Article Index
Strategic Plan
Biblical Instruction
Spiritual Disciplines
Life’s Struggles
All the Nations
Five Priorities
Conclusion
All Pages

Ministry Advancement Plan

The Lord is clear in His direction to us that, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” (Prov. 16:9). We have been intentional about our plans for the upcoming year. We acknowledge that they require a significant amount of faith on the part of the church family if they are to come to fruition. We also offer them in humble submission before our Lord, although we have attempted to carefully plan, we desire for Him to direct our steps.

The Purpose of Fellowship Bible Church is…

• To exalt Jesus Christ,
• Disciple all people,
• And love others as He loved us.

While continuing to exalt Jesus Christ, and love others as He loved us, this year we would like to place a special focus on that second statement of purpose: To Disciple All People.

Disciple All People

Jesus commanded us to make disciples (Matt. 28:18-20). Our desire is to give our undivided attention to this command from our Savior. We believe that when we keep this command the Lord Jesus will be exalted, and we will have been intentional in our commitment to love others as He loved us.

In this plan you will discover changes to the way we have done things in the past. This is by design. As we evaluated what we have been doing as a church in light of Jesus’ command and our central purpose this year to make disciples of all people we had to acknowledge that there was room for significant improvement. Any change to our existing way of doing things has been intentional. We believe that the change allows us to more effectively move a disciple of the Lord Jesus from His present standing to fuller maturity.

Jesus Himself said, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.” (Luke 6:40). Fellowship Bible Church is committed to the training of disciples. The following pages present our plan to do so over the next several years.

“Disciples To Maturity” Defined

The mature disciple will be like his teacher, Jesus. Jesus’ life demonstrated the following qualities that we would expect to see in the mature disciple. Not only do we find them in Jesus, but we list them here that we might affirm them as a growth target. This is not an all-inclusive list, but these are qualities that we long to be growing and changing towards as we are conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).

• A Sincere Faith: You have a growing trust in the sovereignty of God in the midst of difficult circumstances (Rom. 8:28-29; 1 Tim. 1:5).
• A Discerner of Truth: You can correctly interpret and properly apply the Scriptures in our world (2 Peter 3:16; 2 Tim. 1:5)
• A Communicator of God’s Word: You can effectively communicate God’s truth to both believers and unbelievers (1 Pet. 3:15).
• An Eternal Perspective: You consistently invest your resources in the eternal over the temporal (Matt. 6:33; Col. 3:2).
• A Compassion for the Lost: You are growing in your love for unbelievers in your community, extended community, and in the nations of the world (Matt. 9:36).
• Consistently spend time with God: You practice a consistent prayer life and personal Bible study (Dan. 6:10; Psalm 119)
• Life Change: You are growing and changing towards the character qualifications found for leaders in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 (Rom. 8:29; Acts 6)
• Active Involvement in the Body of Christ: You are using your spiritual gifts and are actively involved in ministry by building up Christ’s Body (1 Cor. 12; Rom. 12; Eph. 4; 1 Pet. 4).
• A Pursuer of Reconciliation: You are quick to pursue repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation (Matt. 5:23; 2 Cor. 5:18; Rom. 12:18)
• A Biblical Problem Solver: You are not just talking about problems, but actively planning Scripture-based solutions (Rom 15:14).
• Demonstrate the Fruit of the Spirit: You are not controlled by the flesh, but controlled by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16-23)
• An Active Discipler of Others: You are actively committed to helping others grow in greater Christ-likeness (2 Tim. 2:2; Phil. 4:9).

Discipling Through Biblical Instruction

From the conception of Fellowship Bible Church (October of 1991) the Sunday morning worship service has found its instructional underpinning in the Scriptures. The Bible has been, and remains, foundational to all we do. Our church family is encouraged to bring their Bible to church, and there is anticipation that the Word of God will be opened, explained and applied during the time of instruction. The Sunday morning worship service remains a significant time in which this occurs, but it is not the only time.

