The
Family Ministry of Grace Fellowship Church seeks to form a strategic
partnership between the church and the home for the purpose of equipping
both parents and children with the timeless truths of God's word. The
following outlines our vision for Family Ministry:
Mission:
Grace Fellowship Church Family Ministry exists to glorify God by raising up a Christ centered
& Christ exalting generation (Psalm 78:4-7) of children & youth
who spread a passion for the glory of God. While upholding parents, and
especially fathers, as the primary disciple-makers of their children
(Genesis 18:19; Deuteronomy 6:4-7; Ephesians 6:1-4), we will raise up
this generation by forming a partnership between the church and home for
the purpose of equipping parents to disciple their children (Ephesians
4:11-12) and equipping children to live Gospel-centered lives.
Grace Fellowship's 3D Vision for Connecting Church and Home:
DEFINE the church and home as “co-champions” of one another
DEVELOP an authentic partnership between the church and home
DESIGN a strategic discipleship process from birth to graduation
Define
First,
Grace Fellowship Family Ministry seeks to clearly DEFINE the church and home
as "co-champions" of each other. As co-champions, the church recognizes
and celebrates God's design for the home as the initial staging ground
for the advance of the Gospel. As the husband and wife embody the
essence of the Gospel, the union of Christ and his Church, the home
serves as the primary context for the discipleship and spiritual
formation of children in order that the testimony of the Lord Jesus
Christ would be established for generations to come (Psalm 78). As the
husband shepherds his home, he represents God to his family, leading
discipleship, spiritual growth, and mission.
The home, in turn,
recognizes and celebrates God's design for the church. The church is
God’s ultimate model of reconciliation consisting of a multiracial &
multi-cultural people living in right relation to God & each
other. This reconciliation is displayed & experienced in Kingdom
communities who acknowledge & submit to the reign of Christ. This
model is ultimately the pattern for all future cosmic reconciliation
when creation will once again be rightly related to God & itself.
As creation awaits this glorious event, the church also serves as a sign
or picture of the future new creation where God will personally and
visibly dwell forever with his people. At this time, the church is the
dwelling place of God by the Spirit being built on the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself being the
cornerstone. This superstructure & its model of reconciliation
gloriously displayed in the church was God’s plan in Christ from all
eternity. (Eph 2:19-22, Eph 3:9-11, 1 Cor 3:16-17, 2 Cor 6:16, 1 Peter
2:4-8)
Common Questions Regarding the Home:
What do we mean by “co-champions?”
For
the church, the term “co-champions” means that the leadership of the
church recognizes and celebrates at every level the centrality of the
home in the discipleship and spiritual formation of children. The
church thus seeks to acknowledge, encourage and equip parents,
especially fathers, in this God-given task, treating the home as the
ultimate spiritual small group for children. Parents, in turn, champion
the church by recognizing and celebrating God’s design for the church
as the unique gathering of believers, called out by God to be a
community of disciples who do not neglect fellowship together, who
corporately submit to God’s Word, and who corporately pursue God’s
mission. Parents champion the church as the family of faith which has
experienced redemption in Christ. As a result the church stands as a
missional community that brings light to the nations with the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. The church and home not only acknowledge one another, but
champion each other’s roles as divinely designed by God himself.
What do you mean by the home as the “initial staging ground for the advance of the Gospel?”
From
the foundation of the world, God desired to fill the earth with human
beings who worship, serve, and enjoy him. Though humanity rebelled and
the divine relationship was severed, it is through the Gospel that God
is completing his original purpose to fill the earth with his people.
Though many people come to believe the Gospel outside of the home, God
designed the home to be the primary context in which children learn the
Gospel and commit their lives to Christ. Thus, the Gospel advances most
effectively within the personal and intimate relationships of the home,
and God’s purpose to fill the earth with his people continues toward
completion.
What do you mean by “husband and wife embody the essence of the Gospel?”
In
Ephesians 5:22-33, the husband-wife relationship is presented in terms
of the union of Jesus Christ and his church. Because of sin, humanity
was separated and alienated from God. However, through the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ, the relationship between God and man is
restored, for believers are united by faith to Jesus Christ, who is God
in the flesh. Like marriage, everything that belongs to Christ now
belongs to his bride, and the church now finds her identity and life in
him. As wives submit to their husbands and husbands sacrificially love
their wives, the essence of the Gospel is displayed to their children
and to the world.
Common Questions regarding the Church:
What do you mean by a model of reconciliation?
The
biblical concept of reconciliation centers on the idea of a restored
relationship or friendship. Reconciliation proper is the bringing
together of two estranged parties for the purpose of peace. Ever since
the fall of man, we have been estranged from God & in desperate need
of reconciliation because of sin. Sin resulted in an estrangement
between God & his creation. The gospel is so powerful because even
though our sin has offended God, He still initiated and authored
reconciliation with us. This reconciliation was accomplished through
the death & resurrection of Jesus Christ (Rom 5:9-11, 2 Cor
5:18-19). Once people enter into a relationship with Jesus, they are
fully reconciled to God resulting in a restored relationship with their
creator. These reconciled sinners then become part of a reconciled
community known as the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. This community
is built on the very notion of reconciliation. The church is full of
broken sinners who were once estranged from God but through the blood of
Christ have now been restored to their creator. Thus, the church
consists of people who are rightly related to God & rightly related
to each other. Our relationships have been restored both vertically
& horizontally. This picture or image is ultimately the model of
reconciliation upon which the new creation is based. It serves as a
model or sign of what is to come.
