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Spiritual Development July 2016

I’m very excited for the rest of the year and the new emphasis that our church is putting on discipleship.  Part of this plan is a new strategy that we are going to have called The Growth Initiative.  The Life Change cycle is a model that has served our church well as we think about what genuine, Spirit-provoked life change looks like in the life of a believer.  This new push is our attempt to be more faithful to the “Grow” aspect of the Life Change Cycle. 

The Growth Initiative will replace the Life Enrichment classes that we have offered in the past on Sunday nights in the fall and spring.  Instead of meeting over a series of weeks throughout the year, we will be offering equipping sessions one weekend each month on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings in order to give focused attention to important concepts that will work to strengthen your faith and equip you to be an effective disciple of Christ.  Listed below is the schedule for this upcoming fall.

Truth: Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth - Sept. 9^th -10^th

Learn how to understand, interpret, and apply the truth of the Bible to your life and the lives of others. 

Story: God’s Grand Redemption Story - Oct. 14^th-15^th

See how the Old and New Testaments are one story of God’s workings to
redeem people from the power of sin and establish his everlasting kingdom.

Beliefs: Theological Triage - Nov. 11^th-12^th

Learn why our beliefs about God and his interactions with us are valuable and important for the maturity of our faith.

Action: How to Be a Disciple Maker - Dec. 9^th-10^th

Understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and learn how to effectively share your faith and disciple others.

Fridays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

It is our hope that many people at Oakhill will participate in these opportunities and see the value in investing in their own spiritual life so they are more effectively equipped to minister to others.  These larger categories of Truth, Story, Beliefs, and Action are explained in Pastor Alan’s article and will be addressed on Sunday mornings through the month of July.  These categories will serve as the framework for the future discipleship opportunities that our church will offer.  Within those categories, new topics will be covered each year.  Please plan to be a part of these weekends!

Our desire behind all of this planning is summed up in the tagline of The Growth Initiative’s logo.  We want to be a church made up of disciples making disciples.  This is the mission that Jesus has left for the church to complete in the power of the Spirit.  By God’s grace, this new emphasis will aid our church in completing the Great Commission by reaching the lost and making disciples who make disciples.

Speaking the Truth in Love,

Nick

July 2016 Students

This year we partnered with Refuge Louisville for the second year in a row. We took a much larger group this year, which was exciting for all of us! The students that were attending the trip for the first time had the opportunity to experience a lot of the same things our students did last year, while our second year students had the opportunity to build intentional relationships with one particular apartment complex.

One interesting experience that all the students got to share is the visitation of different religious facilities. The thing that always stands out to the students is the utter emptiness of these other religions and their “gods.” Whether it’s a Muslim mosque or a Hindu temple, they are all empty and powerless gods. It helps our students see how great, powerful, and close our God is.

Each day our second-year students spent time at one of the apartment complexes building relationships with the kids there. Every day Noah Vinson gave a short Bible lesson about the Gospel. The lessons were so impactful that, at the end of the week, several kids asked how they can be saved and wanted Bibles of their own or to give to their parents. You can see one of the kids proudly holding one of the Bibles in the picture to the left (far right in red shirt).  

All the students spent time with these kids sharing Bible verses or talking about how our God created everything by drawing with chalk. It is amazing how many relationships were built in such a short period.  We hope to continue to build these relationships in years to come!!

We also went to Crossings at the end of June (pictured at left). In my opinion, this was one of the best and most impactful themes they’ve covered. Rob Turner was our camp pastor, and he talked about identity crisis, identity challenge, and identity change. He used the woman at the well as a primary reference point and challenged our students in where they are finding their identity.

One of our students described Rob as being brutally encouraging, which is so accurate. He has a way of really getting to the heart of the issue and pressing in and encouraging change. Our students learned a great deal, shared a great deal, and got to know each other on a deeper level. I love the community that was built through this experience.

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped us go on mission and to everyone that helped us get to camp!!! Your support and encouragement mean so much and has changed many lives!!

Much Love -  Mark