In many ways the instruction that takes place from God’s Word in the Sunday morning worship service brings to the forefront one’s need for our introductory, advanced and specialized training. At the conclusion of our worship service we would hope that one would have: (1) A growing confidence that biblical instruction provides us with God’s answers and (2) A growing realization that there is a personal need for even more biblical instruction.

We are intentional in our commitment to disciple to maturity those believers entrusted to us, and equip them for the work of the ministry. At FBC Discipling to Maturity involves 3 different dimensions of training: (1) Introductory, (2) advanced, and (3) Specialized.

• Introductory Training - We introduce the believer to the truth that the Bible is sufficient for all things pertaining to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3, 2 Tim. 3:16). The curriculum has a three-fold emphasis (Bible exposition, Bible doctrine, Bible living), and is on a six-year schedule. This takes place during the Sunday Adult Bible Fellowship (ABF) classes (9:30-10:45)
• Advanced Training - We desire for the believer to advance both in the depth and breadth of their knowledge and understanding of biblical truth (2 Tim. 2:15). This takes place during the Wednesday Evening classes (7:00-8:15)
• Specialized Training - We offer equipping seminars for specialized training so that the believer may more effectively use their gifts in the ministry of the local church. (Eph. 4:12). This takes place on various weekends and evenings throughout the year.

Introductory Training

Introductory training takes place Sunday mornings from 9:30-10:45 in various locations throughout the church campus.

The apostle Paul reminded Timothy that he ought to give attention to reading, exhortation, and to doctrine. (1 Tim 4:13). We find in this three-fold emphasis a well-balanced proposal for how we should instruct the flock. The three words found in this passage speak to three different focus points in the Word of God.

Reading describes the reading of the Scripture (Ex. 24:7; Josh. 6:35; Acts 15:21). Yet in the Gospel record when the Scripture is read it is often followed with an explanation of the text (see Luke 4:16-ff). We see this first emphasis as one of expositional teaching from the Word. This is most effectively done in the study and explanation of a particular book of the Bible (both the Old and New Testaments). We do that regularly here, but not exclusively.

Exhortation refers to applying the right Scripture to a real life situation (1 Thes. 5:14). The Greek word has the idea of coming along side in order that we might call out encouragement. The focus here is that we would use a specific Scripture for a specific need. We don’t select these topics randomly, but we prayerfully consider what topics would be most needed. Then we dig into the Scripture to find the appropriate biblical passage.

Doctrine is the general word for teaching used in the Scripture. But the word used in this context may refer to a “systematic treatment of the truths of the Christian faith.” In an era when the content of what one believes doesn’t seem to matter to most people—we believe that doctrine is of extreme importance to the body of Christ (Eph. 4:14). Therefore while the Bible should remain the foundation of all we do, the focus point on the Scripture might change. For instance sometimes our study will lead us to emphasize a book in the Bible. Other times we might emphasize a particular subject like marriage and the family, or evangelism. Or perhaps we might focus on a particular doctrinal theme such as the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, or the doctrine of the end times.

It is this three-fold emphasis that becomes the basis for our teaching time in our Adult Bible Fellowships (Sunday mornings- 9:30-10:45). This balanced approach allows us to cover some significant biblical territory over time. For instance over a six year window of time we will spend 84 hours in the Old Testament, 72 hours in the New Testament, 72 hours on Bible Doctrine, and 72 hours on Bible living topics.

Mar. 2008 – Aug. 2009	Introductory Books and Topics Covered
Bible Books:	Deuteronomy, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Life of Christ
Bible Doctrine:	Doctrine of Truth, Doctrine of Holy Spirit, Doctrine of God
Bible Living:	Evangelism, Marriage and the Family 101, Christian Disciplines
Sept. 2009—Feb. 2011
Bible Books:	Genesis 1-11, Minor Prophets, Revelation
Bible Doctrine:	Doctrine of Christ, Doctrine of Church, Doctrine of Salvation
Bible Living:	Finances, Worship, Marriage and the Family 102
Mar. 2011—Jan. 2012
Bible Books:	United Kingdom, Divided Kingdom, Acts, Romans
Bible Doctrine:	Doctrine of Sin, Church History, Doctrine of Mankind
Bible Living:	Life-Dominating Sins, Church Membership, Marriage and Family (103)
Feb. 2013—Mar. 2014
Bible Books:	Isaiah, New Testament Epistles
Bible Doctrine:	Doctrine of Future Things, Doctrine of Angels and Demons
Bible Living:	Heart Issues, True Church Fellowship

