Discipleship Opportunities

Weekly Update – January 8th, 2026 

As we start off the new year, one of my encouragements to you would be to commit to our basic discipleship opportunities. The reason why I call these discipleship opportunities “basic” is not because they are simple or watered down, but because, we as a church, see them as foundational to your growth in godliness. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have additional opportunities for Christian growth and connection with others, but again, these are the foundations that we want to encourage every member to commit to.  Therefore, in the spirit of setting goals and looking ahead, let me encourage you to commit to three areas.

First, The Main Worship Service:

The goal of our Main Worship service on Sunday morning is to contemplate and celebrate the glory of God in Christ Jesus. Our gatherings focus on hearing from God and responding to Him. We know the Lord through His Word, and so we come together corporately to pursue Him through reading, preaching, singing, praying, and “seeing” the truth of the Scripture. Ultimate authority and sufficiency are found in the Word of God; therefore, we primarily value the exposition and application of scripture taken verse by verse where the main point of the sermon is the main point of the passage. As we gather, we are discipled to hold fast to the confession of our faith as it stirs us up to love and good works. (Heb. 10:23-34). At the same time, not only do we find ourselves discipled in the faith, but through the weekly gathering, we disciple our children, as they watch their parents and begin to participate with their family in the worship of God.

Second: Equipping Hour/Sunday School:

The goal of our Equipping Hour on Sunday morning is to equip the believer in their walk with the Lord as they serve as witnesses to the world. In line with our mission statement to proclaim and display the truths of the gospel, our Equipping Hour will aid in the discipleship of the believer as they grow in knowledge and truth of the Word of God. These classes focus on teaching and range from topical studies to biblical exposition studies. As we start the New Year, we currently have three adult classes: A Study in the book of Hebrews, a topical study titled, “Habits of the Household” and a ladies’ class that is using the Gospel Project as they walk through the Old Testament. Additionally, there are classes for ages 0 – 12^th grade, with grades 1^st-12^th grade going through the Bible with the Gospel Project.

Third: Home Groups

The goal of home groups is to encourage the believer in their walk with the Lord as they love their families, care for the local body of Christ, and serve their communities. In line with our mission to proclaim and display the truths of the gospel, our Home Groups will aid in practical discipleship as we build relationships with other believers to further grow in the application of the Word of God. Home groups are ideally groups of 10-12 believers who vary in ages and life stages and are committed to meet regularly for fellowship, study, accountability, prayer and service. We currently have four groups that meet and would love to expand if more are interested in joining.

The fundamental expectation is that every member would commit to our Sunday morning gathering. Beyond that, a secondary expectation is that we would grow through being part of the Sunday morning Equipping Hour/Sunday School and Home Groups.  Yet, when I say “expectation,” I don’t mean that in a burdensome type of way.  I mean that, as believers and then members of First Baptist Church, the expectation that we should have with one another is that together, we would continue to pursue the Lord. My hope is that if you are not involved in one of these three areas, that you will consider committing to all of them, for your sake and for the sake of the church.

Serving Him with You,

Pastor Michael Nelson