Why is the church multiracial & multi-cultural?
Simply
put God has reconciled people from every tribe, language, people, &
nation (Rev 5:9). The people of God are not defined by race or color
but by being rightly related to God. As a result both color &
culture are celebrated & enjoyed by the people of God.
What is a Kingdom community?
The
Kingdom of God refers to God’s reign, rule, & sovereignty. This
restorative reign entered the world in the person of Jesus Christ.
Although we await the fullness of God’s reign at the consummation of the
Kingdom, God is currently ruling through his Davidic Messiah, Jesus of
Nazareth. This reign is currently seen and experienced in Kingdom
Communities called the local church. The local church is a Kingdom
Community where believers unite together and live under the reign of
Jesus. In these communities of faith, believers enter God’s reign, live
under God’s reign, and are governed by God’s reign. Together, they
grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord as they strive, with the
power of the Holy Spirit, to produce Kingdom ethics. The very mission
of these communities is to live in such a radical way that the Kingdom
of God & the reign of His Christ are visibly evident. The church
has been commissioned by Jesus to bear witness to these Kingdom
realities through verbal witness and changed lives.
What does it mean to acknowledge & submit to the reign of Christ?
Simply
put, it means that Jesus is your Lord and you follow him. More
specifically, it means that you have repented of your self-worship &
sin and you have trusted in the finished work of Christ for your
salvation. Living under the reign of Christ has radically affected both
your vertical and horizontal relationships. Vertically, you are now
accepted by God and in right standing with God. Horizontally, you are
now capable of truly loving your neighbor as yourself and living
relationally with others as God intended. Living under God’s reign in
Christ restores relational harmony. The sign of a person living under
the reign of Christ is displayed in ethics that are informed and
influenced by the Kingdom of God.
What does it mean that this model is the pattern for all future cosmic reconciliation?
From
all eternity God’s plan has been to reveal His glory for His own
enjoyment and for the enjoyment of His people. The greatest display of
God’s glory is found in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s plan has
always been to unite all things in Jesus, things in heaven and things on
earth so that Jesus is Lord of all. The glory of God displayed in the
cross of Christ paved the way for cosmic reconciliation. The first sin
resulted in the judgment of both man and creation. Since that time,
creation has also been awaiting its release from captivity and curse.
The church is the model for all future cosmic reconciliation. In the
church, we see reconciled and redeemed saints living in community
because of the substitutionary death and sacrifice of Jesus. It just so
happens, that this sacrifice is also the means of release and
reconciliation for the entire cosmos. In this way, all things in
creation are united in Jesus such that he truly becomes Lord of all.
Just as man is reconciled to God through Jesus Christ thus creation
itself will be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. Thus the church
is the model of things to come specifically things pertaining to cosmic
reconciliation and restoration.
What does it mean that the church is the dwelling place of God by the Spirit?
The
Bible is full of vivid word pictures that describe the people of God.
One picture is that of a temple or dwelling place. Since the beginning
of creation, man was created to dwell with God in a personal and
intimate way. This personal relationship was catastrophically destroyed
as a result of man’s sin. Throughout the rest of the biblical
storyline, God consistently pursues & initiates his redemptive plan
for a restored dwelling place with man. This plan began with covenants
and promises which then led to shadows of what was to come. One such
shadow or sign of the future was God’s reestablished presence with his
people through the tabernacle and temple. These shadows or signs find
their ultimate fulfillment in the God-man Jesus Christ, the one who
tabernacles with His people in a close and personal way. Currently,
Jesus is expanding his reign across the globe by building his church.
As people come to Christ & are indwelt by the Spirit of God, the
church is being built brick by brick, member by member, with Jesus
himself being the cornerstone of the superstructure and the head of the
body. To say that the church is the dwelling place of God means that
when the church gathers for worship there you will find the presence of
God dwelling with his people through the Spirit. This reality is also a
sign which points to the future unabated and unhindered presence of God
dwelling with His people in the new creation. This is the end to which
all redemptive history is moving.
Develop
Second, Grace Fellowship Family Ministry seeks to DEVELOP an authentic partnership between the
church and home by engaging and equipping parents and families. As the
church engages families in love, fellowship, and accountability, parents
are equipped to embody the Gospel before their children and to embrace
their divinely designed roles as the ones primarily responsible for
their children’s spiritual maturity. The church also seeks to develop
authentic relationships with children and youth, serving and equipping
them, alongside their parents, with Gospel-centered truth so that their
growth in spiritual maturity would be supported, encouraged, and
surrounded by the intergenerational family of faith.
Design
Third, Grace Fellowship Family Ministry seeks, in partnership with parents, to DESIGN
a strategic and intentional discipleship process that will prepare
children and youth for adulthood. This synchronized ministry effort
will equip and prepare each generation to live lives that are glorifying
to God.