Advanced Training

Advanced Training takes place on Wednesday evenings from 7:00-8:15 in various locations throughout the church campus.

The purpose of these classes is that the believer might advance both in depth and breadth in their knowledge, understanding, and application of biblical truth. This helps to balance the teaching offered in Adult Bible Fellowships (which provides an introductory foundation in the Bible) by pinpointing gaps in biblical instruction where one may study more deeply.

While these classes follow the Bible Teaching, Bible Doctrine, and Bible Living format they are more advanced than our introductory classes. In order that the instructor may have more time to cover the material they are scheduled in 13, 26, and 39-week formats, and they will cover the biblical material in greater depth and detail. Classes run from the fall through the spring. The summer months will be used for specific training of ministry personnel.

Specialized Training

Specialized Training takes place through seminars on various weekends and evenings throughout the year.

Discipleship Training

• Counseling and Discipleship Training: Takes place on 3 weekends during the spring of the year.. This will include both a fundamentals course and an advanced course. Sponsored by National Association of Nouthetic Counselors.

Leadership Training

• Leadership 101 – Basic introduction to the biblical concept of Elders. Attention will be given to the calling, qualifications, and ministry involvement of one serving as a leader in the church. Two identical classes will be offered for scheduling purposes. Only one class needs to be attended (October 25th 26th, 2008).
• Leadership 102 – This comprises the doctrinal training for an Elder candidate. It necessitates one’s interaction with the teaching series What we Believe (as taught by various Elders at FBC). Available online at the church website or on CD.
• Leadership 103 – This is the practical portion of the training, and involves the oversight of a potential Elder’s ministry, by an existing Elder. It necessitates a mentoring relationship - built around one’s ministry involvement. Upon completion of 101, 102, 103, and upon the recommendation by the Elder Council (that they see the call of God on the candidate’s life to serve in this way - Acts 14:23; 20:28; 1 Timothy 3:1-7), the Elder candidate will be presented to the congregation for a vote of affirmation.

Discipling though the Spiritual Disciplines

As we grow in Christ-likeness, the practice of certain spiritual disciplines both accelerate the process, and provide us with the necessary resources that we may draw upon in our hour of need. Three of those essential disciplines would be: personal time in the Word, Scripture memory, and personal time in prayer.

Church-Wide Discipleship:

Personal Time in the Word

Although there are numerous methods available to strengthen a personal time in the Word, each year we provide two reading schedules for the congregation. One schedule encourages you to read through the Bible in a year. The other schedule focuses on reading a key chapter of the Bible each day. The reading schedule will be provided with study questions. The choice of this method allows for those who are just beginning personal Bible study to not be overwhelmed, but to read through a significant portion of the Bible over the course of the year. This method also allows for those who are further advanced in their time with the Lord to simply add a chapter to their current reading. Imagine the potential conversations around the Word of God if the entire church family were to embrace the Bible reading schedule! With the beginning of a new year providing opportunities for renewed commitments, habits, and practices, we encourage this habit each January.

Scripture Memory and Meditation Passages

In the wilderness temptation, Jesus answered Satan with direct quotations from the Old Testament. He didn’t have a scroll available, or a Bible concordance to look up the appropriate Bible verse. He simply had them memorized. He understood the lie from the tempter, and he was prepared to answer with the appropriate Bible passage. For years our children’s programs have done an outstanding job encouraging our children to memorize the portions of the Bible. We believe that our adults should do likewise. A key passage from our weekly reading is provided for memorization each week.

