Jesus did not come just to show us the way, but he also
declared “I am the Way”. In Him, and through His being
in us, we discover and experience all that God has designed
and desires for us to enjoy in life. To be “in Him” is
to have come to trust in Him as our Savior and Lord –
that upon the cross he offered up his perfect life as
a sacrifice for our sins (our imperfect lives lived independently
of God and his ways). Through his death and subsequent
resurrection Jesus broke the power of sin and death and
made possible a newness of life through spiritual rebirth.
This is God’s gift to us as we trust in Jesus’ work for
us and submit to his reign over us. The way we appropriate
and grow in this new life is through the Spirit (of Christ)
as he comes and dwells within us and seeks to live through
us. This is the first fruits or down-payment of what we
will get to experience in its fullness when Jesus returns.
Jesus emphasized the importance of abiding or remaining
in Him, through faith. The Way is only possible through
a life lived in ongoing fellowship with God - Father,
Son and Holy Spirit. But it is also a life to be lived
in new-found relationships with other followers of Jesus,
his Church or as Paul calls us, his Body. We each represent
a part of Jesus’ body on the earth and therefore each
have an important part to play in conjunction with other
‘members’, whilst all of us remain under his headship.
It is a life characterized by sacrificial, covenant
love for one another and for our God, but it is always
a life that is only found in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We have identified 7 Core Practices for a follower of Jesus Christ to help reinforce and express these truths. You can read more about these here.
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The Way of Jesus is one of relationship or love.
The incarnation was a relational initiative in which God
seeks to make himself known and facilitate relationship
with humankind. We believe that everything regarding life
and faith must build upon this foundational truth. Additionally,
our way of following can be simplified in three building
blocks of engagement and/or connection.
First Level
The goal in the Christian life is in part to grow into
maturity, until the church attains "to the whole
measure of the fullness of Christ", as the Apostle
Paul put it in Eph 4:13. We believe that this is best
effected through intimate, loving friendships with other
believers. To a certain extent this should grow within
our home churches, but we see a pattern in the Scriptures
of the Lord working with groups of 2 or 3. This is picked
up by Neil Cole in his book, 'Cultivating
a Life for God'.
We would want to encourage everyone to foster close, intimate spiritual friendships with other believers (of the same sex) that provide a context for mutual accountability, support and love. There we pray together, confess our struggles and share our joys. Jesus modeled friendship with a few as the primary basis for discipleship and growth. we seek to do the same.
Second Level
The Simple Churches facilitate an environment
where individuals can edify each other, experience joy
through a shared life, and extend mercy to those in need.
Our Simple Church operates like an extended family fleshing
out a network of relationships rather than a meeting.
This creates an experience where multiple individuals
of multiple different backgrounds and generations (children
are included) may learn and experience Christ through
each other.
Practically, with groups ranging from 6 to 20 members,
we typically meet once (potentially more) a week, to
find support and encouragement as we seek to faithfully
follow Jesus Christ, the Lord. We often eat together
during these meetings, believing that sharing in the
Lord's Supper is a worshipful experience. Additionally,
we may sing songs, tell stories, reflect upon God's
word and minister God's grace (for healing, deliverance,
provision, etc) through prayer and the laying on of
hands. Our time is guiding by the guidance given by
Paul as to how are gatherings are to work:
| "Well, my brothers and
sisters, let's summarize what I am saying. When
you meet, one will sing, another will teach, another
will tell some special revelation God has given,
one will speak in an unknown language, while another
will interpret what is said. But everything that
is done must be useful to all and build them up
in the Lord." [1 Cor 14:26] |
We desire to foster a focus beyond ourselves
also by looking for opportunities to serve
others in need, either personally or as a
group.
Third Level
Occasionally we want to gather together as a larger community for a
large group celebration of praise and thanksgiving which
is open to other Simple Church networks across the city.
This aspect of our network is still 'under development' as we experiment with different contexts and purposes.
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Jesus came not just with a message of good news for the
poor, but his life exemplified the message as he brought
transformation to people's lives through the power of
God. He was motivated by God's great love and compassion
for all people and became the very source of life and
freedom to those who responded to him. His approach was
one of humility and servanthood. He invites all his faithful
followers to walk the same road, with the same purpose.
Our desire is to help others experience freedom from injustice,
rebellion and aloneness in their lives.
"He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice,
to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
" [Micah 6:8]
To see more on how we are seeking to put this into
practice, please click on our ‘Community Impact’ page
above. We also seek to work with other ministries in
our city who are working to relieve injustice and meet
the needs of the poor:
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We have purposely sought to minimize our financial overheads
for buildings and staff teams so that we can increasingly
devote our financial giving towards those in need, both
locally (within and beyond the faith community) as well
as overseas.
We still encourage people to be generous in their giving
and to hold loosely to material resources in their lives
(as taught by Jesus). Our desire is to see an increasing
proportion of our giving channelled to serve the needs
of people with whom we are in relationship. For
a recent blog posting by Mike on Giving, click here. For a good article on the financial support of 'apostolic' ministry, based upon 1 Cor 9:1-14, you might also read this.
Mike & Carol Watson, who oversee this network, are also supported financially by individuals within BridgePoint and others external to BridgePoint. They operate as "supported missionaries" through outreach, discipleship, leadership training and support, spiritual direction, relational training and coaching. Some of their income also comes from work they do through the Center for Relational Leadership. If you would like to support this ministry financially, you can contact Mike & Carol by clicking here.
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Primarily, we believe this is best achieved through partnership/relationship
with others on the same journey, being part of a Simple
Church. "Spiritual Friendships" within our communities are a basic building block for this and
provide a framework for sustaining your spiritual life
in the Lord, but ideally an individual should participate
in all three levels as life is meant to be experienced
in larger community.
More practically, we believe that living your spiritual
life openly, acknowledging your dependence upon God's
power and being ready to give a reason for the hope
that is in you communicates the gospel. Commit to serving
Christ in the world by living life with eyes and ears
open to what God is doing in the lives of people you
ordinarily meet, and then being willing to help out
where needed.
| "I pray that you may
be active in sharing your faith, so that you will
have a full understanding of every good thing we
have in Christ." [Philemon 1:6] |
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 |
Contact
Us so we can see how best to help |
|
Visit a Simple Church and within that ask about
how you can be involved |
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