I know this is going to sound strange, but if I were only allowed to build one team to start Life Bridge, it would not have been a marketing team. It wouldn’t be a team that plans excellent worship services. Small groups would not be at the top of my list. Don’t get me wrong. Each of these teams are vital pieces of the Body of Christ. They just wouldn’t be the first team I put in place. That’s because the Church isn’t sent out into the world to communicate well with new people, create dynamic worship-inspiring music, or to gather people together to pray for one another. The church exists to make mature, Christ-following disciples.
“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’” (Matthew 28:18-20 [NIV84]).
Since we are talking about twelve teams, however, I am going to break them down into manageable chuncks: three groups of four. This week we are going to focus on the four teams that are focused on purposefully making mature, Christ-following disciples.
Jesus has a plan for the church. It starts with Jesus developing leaders. “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers…” (Ephesians 4:11 [NIV]). That’s why I wrote another post saying, “It’s about leadership.”
Leaders in the church will have different Spirit-empowered gifts that will work together as a team. Apostles go out. Prophets speak the truth. Evangelists share the Good News of the Gospel. Pastors shepherd the flock while teachers help them learn and grow. They work together “to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:12 [NIV]).
These leaders will equip the rest of the Church to serve one another in love. As they all serve, using their gifts, talents, and abilities for the glory of God and to build up His Church, the entire Church, as individuals and as a group, will be built up “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:13 [NIV]). This is the process of moving someone from no faith to sharing one’s faith. It moves a person from “Who is Jesus?” to “Let me tell you about Jesus.” This process is what we at Life Bridge call “The Path.”
There are many milestones along the path that help us recognize where we are, how far we’ve come, and where we need to go next. There are many more incremental steps between these milestones. Building a team for each step or even each milestone would be overwhelming to start. So we will only build four to begin with.
Engage – The Engage Team will be doing the work of an Apostle: going out and engaging people in the community. They will especially be focused on finding those who have no relationship with God or no involvement in God’s Church. Then, they will work to invite and involve them.
Empower – The Empower Team will be doing the work of both Prophet and Evangelist: Helping people hear God’s truth so they will recognize the bad news, accepting the Good News of God’s saving and empowering plan.
Equip – The Equip Team will be doing the work of the Pastor and Teacher: Caring for the flock so they do not stray and equiping them to serve while growing in maturity. They will focus on helping people who have already come home to the Father through the Son and received the Holy Spirit.
Encourage – The Encourage Team will be focused on developing more leaders in the way Jesus developed the twelve, seventy two, and other disciples. They will begin with people who are already maturing in their walk together with God.
These four teams working together will purposefully move people from one end of the discipleship path to the other. They will work together as a team, taking responsibility for helping a person grow at the various milestones and steps in their walk. They will build everyone up into Christ, who is the Head of His Body – The Church. “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” (Ephesians 4:16 [NIV]).
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