Corporate Prayer

Our dependence on the Lord is most clearly communicated through our desire to pray. It is through prayer that we are actively demonstrating our need for the Lord, our desire to lean on Him, and our commitment to know and do His will. It is also through seeing the visible answers to prayer that we are further encouraged to keep praying.

Disciplining Though Life’s Struggles

We believe Fellowship Bible Church must equip the church family in the process of discipleship which includes biblical counseling as a way of life (Colossians 1:28-29). We believe that the leaders at FBC should have an understanding of, a commitment to, and an active part in biblical counseling and discipleship. Our confidence in the sufficiency the Bible encourages us to use this most important tool in the intensive kind of discipleship known as biblical counseling. The impact of these principles or lack thereof, will affect other ministries of the church as well. Things like: Teaching, Evangelism, Missions, Small Groups, Women’s, Men’s and Student Ministries, Sunday school and recommended written resources.

The ministry of biblical counseling is growing into a major outreach opportunity as we have attempted to help people in crisis with God’s truth. Hurting people are primed for the Gospel—they are looking for hope in the midst of life’s struggles. As people in our church family reach-out to others; they are encouraging their families, friends, coworkers, neighbors, employees and employers to seek counsel in our church, and those individuals are coming to us. We often think of outreach as going to those who are in need, but now people in crisis are coming to us! We dare not ignore the tremendous opportunity set before us.

It is not our desire to charge for counsel given; thus limiting the scope of our ministry in the community to those with financial means. Nor is it our intention to turn people away when they are in such great need; simply because we do not have the sufficient people resources in place to extend counsel.

Rather, it is our intention to put forth a strategic plan for the preparation and training of our people to extend hope to the hurting through Godly counsel given from God’s Word.

Leaders Leading the Way

Some might say that a church has a counseling ministry. We prefer to say the church is a counseling ministry (Col. 3:16). We believe that our leaders, and various members of the church family should be prepared to discern the cause of one’s struggle, and offer the appropriate biblical answer to those who are in need. Just as we desire for all in our church family to grow to the point where they can open the Bible and lead someone to Christ, so it is our goal that those in our church family would be prepared to engage in the intensive discipleship—that we call biblical counseling (Gal. 6:1-3; 1 Thes. 4:18; 2 Cor. 1:3-4; Heb. 3:13).

The Counseling and Discipleship Training Conference was offered on our church campus on various weekends in the spring of each year. The Fundamentals and Advanced track were well attended, and will be returning annually through 2010. The thirty hours of instruction taught by The National Association of Nouthetic Counselors remains a tremendous preparatory resource for our Elders, and ministry leaders. We strongly encourage attendance.

Opportunities for Service

There are people who come for counseling whose needs at some point would be served by a more informal discipleship relationship; for example spiritually mature married couple mentoring a younger couple in their relationship; or someone who has walked with the Lord longer, being a consistent encouragement to someone who is just getting started.

For those who have been through the Counseling and Discipleship Training we want to encourage them to use what they have learned in ministering to those who are hurting.

There are at least three different levels where counseling/discipleship can take place:

• Level 1: Basic Encouragement — Being available as a friend to pray with, encourage, mentor, and offer accountability.
• Level 2: Intermediate Counsel — Working with those who might be struggling with a life-dominating sin, or unbiblical thought patterns. This involvement might require weekly or bi-weekly meetings.
• Level 3: More Complex Challenges — At times the counseling needs necessitate a more frequent involvement on behalf of the biblical counselor. We want our Pastors, Elders and others who have been trained to be available and engaged with those in the midst of loss, severe marital challenges, depression, addictions, etc.

Beyond extending biblical counsel there are other opportunities for service, when people are facing life-altering situations. Often times there are physical and support needs that are necessary during the counseling process. Perhaps you may be able to be able to use your giftedness to minister in these areas. For example, a single mom’s car needs repair, carpooling kids, childcare etc. Others may have needs such as an accountability partner, specific mentoring, medical help, financial counsel, coaches, employment, or housing. Occasionally some might benefit from actually living in a home with a believing family.

