• Vision and Strategy for Moving (PDF)

Loving God and others, for His glory, by the gospel’s transforming power

How Will I be Discipled?

A.  Why discipleship?

*The elders of the church are responsible to shepherd God’s people by making them disciples; they disciple believers by teaching them all that Jesus has given them, and by joining them to one another in the body to experience koinonia, burden bearing, prayer, encouragement, and unified focus in service. The emphasis in the NT on discipling seems to fall on one anothering.

*Discipleship doesn’t just happen; it needs to be intentionally structured for relationship to happen.

Click to see the entire Discipleship at Redeemer document

1.  What is the ultimate goal of church planting?
The ultimate goal is the glory of God. We long to see every heart in the Commonwealth professing and trusting the greatness of God’s grace. Jesus Christ is the exalted King of Glory, who is worthy of receiving the praise of every living person. So in an ultimate sense we are gathering worshippers who will become disciples that love God and others.

…

Click to see the full Church Planting FAQ

How Will I be Discipled?
A.  Why discipleship?

 *The elders of the church are responsible to shepherd God’s people by making them disciples; they disciple believers by teaching them all that Jesus has given them, and by joining them to one another in the body to experience koinonia, burden bearing, prayer, encouragement, and unified focus in service. The emphasis in the NT on discipling seems to fall on one anothering.

 *Discipleship doesn’t just happen; it needs to be intentionally structured for relationship to happen.

 B.  Discipling meets three general needs:

 Help in crisis

                Call an elder; call a member of your small group; receive mercy/meals through deacons/      women’s ministry.

2. Growth in grace

                Saints need to avail themselves of the means of grace (worship, teaching, sacraments, witnessing)

3. Encouragement

                one anothering/ accountable to one another

C.  Discipling happens at three different levels:

1. Congregation

                 Corporate worship,  preaching, adult Sunday school, conferences

2. Community (in a small group)

                Small groups include Bible studies, ministry teams (such as worship), or other gatherings   according to interest,          age, or geography. Redeemer small groups meet at least monthly to: pray for the church and for one another;             bear one another’s burdens, stimulate and  encourage one another to love and good deeds, and to discuss and               study resources which foster Christian growth (the bible, books, etc.)

Examples: worship team, RYG (jr and sr high students) , RUF (college students) Titus 2 (women)

3. Company of three

Personal sharing, ministering to and sharpening one another.

Members are encouraged to find two other saints with whom they feel a common bond of friendship in order to pursue honest dialogue about their trials and victories in their Christian walk.

D.      Elders are assigned responsibility for various ministry teams or small group leaders.

E.       What should I do next? 

1.        Contact Tre Smith (473-3066 or email Tre) to find a small group.

2.        Pray for two other friends with whom to form a company of three.

3.        Ask the leaders where you can serve the body.

F.       The Test….

        …True discipleship always manifests itself in love for Christ, others and acts of service, evangelism and mercy,            motivated by the wonder of God’s grace.

The ultimate goal is the glory of God. We long to see every heart in the Commonwealth professing and trusting the greatness of God’s grace. Jesus Christ is the exalted King of Glory, who is worthy of receiving the praise of every living person. So in an ultimate sense we are gathering worshippers who will become disciples that love God and others.

2. Why is Redeemer planting a Church?

Because church planting or multiplying proves to be a highly effective method of extending the kingdom of God, Redeemer has, from its inception, purposed to be a church planting movement. We have desired to multiply ourselves throughout the greater Lynchburg area, and beyond.  In addition, all church plants in the PCA are strongly encouraged to see themselves as self-replicating or multiplying.

3. What are the advantages of birthing daughter congregations?

When churches are new and small everyone senses that they are needed to make it work. It really feels like “sink or swim”. And that is healthy! But as churches get larger folks feel less connected to the mission of the church, and less needed for the fulfillment of its calling. They become more like spectators than vital contributors, and that is unhealthy! This gives rise to the 80-20 rule: 80% of the work is done by 20% of the participants. Therefore, smaller congregations tend to produce a greater sense of family, connectedness to one another, and a sense of being needed.  The church feels like a body where I belong and am valued.
Another reason is to provide a church within the living proximity of people.  This explains why there are Baptist churches on virtually every corner of the city! They mastered church planting.  Some churches tend to be community churches, geared for the immediate area in which they sit. Others are destination churches, such as Blue Ridge Community and Thomas Road, to which some folks drive long distances. We believe an area like Forest, which is 60% un-churched (according to 2003 statistics) and growing, needs a church within its environs.

