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1. Evangelism
At
GBI Antiokhia we believe that evangelism is a priority
for every believer. We encourage and facilitate effective
evangelical activities and we teach and lead church
members in their outreach to non-Christian family, friends
and colleagues.
In
Acts 11:19-30 we discover a number of key principles.
Following the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7) there was
great persecution throughout the land. However, despite
the massive increase in intolerance for the Christian
faith amongst the religious leaders and Roman authority,
there was also an outbreak in the evangelical efforts
of the early Church. They recognized the need for people
to hear the gospel even though there was an enormous
price to pay. In fact, many lost their lives for the
cause of Christ.
Some
of the ways we can evangelize are:
· Sharing the Word of God (Acts 11:19-20)
- We can increase our efforts to talk about God and
to actively share His love with other people.
· Through the power and presence of God (Acts
11:21) - The powerful manifestation of the glory
of God, His mighty and miraculous acts and the presence
of the Holy Spirit is evidence and confirmation that
He is still alive and still the Saviour of the world
(Mark 16:20).
· Sharing our life testimony (Acts 11:22,26)
- There is a beauty, power and fragrance that shines
and flows from the life of a believer. The believer
who lives with a Godly lifestyle and is a constant source
of blessing to those around him/her causes others to
question their lifestyle and to seek and search for
answers. This is a particularly effective evangelism
tool since people often look for the fruit that comes
from living with Christ before they will commit themselves.
· Be full of God's grace (Acts 11:23)
- We need to walk in the authority that has been given
us by Christ and release His grace upon everyone that
we come into contact with (Ephesians 2:8-10).
As
a congregation of believers and as ambassadors for Christ
we believe that each member needs to have a clear purpose
and vision for evangelism in their life and to outwork
that vision in their day-to-day lifestyle. It is our
prayer that the Church of Christ will fulfill its God
given mandate (Matthew 28:19) and be a blessing and
a light, shining for the entire world to behold.
2.
Discipleship
At
GBI Antiokhia we believe that discipleship is an integral
part of the Christian lifestyle. We focus on balancing
discipleship with evangelism, knowing that a successful
balance between the two leads to a greater effectiveness
in reaching the lost and fulfilling the great commission
(Matthew 28:18-20).
There
are many ways that discipleship is conducted in our
congregation. We believe that by strong Biblical teaching,
an increased knowledge of the promises of God, an understanding
of our collective responsibilities as believers and
ambassadors in the kingdom and mentoring on living with
Godly principles, that we can be equipped in order to
be ready at any moment. It is all about each member
building their lives on the right foundations.
Through
our discipleship programs we teach people how to live
Godly lifestyles - eliminating sin from their life and
dealing with worldly influence and the spiritual enemies
that seek to destroy us (John 10:10). We emphasize building
a strong Christ-like character and teach about being
the salt and light of this world. Those who are more
mature in Christ often impart deep revelation to help
others build their life on the firm and solid foundation.
Once
again from Acts 11 we can discern a number of important
discipleship keys.
· We teach the things that matter and the
things that are necessary for the Church (Verse
24).
· We teach the church to be good people, reflecting
the image and attitude of Christ (Verse 24).
· We teach the need to be a Church full of
the Holy Ghost, allowing Him to lead us in every
area of our lives (Verse 24). Ephesians 5:18 and Galatians
5:16-26 illustrate that the Holy Spirit is the best
teacher and He gives us the wisdom to live our lives
like Christ. We need to be hungry for His presence in
our lives and to be filled so that we can take the great
glory of God to the people of this world.
· We teach principles of faith (Verse
24). The Word tells us that by faith we overcome the
world, by faith we move mountains, by faith we experience
the miraculous, by faith we are saved, by faith we are
forgiven and by faith we are healed. We need faith,
not logic, to please the Lord (Hebrews 11:6) and we
can see through Barnabas' life that he was a man of
faith who taught the people how to function and operate
their faith in a Godly manner.
· We teach people to be givers (Verse
29). Luke 6:38 says, "Give and it will be given
back to you." Saul and Barnabas knew how to give
their life through their willingness and obedience to
stay at Antioch, knowing that it is the key to prosperity
and opening up the doors to abundant blessing. We teach
the Church to give faithfully and with thanksgiving
in their heart.
· We teach a lifestyle of worship (Acts
13:2). The ultimate result of real worship is to encounter
God. We are a Church that allows the Holy Spirit to
move freely as He wills and without limit and we teach
the Church how to become worshippers in spirit and in
truth, dwelling in the presence of God always, so that
the Holy Spirit can move powerfully in their lives.
· We teach the power of prayer and fasting
(Acts 13:2). This is a very important subject taught
in the Church. Many people have been delivered from
spiritual bondage, healed and propelled into a greater
anointing as a result of obedience in prayer and fasting.
We read in the Word that even Jesus set Himself apart
to pray and fast and all of His disciples followed this
example later after His ascension. When we do likewise,
the glory and the power of God is released very strongly
in the Church.
3.
Sending
At
GBI Antiokhia we believe that training people and then
sending and releasing them into missions work is an
essential facet of a healthy and balanced Church.
We
can see from Luke's account of Saul and Barnabas in
Acts that they were sent into the mission field through
the leading of the Holy Spirit. The impact they had
on both Jews and gentiles is astounding and we, just
like them, need to have a kingdom-focussed mindset and
a heart like Jesus, who was willing to pay the price
for the salvation of mankind. It is for the purpose
of establishing the kingdom of God on this earth that
we send people out to be a blessing for people outside
of our local community.
We
teach people how to be a blessing for others and equip
them with the necessary tools required to be a mighty
example for the people of God to follow. Then we release
them into other regions of Indonesia or other countries
to be a blessing and to build and establish the kingdom
of God in that place.
We
understand that the heart of God is to see the whole
earth saved by knowing and receiving Jesus Christ as
their Lord and Saviour. In order to see this come to
pass, we teach and train members to be missionaries
to those around them and to ready themselves to be sent
by God to see His kingdom grow. We continually emphasize
a willingness to pay the cost to build His kingdom and
to be ready for the higher calling and a greater mission
and mantle of authority to be placed on their life.
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