On-Going Training

The Counseling and Discipleship Training offered each spring provides an excellent entry level point for those interested in ministering in this way. The National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC) also provides a certification process for trained counselors. At FBC we are looking to encourage many to move through this process in order that they might be prepared to reach those in crisis in our community with God’s truth.

Additional Opportunities

We are looking to partner with other like-minded churches, and coordinate our efforts to more effectively provide biblical counseling to the community.

We remain committed to developing a Biblical Counseling Resource Library, and making additional resources available to our people as they minister to others. We are also praying that God would raise up a medical doctor that is committed to the sufficiency of the Scriptures willing to be a counseling resource when physical issues are present.

Discipling All the Nations

Our intention is to faithfully make disciples of all nations in accordance with Christ’s command (Matt. 28:18-20). We do this through communicating the Gospel and biblical training both locally and internationally in either primary or supporting roles; and by preparing and sending the next generation.

The opportunities for making disciples are expressed biblically in four dimensions. We believe that all Christians should be practicing personal disciple making in one or more of these venues with the intention to have a consciousness of all. We find this biblical truth expressed in Christ’s commissioning of the 1st century disciples before His return to heaven.

Acts 1:8: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

As we compare the various geographical communities that Jesus commissioned His disciples to reach we note community, cultural, and language distinctions between them. This is certainly helpful as we attempt to maintain a balance in our outreach effort, while at the same time maintaining an active sending mentality-aggressively pursuing the ends of the earth with our best leaders (Acts 13:1-4).

Note carefully the distinctions:

• “in Jerusalem” (in my community)
• “in all Judea” (in my culture)
• “Samaria” (outside of my cultural comforts, but not outside of my language limitations)
• “to the end of the earth” (outside of my cultural comforts and outside of my language limitations)

1-Our Community

It is our desire to equip, encourage, and exhort all of our believers to be ready (1 Pet 3:15) and active in their sharing of the Gospel with those around them. Our holiday services: Christmas Eve Candlelight and Journey with Jesus at Easter provide opportunities for the Gospel to be presented via music and drama.

2-Our Culture

We believe that the ever-widening circles of the first century church provide an excellent pattern for how we can takes steps to reach the end of the earth. Some venues in neighboring communities are culturally similar to us, but these folks will not travel to us, we will need to travel to them. We acknowledge a weakness here in the history of our church and we want to become pro-active in this dimension. Possible realms of ministry or partnering with other churches in our surrounding communities, small group Bible studies in these communities, and eventually a church plant in a designated community.

3- Outside of our Culture

We define this as reaching outside of my cultural comforts, but not outside of my language limitations.

We see this opportunity for sharing the Gospel, as essential in fulfilling Christ’s command, but also as a significant step in preparing some of our people for that final step of going to the end of the earth with the Gospel. The opportunities for our church in the geographical location of South Jersey are numerous. The city of Philadelphia provides multiple opportunities with ethnic groups that are English speaking. With nearly 1.5 million people in this the 5th largest city in America. We believe that we should be actively pursuing the outreach opportunities that lie at our doorstep. We recognize that we will need to partner with like-minded churches in this regard, but are hopeful that we will have teams actively pursuing ethnic groups (outside of our cultural comforts).

4-End of the Earth

We define the “end of the earth” as reaching outside of my cultural comforts and outside of my language limitations.

In 21st century the end of the earth (EOE) dimension can further be understood by breaking it down into the people group’s receptivity to the Gospel. It is our desire to raise up a group of missionaries that are embracing all three aspects of the EOE dimension.

• EOE1- Cultural/Language Barrier and Open to the Gospel preaching.
• EOE2-Cultural/Language Barrier and the Gospel preaching must be done in connection with a humanitarian aid effort. This group is somewhat open to the Gospel.
• EOE3- Cultural/Language Barrier and the preaching of the Gospel is forbidden either politically, ethnically, or by nationality. The preaching of the Gospel here must be done subversively.

