BLAIR RIDGE BAPTIST CHURCH
PURPOSE: The purpose of Blair Ridge Baptist Church is to glorify God, the Father and His Son, by intentionally training individuals to know Jesus personally; worship Him enthusiastically; apply His Biblical truth regularly; share their lives and resources generously; reproduce this purpose faithfully. (1 Corinthians 10:31; John 17:3; Psalm 100:1-3; Colossians 3:1,2; Matthew 28:19,20; Romans 12:13; 2 Timothy 2:2)
Blair Ridge Baptist Church seeks to be known for the disciples that we produce. We define a disciple as an individual who is going through the following sequence: possession of a genuine faith in Jesus Christ which brings eternal life; intentional Christ-like growth by being established in the disciplines of God’s Word, prayer, fellowship, and witnessing; active involvement in service to Christ; ultimately reproducing this biblical training and motivation in others. (John 6:40; Ephesians 5:1,2; Romans 12:1-6; 2 Timothy 2:15)
Our Philosophy of Equipping
and Equippers
1.
We
believe that we are to be an equipping church with the majority of our
thrust being centered on the development and maturing of Christians. Therefore, the selection and responsibility
of all leaders will center on upholding this maturing process. (Ephesians
4:11,12)
2. Leaders will be selected based on character, giftedness, faithfulness
and area of interest. (Acts 6:1-6)
3. Leaders must be growing disciples committed to the church’s
philosophy of ministry, involved in
accountability, and taking part in ongoing leadership training. They are to be
actively involved in the equipping of the rest of the congregation for
ministry. (Hebrews 10:24,25)
4. Pastor(s) will lead the discipleship strategy through teaching,
apprenticeships, and accountability. They will train and oversee disciples /
disciplemakers and serve as models.
(Ephesians 4:11,12; 1 Timothy 3:2-7)
5. Deacons are to ensure that the pastoral staff is able to focus on
the ministry of the Word and prayer.
The deacons are to minister to the church body and serve as trustees of
the church property. (Acts 6:1-6; 1 Timothy 3:8)
6. All church members
are to desire to grow as disciples and should respond favorably to the
assistance given by the leaders. (Hebrews 13:17)
1. The purpose of every activity of our church is to produce and further develop disciples. Each activity will be evaluated by its effectiveness in producing disciples, and will be modified or discontinued if determined ineffective. (Matthew 28:19,20)
2. The proper infrastructure for the disciplemaking process includes a healthy balance between large groups (for unity), medium-sized groups (for fellowship), and small groups (for intimacy). Therefore, emphasis will be upon establishing and maintaining structures that meet these particular needs. (Acts 1:15; 2:46; 15:12,30; 20:7)
3. Evangelism must include both spontaneous and strategic methods that will flex and change according to the type of people we are trying to reach. The gospel will never change, but our methods will shift in response to our culture. Thus, many methods can be in use at any one time. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)
4. Worship services will be warm and accepting of newcomers, yet the primary function of the services will be for leading believers in true worship and for edification through the Word. (Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 10:24,25)
5. Ministries, task forces, and discipleship structures will be our primary means for decisions and ministry. Boards and committees will be minimized so that the number of persons doing ministry can be maximized. (Acts 6:1-6; Acts 4:11,12)
6. Apprenticeships with current leaders will be our primary means for training new leaders. (2 Timothy 2:2; 3:10-14)
Our Philosophy of Methods and
Principles to Help Us Best Make Disciples
1. All of our ministries will be Biblically sound and supported by a strong base of prayer, thereby expressing our total dependence upon God. (Ephesians 6:18)
2. Discipleship is a team effort, therefore each church member should be involved in the process. (1 Corinthians 12:12-26)
3. Biblical Christianity includes worship, fellowship, accountability and service, therefore, we will lovingly and humbly encourage each believer to make these commitments. (Hebrews 10:24,25; Galatians 6:1; Romans 12:1)
4. Facilities and resources are only important as they serve to enhance the mission of making disciples. Therefore, we will budget for growth rather than maintenance, being dependent upon God to provide for every genuine need. (Philippians 4:19; Matthew 25:14-29)
5. We will emphasize quality of our ministries instead of their quantity. We will be concerned with the quality of the disciples produced rather than the number of people involved. (1 Corinthians 3:9-15; 2 Timothy 3:16,17)
6. The home is a critical environment for disciplemaking, therefore we will offer training to instill Biblical principles for family relationships. (Colossians 3:18-21; Deuteronomy 6:5-9)
7. Our commitment to the principle of multiplication of ourselves is extended beyond our region, therefore we will recruit, train, send and support short-term and full-time missionaries. (Acts 13:1-3; Mark 16:15,16)
8. This
philosophy of ministry will be as binding as our bylaws and can be amended in the same way.