The basic goals of this church; the reasons why Discovery and its ministries exist is to see life change.  We want to see people change from what they are to what God wants them to be – fully devoted followers.  Jesus had those same goals.  He said He came to give eternal life in the future and an abundant life now (John 10:10 ).  That's life change!

The question then becomes "how do we know if we're accomplishing our goals?"  How do we know if we're making a difference?  What specific characteristics do we want to see produced in those we minister to and how do we measure our progress and our success?  

We've summarized the characteristics we desire to produce in the process of life change into easy to remember steps we call, "The 5 G's."  It is a proper balance of the 5 G's (“grace, growth, groups, gifts and good stewardship”) that are the measurements we use to gauge the success of our ministry.  This is the life change we should see happening.  

The 5 G's are:

Want a better explanation of these goals?  Well, keep reading...

The individual decision to accept the saving work of Christ followed by Baptism as a believer.  This is followed by a desire to share this life change with others.  (Eph. 2:8-9).

God's grace enables us to make a very important spiritual beginning. It's by grace - the word means "a favor we didn't earn" - that we begin the Christian life. But, God's grace involves more because He was working behind the scenes long before we responded. He literally came to our planet in the person of Jesus Christ; and by means of the death of Christ on the cross, He paid our crippling sin debt. He comes to each of us now, pursuing us even in our waywardness and points us in a new direction. His grace also has staying-power. He persistently takes us the next step on our spiritual journey. He never gets tired of working with us, and he NEVER gives up on us. That's grace.

It should be the goal of the local church to make every effort to introduce people to God's life-changing love and grace.  We do so in our weekend services and special events as well as equipping our people to do so on an individual basis in their homes, neighborhoods and workplaces.  Most importantly, the proclamation of the gospel should be relevant as well as realistic and always accompanied by genuine love and concern for all, and for the whole person.  Baptism is a public confession that we have accepted God's grace, His work and His leadership in our lives.

(Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; Col. 4:3-6; Mark 16:15; Matt. 5:13-16; Matt. 9:36; Rom. 10:14-17; Matt. 22:37-39; Eph. 3:16-19; Eph. 4:13).

Growth (discipleship)

The ongoing evidence of a changing life and pursuit of Christlikeness (2 Pet. 3:18).

The second "G," Growth, is about our ongoing response to God's grace over a lifetime. Our walk with God begins by grace, and continues by grace. Unfortunately, people can fall into the trap of thinking their work - following the rules - automatically produces spiritual birth or maturity. Not so!  Spiritual growth is a lifelong process that is the result of a relationship with God - not following rules or rituals.

When we commit to move forward, we will experience the blessings of God's grace and marvel at the miracle of spiritual growth.  The grace of God that saved us is only the beginning of His work in us.  We respond to that work by actively pursuing a lifelong process of spiritual growth in Christ and seek to become conformed to His image. To this end, one of the primary goals of the church must be spiritual development and the life-transformation of each of its members. This requires a strong program of prayer, Bible teaching, individual and corporate worship as well as training in discipleship and personal evangelism. 

The local church must teach, promote and offer opportunities for spiritual growth through prayer, worship and Bible study as well as training in discipleship and personal evangelism.  When an active outreach ministry (grace) is balanced with growth, the result will be an increasing of maturing Believers.

(Eph. 4:11-13; 2 Tim. 4:2-4; Titus 2:15; Gal. 6:1-2; Deut. 6:1-2; 1 Cor. 12-14; Rom. 12:4-8; Heb. 10:24-25; Heb. 3:13; Titus 3:14; Acts 4:34-35; Acts 2:42ff; Josh. 1:8; Eph. 4:16; Phil. 2:8-10; Eph. 1:22-23; 1 Cor. 6:19; Col. 2:8-10; Col. 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; John 19-21; Mark 14-16; Matt. 27-28).

Participation in the body of Christ and connection with others in significant relationships.  This is best accomplished in small groups. (Acts 2:46).

In the body of Christ, we serve and help each other grow in various ways. This is how God designed it. The best avenue of life-change happens in a small group setting.  When we sit with members of a small group, someone can powerfully remind us of what we may not see: that God is working in us, that we're going to make it, that the affection of God is not just for "the world" -it's for us. When we're together as fellow Christ-followers, someone can literally say our name and put a voice to the truth that "You matter to God so much that He personalized His plan of salvation so there would be room for you.  He has a plan for your life."

A Christ-follower honors God's call to participate in community in order to grow in Christ likeness, express and receive love and encouragement, gain the strength to resist temptation and sin and to carry out the ministry of the church.  For this reason, while Christ-followers should give priority to attending the corporate gathering of the church for the purpose of worship, teaching, and participation in the sacrament of Communion; they should also connect relationally to a small group of believers for the purpose of spiritual growth, mutual encouragement, support, and accountability.

The local church must provide and keep a balance of both large and small group meetings.  Corporate, large group meetings provide an excellent opportunity for sharing the gospel, worship, teaching, and participation in the sacrament of Communion.  Small group meetings provide spiritual growth, mutual encouragement, support, and accountability.

Gifts (ministry)

Serving Christ's body and the world we live in according to spiritual giftedness and passion (Rom. 12:6-8).

In addition to the proclamation of the gospel, the church has been commissioned by Christ to serve each other and extend into the world His own ministry of compassion.

To accomplish this task we must work together, each using our God-given abilities (gifts) to form a potent and powerful team.  The key to success is found in each of us doing what we do best - we must find and use our gifts.

God's real plan for spiritual gifts in the church looks a lot like heaven: God gave us different gifts, different abilities so we'd do different things and meet one another's needs. He didn't refuse to give us a particular gift because He doesn't like us; instead, He thoughtfully picks the gifts he gives each of us so that we have focus, so that we can be truly fulfilled. Like a body with differing organs, our different roles and activities bring life to the church. If we become separated from each other, we suffer - like a limb out of joint within a body. When God gave us the gifts of the Spirit so we'd be distinct individuals, He also gave us the fruit of the Spirit so we'd work as one. Gifts used properly always testify to our unity as well as our diversity.

The local church is composed of interdependent members, each uniquely fitted by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of building up the body and furthering the ministry of the church. The church seeks to help its members discover, develop, and deploy those God-given gifts; and then seek a place of service within the church, with the support and affirmation of the body.  With the strength and ability gained by working together interdependently,

(Luke 3:10-14, Luke 4:16-21, Acts 4:34-35, 2 Cor. 10:4, Gal. 6:10, James 2:14-26, James 5:1-5, 1 John 3:16ff.)

Growing, mature Christ-follower realize that God has given everything they have and everything they are to them, and they know God owns all they have.  Simply put, we are the trustees of the time, talents and treasure that is loan to us from God.  

As a result, a mature Christ-follower must follow biblical guidelines (including percentage giving) in the use of their resources (time, talents and treasures).  Counting on God's promise of provision, they anticipate seeing God use their gifts and know He'll work in their own life -including financially - as they give

Where most churches fail is when they stress giving (in whatever fashion) but don’t teach balanced, transformational stewardship.  This is where biblical stewardship is beneficial. It can relieve the crushing stress and anxiety caused by consumer debt, restore marriages torn by conflict over money, and heal the wounded self-esteem and shattered confidence resulting from poor financial decisions.  

A stewardship ministry must strive to help believers become good stewards of the resources that have been entrusted to them by God. Members of the stewardship team must teach more than just percentage giving.  They must also focus on biblical foundations for money management, instruction in preparing and maintaining a personal budget, and the application of biblical principles to such areas as investment and insurance.