Trinity Baptist Church Online

The Spiritual Growth Plan: 

Just as a plant needs good soil, sun and regular watering to grow, at TBC we know that people also need an environment conducive for spiritual growth. At TBC our three main ministry streams try to do that. One helps you to develop your plan for growth, the other helps to provide the best plan for growth and the last helps to aim you at a specific purpose for your growth. But first, it must all start with a person who really wants to make a difference in their life.

The thought is always there, “Could my life be better than it is?” Jesus said, (John 10:10) In other words, Jesus wants us to experience maximum life. So, how “I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full.” do we get there? The answer is simple, “follow Jesus!” The question then becomes, “How can I learn to do that?”

The way to get from where we are now to where we want to be is to “grow” there. At Trinity Baptist Church we believe that it takes at least three key efforts on our part to partner with God for our spiritual growth.

HAVE A PLAN TO GROW

Someone once said, “Most people don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan.” So first, we must ask, “Do I want my life to change? In other words, do I have a plan to learn to follow Christ better?

To help you respond to this first set of questions we ask that you develop the “baseball diamond” plan for your life. Just as in baseball you have to get to first base before you can get to second base, and second base before you can get to third base, we also need to learn basic spiritual things before we can taken on more difficult spiritual challenges. At TBC we find it helpful to look at our spiritual growth is five phases:

We all start out in the “on deck circle. “ This first phase is where we are trying to decide whether we even want to learn how to put God first. Once we say “yes” then the second phase is having the courage to step up to home plate and make the effort to start checking out the claims of Christ and the teachings of the Bible (Matt. 6:33). It usually means we start attending church services regularly and even take a few classes (B.I.G. or Bible Information Groups) that give us basic Bible information to make better life decisions.

The third phase is critical. It is where we make the decision to trust in Christ’s death and resurrection as our only hope for maximum life. We begin to realize how empowering the gift given at the cross really is (Gal. 2:20) We gradually learn to let Christ live through us. Here we discover so many new things about how to accomplish maximum life. It is a thrilling time of personal growth.

Finally we arrive at second base and head to third, or the fourth phase of the plan. This is the humbling moment when we recognize that the best way to continue growing as a Christian is to serve others (Phil.2:3-4). In this phase we learn the do’s and don’ts of Christian service. Lastly, in the fifth phase we fall in love with the word “Go.” We start looking for ways to help others to discover how much God loves them and how He proved it by giving the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. (for more information on using this plan fro growth please get the booklet, “Your Partner for Growth.”)

HAVE A PLACE TO GROW

The second question we must ask is, “Where is the best for me to go to stick to the plan?” Our response to this question is simple and with conviction, “In a small group!” We all need help to grow. Jesus met with twelve men for three years in a small group. His model is a good model to use for our own growth. We are convinced that the most dynamic things going on at Trinity are happening right in our many small groups.

A small group is an intentionally small community of 3 to 14 people who come together on a regular basis with the common desire to together gain godly wisdom in order to become a better follower of Jesus Christ.

We have many kinds of small groups but the one that is designed to teach you the basics is the “Growth Group.”Each Growth Group meeting includes relevant Bible discussion, sharing concerns and joys, conversational prayer and training experiences to stretch our faith (Please call and ask for our Growth Group brochure).

But it is all of the small groups where lives gradually become transformed.  To the degree you get involved in a small group is the degree that you will make it around the bases in your spiritual growth plan.

HAVE A PURPOSE FOR GROWTH

The third set of questions we eventually ask is, “For what purpose am I growing? How specifically can my life make a difference for the kingdom of God? Where should I serve?”

Our response to those kinds of question is the reason for our “Ministry Community.” You join the Ministry Community when you are ready to become joined with others who together are learning to put their faith into action. After all, we can only listen to so many sermons and sit in so many classes before we feel compelled to “Go and make a difference!”

The Ministry Community is where we hope you begin to discover your true calling as a servant of God. There is nothing more calming yet energizing than knowing that you are doing exactly what God created you to do.

There are so many formal and informal ways to serve Christ. At TBC most of the formal ministries fall under one of six basic areas:

• Outreach and Missions

• Fellowship and Shepherding

• Worship and Prayer

• Education and Family

• Social Concern and Justice

• Support Ministries

A plan for growth, a place for growth and a purpose for growth are here at TBC to help you grow. But only you can choose to want to grow. Once you say yes to spiritual growth then we’d love to be your partner for growth.

10 Key Discipleship Principles:

Interested in discipleship? Here are 10 key discipleship principles to live by:

1. Spiritual growth is essential, not optional for followers of Christ.
2. Spiritual growth is a 24-7 process, not a collection of events.
3. Spiritual growth is essentially God’s work in me but it requires my intentional participation.
   
4. Spiritual growth involves those practices, experiences and relationships that help me to live obediently and intimately with Christ and walk in such a way as if He were living in my place.
   
5. Spiritual growth is not a compartmentalized pursuit. God is not just interested in my spiritual life; rather He is interested in my whole life, all of it.
   
6. Spiritual growth can happen in me in every moment. It is not restricted to certain times, or practices or just when I feel it is happening.
   
7. Spiritual growth is not primarily an individualistic endeavor. Rather it takes place in community and finds its best expressions in serving others.
   
8. Spiritual growth is not impeded by a person’s family background, temperament, life situation, or season of life. It is available right now to all who desire it.
   
9. Spiritual growth and the means of pursuing it will vary from one individual to another. Fully devoted followers of Christ are handcrafted by God, not mass-produced by man. However, God’s church is one of His key crafting tools for accomplishing growth.
   
10. Spiritual growth is ultimately gauged by an increased capacity to love God and love people. Ritual and external checklists cannot really measure it.