At First Baptist, we want to help you know the love of Jesus. This means we want you to experience God’s love and grace daily as you grow in love for God and others on your faith journey. We have developed the following discipleship path to help you take your next step of growth. If you’re not yet a follower of Jesus and are interested in becoming one, we encourage you to click here and read about what it means to place your faith in Jesus, and then contact us and one of our church leaders will get in touch with you.
Below, you will find various resources to help you take your next step as a disciple.
- Step One: Commune – Commit to grow your personal relationship with Jesus by regularly engaging with his Word and spending time in prayer.
- Step Two: Gather ~ Commit to gather regularly as the church family to worship God and encourage each other.
- Step Three: Connect ~ Commit to join a small group such as a Sunday School class to connect in deeper relationships with others as you seek to follow Jesus together.
- Step Four: Serve ~ Commit to use your God-given gifts and resources as a part of the church’s ministry to serve each other, our community, and the world.
- Step Five: Share ~ Commit to tell others about the amazing love of Jesus and help them grow in their faith.
Growth Resources
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COMMUNE : GATHER : CONNECT : SERVE : SHARE
The two most basic habits you can develop to help you grow as a follower of Jesus are regular engagement with the Bible and regular time in prayer. The Bible and prayer lay the foundation for continued spiritual growth. Depending on your schedule and stage of life, you might only be able to spend a few moments in prayer and God’s Word, or you might be able to spend half an hour or an hour or more. The amount of time you spend is not as important as simply making the time. Aim for a regular habit with the goal of daily. These resources can help you if you don’t already have a regular plan or if you’re returning to these spiritual habits after an extended beak.
BIBLE READING PLANS (PDF format; you can requested a printed plan from the church office)
1. The Navigator’s 1-Year Plan (This plan is designed to take you through the Bible in one year with an Old Testament and New Testament reading each day. The plan also includes several reflection or catch-up days each month.)
2. A 3-Year Plan (This plan is designed to take you through the Bible at a slower pace. It moves from Genesis to Revelation by reading no more than one chapter per day.)
3. A 6-Month New Testament Plan (This plan takes you through the New Testament in six months. It is a good place to start if you are new to Bible reading.)
You might also consider investing in a journal to write down thoughts and questions as you read through Scripture. You can find everything from basic to fancy journals online at Amazon or in stores such as Mardel or Walmart.
PRAYER GUIDE
This prayer guide is designed to walk you through the main themes of the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6. Consider combining it with a journal to help you record requests, answers, and other thoughts.
OTHER RESOURCES
1. The Journey is a 12-week study by Pastor Mike to help you get set you on a course for a lifetime of spiritual growth. (link takes you to Amazon)
2. This One-Year Sermon Journal is a good tool to help you learn and retain more from the weekly teachings at church. (link takes you to Amazon)
Both resources are also available for free from the church office.
SPIRITUAL MENTORING
A spiritual mentor is someone God uses to help us grow in our relationship with him. If you would like to have someone mentor you in your faith, please complete our Spiritual Mentoring form, and a church leader will be in contact with you soon.
Gathering for worship is an important part of life as a follower of Jesus. We need to walk with others on our life’s spiritual journey to help us reach our full potential in Jesus. When we gather for worship, we sing, pray, give, and hear from God’s Word together. It is a time of mutual encouragement to help keep us focused on Jesus.
Life gets busy and sometimes Sundays are a struggle. We feel that as well! But a church gathering is better together with you. We encourage everyone to attend as much as possible. Our worship gathering takes place every Sunday at 10:45am.
If you’re new to our church, we invite you to Plan Your Visit.
If you are interested in baptism and/or becoming a member of our church, please complete this form and a church leader will get in touch with you soon.
While we love worshipping together, the best place to get to know other followers of Jesus is in small groups. Small groups allow us to study the Bible and pray with a group of people we can chat, laugh, and cry with. The Bible calls this sharing of our lives fellowship. We offer small groups for all ages.
SUNDAY GROUPS
Sunday mornings start with coffee and doughnuts in our gym at 9:30, and then we break into groups at 9:45. We call this time “Sunday School.” Groups include:
Nursery & Toddler (newborn to ~3yo)
Preschool
Younger Kids (early elementary)
Older Kids (later elementary)
Youth (middle and high school students)
Adult Classes (currently available: ladies’ class; men’s and women’s classes)
WEDNESDAY GROUPS
5pm, Prayer and Bible Study (Adults)
6pm, Awana Kids’ Club and Youth Group
If you would like more information about our groups, please complete this form and a church leader will get in touch with you soon.
Just as Jesus came to serve us, he calls each of us into a ministry of serving others (Matthew 20:26-28). In calling us to this ministry, the Holy Spirit also equips and empowers us with a variety of spiritual gifts and ministry interests. Until Jesus returns, there will be a variety of needs within our church, community, and world. We want to help you be able to plug in and use your gifts and resources to serve others.
We have developed a Ministry Interest Form to help you connect to ministry opportunities. Please answer the questions thoughtfully and a church leader will contact you soon to help you find your place in serving others.
As we mature in our faith, we move from being spiritual infants (brand new followers of Jesus) to spiritual parents who share our faith to help others know Jesus and grow in their faith. This is the command that Jesus gave us in Matthew 28:18-20 to make disciples.
There are two core aspects to discipleship: Evangelism and Spiritual Mentoring. One aspect might fit our personalities and spiritual gifts better than the other, but Jesus calls us to be involved in both.
EVANGELISM
We offer period evangelism training. If you would like to request training, please complete this form and indicate your interest in a SHARE class.
Our partnership with the North American Mission Board provides access to free evangelism tools. One of these is the Life on Mission 3-Circles training and app. You can discover more at the NAMB Life on Mission site.
SPIRITUAL MENTORING
If you would like to connect to someone in the church as either a mentor (a person who helps others grow) or a mentee (a person who learns from a mentor), then please complete our Spiritual Mentoring Interest form, and a church leader will contact you soon.
First Baptist Church 