undernourished” is because they engage in endless Bible studies without ever living out those studies in gospel community.

1 John 1:7“If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

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An Important Note

We recognize that true discipleship is not measured by “counting circles.” Walking the FBC discipleship path is a means to an end. As already noted, a disciple is a Spirit-transformed follower of Christ who is conforming to his image and making other disciples. Jesus said:

Luke 6:40“A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.”

That is our goal. SERVE

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An Illustration

What would it look like if the entire congregation were “firing on all cylinders” and walking the FBC discipleship path together?

Maybe it would someday be said of us, as it was said of the early church, by the grace and power of God we “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:26).

Engine = Power Fuel = Sustenance Transmission = Activation

Even if the engine is fueled up and running well, the car will go nowhere unless the transmission is engaged!

“The Engine”

“The Fuel”

“The Transmission”

GOSPEL


SolidBIBLICALTeachings SERVE

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The Great Adventure Ahead

We believe the FBC discipleship path is simple yet profound. It’s workable yet God-sized. It’s clear yet unpredictable.

So let the adventure begin!

For the glory of God, the fulfillment of our purpose, the realization of our vision, and the expansion of Christ’s kingdom, take the challenge and walk the discipleship path at Fleetwood Bible Church.

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The Challenge

My commitment: As part of my corporate discipleship at FBC, I will participate regularly and meaningfully in…

a worship service a Bible teaching class a Community Group

…and I will use my gifts and abilities to serve in one area of church life.

If you are interested in leading, participating in, and/or hosting a Community Group, please see:

Pastor Jason DickinsonAssociate Pastor for Discipleship Ministries

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DynamicCOMMUNITY

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The Discipleship Path

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