4. When is the right time to plant?
We have maintained all along that when we had financial, numerical and leadership “stability”, we would look to plant in Forest. Those markers are largely in place, though we will need faith and sacrifice to make it happen (as with any endeavor worthy of the kingdom of God!). Lord willing we will have four deacons by the end of August, and three ruling elders plus pastoral staff. But we will have to rely heavily on involvement from all of you. The officers of the church simply can’t do all the ministry, nor are they called to. The stress in the Bible is on the entire body one-anothering, using their gifts, and on the officers supervising or directing the work as shepherds.

5.Are we one or two churches?
Redeemer purposed to grow in four phases.
Phase one: one campus, one session, one budget.
Phase two: two campuses, one session, one budget
Phase three: two campuses, two sessions, two budgets.
Phase four: each particular church seeks its next plant (or cooperates on one together).

We are about to move into phase two. Though “Redeemer Forest” (if that ends up being its name) meets in a separate location, it will be governed by the one Redeemer session.

6. What about youth ministry and Sunday schools?

While we are in phase two we will have one youth group (RYG) on Sunday nights. Both locations will have children’s church. Boonsboro will have its normal children’s Sunday school classes and details for Sunday school in Forest will be worked out.

7. Who should go to the Forest plant?

At one level, anyone who wants to. Then, obviously, if you live in the Forest vicinity, and desire to bring your un-churched neighbors to church, Forest is the logical place to do that. No one will be required to attend either of the campuses.

8. How will each campus be served by the pastoral team?

For the short term, we will do “multi-site”. That means Tim will lead worship at 9am in Forest and then drive in to Boonsboro to get ready for the 11am service there. Mike (or whoever is preaching) will preach at both locations, leaving Forest around 10:30 for the 11am start in Boonsboro.

9. What is the morning schedule for Redeemer as of September 7?

Forest: worship at 9am, SS at 10:30.
Boonsboro: SS at 10am, worship at 11am

10. Does that help alleviate space challenges at Boonsboro?

It does if folks are willing to park across the street from the JRDS, or in the Boonsboro Shopping Center and then carpool to the JRDS. Would you please consider making this small sacrifice if you are at all able?

As we grow (and we want to!) we need to find creative ways to accommodate more and more seats in the gym at Boonsboro.

11. What about a new members class?

We will (tentatively) have one class for both campuses, mid-week at the church office.

12. Will both campuses have their own facilities eventually?

That is a reasonable goal. We currently continue to look for land (or an existing facility which will meet our needs) in Boonsboro, having been recently turned down on an inquiry on property at the intersection of 501 and Boonsboro Rd.

We own land (~8 acres) in Forest at the intersection of Bateman’s Bridge Rd and Thomas Jefferson Dr. We have employed the services of an architect (Hughes Associates out of Roanoke) to develop a site plan and initial design for a building, which is also a prototype that could be built in Boonsboro. This step enables us to submit a plan to Bedford County so the property can be re-zoned.  We are not in a rush to build; we anticipate taking time to raise money for facilities in both locations. (We will have details later on a capital campaign).

13. What are the costs of church planting?

The personal costs are high, if folks have developed close relationships. Our launch in September will feel difficult for many. Things just won’t be the same again. We’ll miss seeing folks we’ve worshipped with for years (at least on Sunday morning). Part of that began when we inaugurated the 8:30 service last fall. While emotionally challenging, we have to remind ourselves that giving and sacrifice is at the heart of our religion. Jesus Christ came to earth to serve, to give up his rights for us, to lay down his well-being for our greater good. As we part company in this venture we move in the pattern of His self-giving life. Remember, the church exists, among things, for a needy world.

Sunday morning is, however, only one aspect of our ministry. We also highly value one-anothering, especially in small groups, which can transcend geographical boundaries. Moreover, we certainly hope to plan periodic events which unite both congregations together.

