TCTN Assesment Presentation.

Covenant Life Church Vision Statement

Covenant Life Church exists to see people radically transformed in Christ who leverage their lives for God’s glory.

What is a church?

A Gathering of Christians

The church is not the building. The church are the people who have been saved by the substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus.

The church gathers to worship God who is worthy of all worship.

Psalm 34:1-8 “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”

Who Are Ambassadors

Every Christians is an ambassador—either a good one or a bad one. But we all represent God.

2 Corinthians 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

For Jesus Kingdom

God is building his kingdom and until we are called home or Jesus comes back we are called to be about the work of building the kingdom of Jesus.

Acts 9:20-22 “And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.”

We build the kingdom of God as we faithfully proclaim the gospel with our lives and our mouths.

In A Place

God strategically places churches with a purpose. Our mission field is Lakeside. We want every Lakesider to be transformed in Christ and living their life for the glory of God.

You have the sphere of influence you do because a sovereign God has placed you there. Your history, your hurts, your healing are all being used to minister in a specific place with specific people. Where you are is where God wants you to build the kingdom.

Our Values

Jesus Changes Everything

Romans 6:1-4 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

You cannot be saved and stay the same. In Christ you are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) and you are being transformed from “one degree of glory to the next into the image of Christ” (2 Cor. 3:18).

Jesus changes everything about our lives. All of life is subject to Christ.

Life is Communal

We are saved into the family of God. We are saved into the body of Christ. Iron sharpens iron. We grow in community.

Loved People, Love People

Phil. 2:4-6 “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,”

God has been kind to us. We are kind to others. God has shown us patience. So we show patience to others. God has given us mercy, grace, forgiveness, he has been long suffering and gentle.

We want people to know the love of God and God will love them through us.

Grateful People Give

Tithing is an act of worship toward God. He gives us all that we have and we worship Him by giving back to Him what He has given us to steward.

In doing this we show that our treasure is God and not the things he gives us.

Moved People Multiply

The gospel is the great news of God’s love for His people. In turn we love others as those who bear the image of God (Gen. 1:27). And as those who need the mercy and grace of God.

We do this through being the hands, feet, and mouth of Christ.

Our Location

Covenant Life church is located in Lakeside, a “cityburb” of Richmond, VA.

We do not have a demographic/people group that we are trying to reach above others. For 3 reasons:

It’s the wrong question.

We don’t want to structure our church through the lens of what a certain demographic of people would like. The better question is what does Christ want his church to be like and how do we help people be that.

Demographics are too broad.

Even a demographic doesn’t accurately describe the people who are in that “group”.

People (especially in Lakeside) don’t want to be targeted.

People want to know that you care about them. Not reaching people that are like them.

How will we reach lost people in Lakeside?

By the grace of God.

1 Corinthians 3:6-7 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”

3 Step Plan

Engage the lost.

Take the gospel with us.

Evangelism training

Model it

Encourage it.

Trust God for Growth.

Making & Growing Disciples

Making Disciple Makers

Every follower of Jesus a disciple maker (Everyone aiming for this)

Model discipleship (Walking along someone in the Christian Life)

Equip for discipleship (What do I do with a disciple?)

Call newly saved people to leverage their lives for God’s glory

Discovery study (I’m a Christian, Now What?)

Christian intimacy (No double lives)

Godly pressure and support.

Ask often, “Who are you discipline?”

Help them to do it.

Raising Up Leaders

Watch/Asses in light of biblical qualifications

(1 Timothy 3:1-7

1 Timothy 3:1–7 ESV

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

Titus 1:5-9 “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”

All of these are qualities every Christians should have and aspire to.

Spend Time With People

Get to know their story. Who they are. Their likes and dislikes.

Give Them Responsibility & Trust

Let them lead an event, a team, teach.

Give & Receive Feedback

Show them how to gently correct/guide someone.

Show them how to receive feedback humbly

Cast lots and hope you get lucky.

Just kidding.

Questions?

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