Welcome to the NewLife Information Class “Understanding What We Believe”

What on Earth are you here for? Session “0”

I. What on Earth am I here for? A. It all starts with God. 1.You can’t find life’s meaning by looking within yourself.  (Romans 12:2)

2.Your birth, your life, your being here, is no mistake or accident. God planned you  (Acts 17:26)  (Ephesians 1:4)

II. PURPOSE = Why you exist. A. You were born by His Purpose, for His Purpose 1.God loves and values you. YOU MATTER TO GOD!  (John 3:16)

2. God made you so He could love you. This is a truth to build your life on.  (Psalm 139:15-16) 3. You were made to have meaning and to make a difference in this world.

4. Focus on eternity. You will spend far more time on the other side of death.  (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

What on Earth is NewLife here for? Session 1

I. What on Earth is NewLife here for? A. It all starts with God. 1. NewLife desires to be a Biblically functioning church. 2. Therefore we look to the Word for our Purpose and Vision as a church.  (Matthew 28:19-20)

3. We are told to go to all nations and teach them to obey. a. We, right where we are, need to take all we have seen and heard to a world that is dying to hear it.  (Acts 4:20)

II. PURPOSE = Who NewLife is and why we exist. A. At NewLife Community Lutheran Church 1. We exist so that people will become devoted followers of Jesus Christ and, in turn, lead others to God. (Purpose Statement, based on Matthew 28:19-20)

2. We are to go to people and teach them so that they in turn obey Jesus and lead others to Him. 3. Come as you are… just don’t plan on staying that way! 4. God’s plan was to build His kingdom on earth through people… called the body of Christ (the Christian church).

B. Who are the people Jesus is referring to when He said “all nations”?  (Acts 1:8)

1. The Bible makes it clear that … a. Since all people matter to God, all people matter to us. 2. Therefore a Biblically functioning church needs to address all four areas.

a. Jerusalem b. Judea c. Samaria d. Ends of the Earth

3. How do these four areas apply to us today? a. Jerusalem = NewLife, the local church.  We need to build a relational, loving community of believers who look to God’s Word for our church’s direction.

b. Judea = Relationships, those in our spheres of influence.  People in our lives who are disconnected from God.

c. Samaria = Different, outside our spheres of influence.  People who are culturally different from us.

d. Earth = Missions, outside our geographic area.  Extend God’s love beyond the walls of our church, community, state and country.

C. What do we mean by “a devoted follower”? The Bible tells us that the early church…  (Acts 2:42) 1. The early Christian church defines four areas of development.

a. Apostles’ Teaching = regularly studying God’s Word. b. Fellowship = we need to develop horizontal relationships with other believers.

c. Breaking of Bread = receive Christ’s gift to us through regular attendance of Worship. (Communion= come & union) d. Prayer = continually focus on spiritual growth and trust.

2. We are to be always looking for ways to reach all people and encourage them to become a devoted follower. III.VISION= Where NewLife wants to go as a church? A. At NewLife Community Lutheran Church; WE WANT…

1. We want to be a people committed to reseeding Genesee County with biblically functioning churches and to extend ourselves into the world mission field. 2. We want our members to realize God’s presence in their lives and receive nurturing support from one another.

3. We want our church to communicate God’s unchanging Word in a relevant way to a changing world. 4. We want to experience _joy in our serving and worship. 5. We want to live in happiness and peace with one another.

6. And, in everything we do, we want NewLife Community Lutheran Church to be led by the Holy Spirit in order to attract people who are disconnected from God.

B. All ministry decisions need to be done with our Purpose and Vision in mind. 1. Our eyes are on others and not on self. 2. How do we make sure we stay on task?

IV. MINISTRY WHEEL : How we fulfill our Purpose and accomplish our Vision.

A. Administrative Model (Ministry Management Teams) 1. Mission Minded (God’s Mission/ The Church’s Mission) a.Everything we do at NewLife is with mission in mind.

b. Everyone has been called to be in mission, everyone is an evangelist. c. NewLife is committed to reaching out to those who are disconnected from God. - Jerusalem Judea- - Samaria Earth-

2. Master Magnification (Worship) a. The greatest influence we have to reach the disconnected and far from God are through our worship. b. Therefore, it is important that we do everything within our ability to magnify and elevate our God through excellence.

3. Member Maturity (Spiritual Formation) a. We encourage people to be active in a Life Group. b. We encourage people to be involved in serving through sharing of time, talents and treasures. c. We encourage people to be regular in attendance and in the study of God’s Word

4. Ministry Motivation ( Ministry Formation) a. Enables the work of the church to get done and equips people to do the ministry of the church. b. We are all ministers and where we serve, that is our ministry.

c. Every baptized Christian has been given a gift which is special to them. It is given so that they can serve and help to build up the body of Christ, the church. (Spiritual Gifts)

B. What makes up the Ministry Management Team? 1. Each of the four areas has a ; a. Staff Representative.  They are paid by the church to be a resource to fulfill our Purpose and Vision.

b. Board of Director Representative.  They are appointed to conduct the business of the Purpose and Vision. c. Elder Representative.  They are appointed to be the spiritual overseers of the Purpose and Vision.

2. They are only representatives of the church. The people are the church.

C. Why do we call ourselves … “Lutheran Church?” 1. LCMS = Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. (NewLife) a.WELC = Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. b. ELCA = Evangelical Lutheran Church of America