Releasing the Church

24_09_07 -Ep.328 - Run With Horses Podcast - Releasing the Church Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast **(28:00)** Last week we talked about being intentional as a church and as individuals to use our gifts to equip the church for ministry. This week we consider what it means to release the church for ministry. How do we get everyone engaged in the mission? Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. The spiritual life is both incredibly simple and potentially the most difficult part of your life. God invites you to live intentionally and on His mission. It’s very cool that we can do that together! Thank you for joining me today! If you are new to the show, you can find our past shows on our website, runwithhorses.net. I have spent several weeks focusing on a definition of the church and the current discussion about a discipleship pathway is best understood in the context of our broader look at the church. If you have been enjoying the show, I would appreciate it if you would leave a review wherever you are listening! And as always, your questions, comments and feedback are welcome. Write me at norman@runwithhorses.net. And now, on with the show... (27:00) ******* (27:00) Habits – Journaling Psalms 119:11 Deut. 6:4-9 - An Intentional Way to hide God’s Word in your heart. Write out what God is teaching you and prayerfully make plans to live it out. (23:00) ****** (23:00) MY WORKING DEFINITION OF CHURCH A CHURCH is a group of followers of Jesus who worship Him in spirit and truth, humbly offering their lives as living sacrifices, together living out the MISSION of Jesus as His witnesses TO THE WORLD, by sharing the gospel and making disciples through teaching obedience to His commands as they edify and EQUIP OTHERS to join them on HIS MISSION. The discipleship pathway is an intentional plan to equip others to be on the mission of Jesus. Don’t forget the goals of the pathway. What are the goals of a discipleship pathway? a. self-feeding Christians b. everyday missionaries – everyone on the mission of Jesus c. disciple-makers d. pastors e. new churches f. all members of the church, shepherded well We are still on the THIRD step in the Pathway; EQUIP ENGAGE, CONNECT, EQUIP, RELEASE Why is all this so important? We are overprogrammed and underdiscipled. Programs aren't producing disciple makers! We are busy doing things at the church building but year after year nto much better at engaging people in our community. We get off mission and turn inward. ###REF: https://theunstuckgroup.com/developing-an-effective-discipleship-strategy-the-ultimate-guide/ (00:00) END PART 1 ******** (27:00) BEGIN PART 2 ###REF: https://theunstuckgroup.com/q3-2024-unstuck-church-report/ ###REF:https://www.baptistmessenger.com/how-your-church-can-engage-your-community/ (5:00) ********* (5:00) DOCTRINE September – Holy Spirit gives Life John 6:63 - Romans 8:9-11 - Job 34:12-15 - **(1:00)** Next week we will continue looking at ways to release the church into the community and on mission. This week, spend some time praying for your church and your community. Thanks for joining me again today! If you enjoyed the show you can listen to all the past shows wherever you listen to podcasts. A good place to start is at runwithhorses.net. You can also write me at norman@runwithhorses.net or leave a comment on the Run With Horses Podcast facebook page. Take time today to pause and thank God for His work in your life and keep running. (00:00)