Multiplying campuses is also financially costly. In some ways it might be easier to simply build a large facility for one large church. Most churches that grow do that. We will ask God for wisdom as we seek facility needs in the future in light of our growth.

Read Why Jesus?

–By Mike Sharrett

Advent- a season marked by the four Sundays previous to Christmas.

When was the last time your family anticipated a special vacation, occasion, or event?? Perhaps it was a cross-country trip or a family occasion such as a wedding, a graduation, the birth of a child, or a 75th birthday. How was your life different in the days leading up to that event?

Preparation would almost certainly be part of the answer to this question. How do you prepare for Christmas? Shopping for gifts, planning visits, preparing meals, decorating the house, and making a trip to that favorite place to select a Christmas tree—all of these are typical to our preparations for Christmas. Yet they can all fail to prepare us for what Christmas is all about.

Though the story is old and familiar, we need to hear it again, with hearts that are hungry to grasp the wonder of the Word made flesh, dwelling among us. The story of a Father Who promised to send a Redeemer to the fallen world; of a Redeemer Who gave His perfect life for sinners and brought with Him the kingdom of grace; and of the glorious return of this Redeemer as King of kings and Lord of lords.

It is my prayer that you and your family and friends will use this guide to read from God’s Word each day of Advent, and that the hymns included as well would help you to prepare to celebrate Christ’s coming this Christmas. The passages listed for each of the Sundays in Advent will be read as the Call to Worship, and you can prepare for worship each Saturday evening by reading the passage and singing the carol listed for that Sunday. If there are young children in your family, choose one simple thought from the Scripture passage and perhaps one line from the hymn to explain and illustrate. You’ll find that you will grow in understanding as you bring biblical truth to the level of your children.

Above all, I pray that your Christmas would be filled with the joy of Christ, and that together we would celebrate the joy of belonging to Him while we long for His coming again in glory. May you know His love more fully this Christmas!
John Bennetch, Director of Worship

2007 Advent Guide (pdf)

We want to be a church, therefore, which ministers to the hungry, the searching and those who do not understand as yet the riches of Christ. We want to see growth, among others, with those converting to Christ. How will they come to Redeemer? God has entrusted to each of us the enormous privilege and responsibility of sharing the gospel with them. The following are some words which help sketch the contours of personal evangelism.

Organic: Evangelism is a mindset and a lifestyle, not a program. It is people touching people with the grace of the gospel. It happens where you live, shop, play and work. It happens naturally in the context of…

Relationship: The gospel makes no sense to the natural man, and therefore must be demonstrated and interpreted. An unbeliever coming to church for the first time can’t be expected to know what is going on. But he ought to see something of the gospel in your life. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association reports that most people (90%) come to faith in the context of a personal relationship, versus some sort of event. Friends bring friends to church. Therefore, cultivate friendships: make a friend, be a friend, win a friend. As you invite friends or neighbors to church, plan to follow-up to interpret what is being said and done. Biblical truth sparks many questions and concerns. It is our privilege to be with people as they search out the significance of Christ’s death and resurrection.

Prayer: Prayer is foundational, not supplemental. No change happens in people apart from the gracious working of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we must pray to be led by the Spirit, and for the Spirit to work in the hearts of those to whom we minister. Jesus said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” (Matt. 9:37-38) Paul asked that prayer be made “that God may open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ…” (Col. 4:3) When we pray let’s expect God to provide opportunities that are both…

Spontaneous and planned: Expect the Lord to give you divine appointments, those instances where he puts a person in your path and one thing leads to another for a discussion that may include the gospel. Also, as you ask Jesus to give you open doors, expect him to bring ideas to mind that create evangelistic opportunities. Share your ideas and strategies with one another, and partner together. Plan a neighborhood desert for a newcomer; have neighbors over for dinner or desert; have coffee with a co-worker. Invite neighbors to a Christmas party and see what relationships develop form there. There are many things such as this to try.

Motive: Finally, remember that evangelism’s goal is not simply the salvation of lost people; it is for God’s glory. Everyone you speak to owes God worship and ought to bow down to His lordship. God in Christ is worthy of the worship of every one of His creatures. We ultimately share the good news for His name’s sake.

Update! Audio now available: MP3 Audio

Sermon Notes