It is our persuasion that the various dimensions of Evangelistic Outreach could more effectively be done over a year-long emphasis rather than our traditional one week missions’ conference. This would provide a better balance for our outreach, and also give opportunity for more to be involved in mission projects and evangelistic outreaches. Each of the four mission’s dimensions is given a thirteen week sequence. One weekend during the thirteen week quarter will be set apart to concentrate on that particular mission opportunity. The Sunday evening prayer gatherings that quarter will highlight missionaries, and outreach opportunities of that particular focus. Mission’s events and trips will be promoted during that quarter, and we will actively pray for the Lord to send worker’s into the harvest of that field.

We believe that our focus on missions could be improved with a three-fold emphasis: Caring, Praying, and Going. We acknowledge there is room for improvement in all of these realms. We will attempt to include every supported missionary personally in our prayer gatherings this year – even when we have to bring them in via a web-cam. We want them to know that we have heard their requests and we want them to have heard us pray on their behalf.

We are confident that the going aspect of missions will be greatly enhanced as we give opportunity in each of the 4 dimensions of missions. Our short-term goal is to get as many involved in missions as we can; our long term goal is to send our people to each of those end-of-the-earth opportunities.

The Five Priorities of FBC

While we wish to be very proactive in the realm of discipleship this year we do not wish to lose sight of the five priorities that are the means to us accomplishing our purposes as a church.

Acts 2:42, 47: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers . . . And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”

Worship

It is through our worship that we exalt the Lord Jesus Christ. We will continue to pursue the balance of the old and the new, both contemporary and the old hymns, praise teams and traditional orchestra accompaniments. Our Sunday evening prayer gatherings will provide a more reflective, intimate time of worship as we prepare our hearts to pray.

During our morning worship, once we have concluded our study in the book of Acts, we will move into a study of 1 and 2 Timothy with a concentration on discipleship.

Fellowship

While we maintain a focus on fellowship through our geographically located small groups, we will continue to encourage fellowship during that first 30 minutes of the Adult Bible Fellowship hour as well.

Teaching

We believe we are becoming far more purposeful in what we are teaching. Our focus remains the Bible. We teach from three different starting points – biblical books, biblical doctrine, and biblical living issues. We teach at three different levels: Introductory, Advanced, and Specialized.

Prayer

The renewed focus on prayer will take place Sunday evenings at 6:00 PM. These times of prayer are worship-generated, instructive, structured to communicate careful forethought. They will be to intentionally support our missionaries, and other opportunities in our community. We look forward to the answers the Lord will provide.

Outreach

Understanding the four dimensions of evangelistic outreach significantly improves the following areas:

• It allows us to keep a balanced approach to all the audiences we are attempting to reach. Our community, our culture, outside of our culture, and the end of the earth – each now has its focus.
• It allows us to give a concentrated effort to specific mission fields throughout the year. As opposed to addressing missionary service in a one week setting, we now have a full 13 week period to give renewed emphasis.
• It allows us to more purposefully invite the participation of our people into evangelistic ministry. There are now four active entry points – with the hope that we will more effectively send our own to the end of the earth with the Gospel.

Conclusion

We recognize this is a significant ministry plan. We realize at first it may seem overwhelming, but we have grown increasingly convicted that God has granted to us at FBC amazing opportunities in our community, and incredible connections around the world. As a church we are uniquely positioned to make an eternal difference.

We do not want to be like the servant in the Gospel who out of fear, hid his talent, and upon his master’s return, surrendered it with no increase. We wish to act in courage (not in ourselves but in our faithful God), and we deeply desire for the souls that make up Fellowship Bible Church to one day hear “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

We also know that we cannot accomplish this ministry plan alone. We are therefore asking our congregation to give more than a nod of approval, but to actively demonstrate their support, by their personal involvement and ownership in a number of ways. We recognize there are significant time commitments here. We believe that the Lord Jesus, who sacrificed all things for us, is worthy of our sacrifice of praise (Heb. 13:15-16).