Independent Baptist Connection
Building On A Rock Foundation
Some churches enjoy an influx of new members who seem to know little about the basic foundations of the faith. This seems especially true of modern Baptist churches. New members, not necessarily new Baptists, need adjustment time to the church they recently joined. They often have little understanding about their own church’s role in the community or what their new church believes. These questions and others like them also raise another set of questions, things often wondered about but rarely asked aloud.
How long will the new members stay in church? What problems or conflicts might lead them away from the church? Why are churches seeing so many visitors who fail to return or new members that only attend once in a while?
What, if anything, can churches do today to slow down the revolving door of church attendance? Several years ago, I faced this challenge by developing a curriculum for church visitors, new members, and regular members of the church. The senior pastor and myself felt the need in this area was an issue rarely dealt with among independent Baptists. We called the class our Foundations class because it dealt with the foundations of the faith and the founder of our faith, Jesus Christ.
It started without a basic set of lessons other than those things covered in our Confession of Faith. We started with six students. I had no idea the class would last for fifteen years before it was turned over to someone else. No, it wasn’t easy teaching the same lessons over and over again. However, this allowed me the joy of polishing and “experimenting” on what worked best in the classes while providing a source of great blessing to the church that used me as a staff member!
God poured out his blessings on those who learned the foundations. In time, the graduates served God faithfully as Trustees, Sunday school teachers, choir members and faithful tithers. Some became pastors, missionaries and discipled other members. Most important of all, though, several became Christians and were baptized into the church membership. We did not copyright the work or the plan because we couldn’t. This was God’s plan as outlined in His Word. All we did was follow it.
Many of those who went through this process have remained faithful to church for many years. Those who were already Christians that weren’t really serving the Lord began serving our Lord faithfully. To God be the glory!
Those were exciting days! Churches today need that kind of excitement to survive fluctuating membership patterns, the constantly changing mores of modern society, and the onslaught of gospel perversions that abound today. No one believes in sound doctrine more than myself. However, there’s more to it than that. (Please read the article about Doctrine).
Do you have or need a class like this in your church? This isn’t an easy process, but the rewards from God for following His Word far surpass any problems with having a ministry like this in any church.
Blessings and Difficulties
Most pastors carefully consider both of these areas before starting any ministry as they try following the path of the greatest blessing.
Consider the blessings of this ministry. A special relationship develops between teachers and students that reaches far beyond the classroom itself. Former members of the class often return for special counseling. The interest of students results in requests for information or outlines of any new material added after they finish the class. Growth patterns are established that continue working long after the class is over.
There are also some difficulties associated with the class. Teaching the same lessons over and over again can prove itself a dull routine unless great caution is used in choosing the teacher. Another great challenge for some involves getting new students, developing a close relationship with them, and then “losing” them. Such a class may range from the smallest class to the largest class and then back to the smallest class. In the process, special students will emerge that a teacher hates to lose. But they must go into the regular classes too. There is also a strong temptation to continue adding classes or lessons so a teacher can keep the students longer. I have personally faced each of these temptations, won some and lost others.
Suggestions
Does this still sound like a good idea? Are you ready to face the challenge of such a class in your church? God’s Word made it clear to us that certain subjects needed to be addressed without exception. May I list them for you?
Every Christian needs a basic understanding of how we got the Bible, as well as the value of the Scriptures in everyday life. What Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16 is still true. How many bibles did God write? Can we trust the Bible as being God’s Word? What’s all this debate about verbal inspiration? Is God’s Word really the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice for us today? What about modern bible translations? Can they be trusted? Countless churches seem to take it for granted that their members already know about these issues but many times they know nothing about it, especially new members!
The Bible also teaches us about the identity and work of Christ, according to Matthew 1:20. No small amount of controversy exists about this subject today. While reputable magazines raise questions about the issue, church members often find themselves at a loss for answers because they have not been taught. This seems like elementary education but it is still necessary. Is Christ human? Is He Divine? Was he really born of a virgin or was it just a young lady? What about his life and his death? Should I believe the bible’s account of Christ’s life? Did the Lord really die for me or in my place? Is it true that only the shed blood of Christ washes away all my sin?
Now this is crucial, according to the Bible. Paul indicated the same in 1 Corinthians 15:3,4. The issue of the resurrection of Christ is vital for salvation. There are those who don’t believe Christ literally rose from the grave and ascended back to heaven. Some feel his body was converted to a form of gas, he seeped through the wall of the tomb, and his atoms gathered themselves back together again before He appeared in resurrected form. This belief is contrary to the bodily resurrection of Christ, but some believe it. Why is this so important? Did Christ rise bodily from the grave and did he literally ascend back to heaven? Will he literally return?
Many preachers want to preach sermons on heaven, but it seems few preach on hell any more. There is both a heaven and a hell, according to the bible. Why is heaven such a joyful place? Why is hell such a horrible place? Do they both exist? Are they real places? Is this why we need to make our decision for Christ while we’re here on earth? Make no mistake about it, heaven is final for the saved and hell is final for the unsaved. How do we know the Bible says that? How do you account for near death experiences if either place is final?
One of the most difficult areas for new members involves scriptural baptism. Many church members know just enough about this subject to “get by”. Yet this is a reservoir of blessing that often remains untapped. What do you need for a proper baptism? Why should a believer be baptized? Is alien immersion more than baptizing someone without proper identification papers? If I have already been baptized, why are you asking me to submit to baptism again? Or is one enough? There are scriptural requirements for scriptural baptism. What are they? This is one of two ordinances for the church, so it is important members understand it.
The second ordinance of the church is the Lord’s Supper. I used to think it was a potluck dinner. Special requirements for this event are listed in 1 Corinthians 11:26-28. What are the elements of the Lord’s Supper? Who can take the Lord’s Supper? When and where may the Supper be taken? Who has the right to change it or can it be changed? Is the Lord’s Supper a church ordinance or is it a sacrament? I recently saw a church sign that listed it as a sacrament!
John himself was concerned that people know how to be saved. This comes down to either the presence or absence of a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. What do I mean by that? A clear explanation of God’s plan of salvation is vital to any person.
We also found it vital that church members learn about the church’s one foundation. God explains this in Mark 3:13-14 and Matthew 16:18. No one taught me a lesson on this subject for nearly twenty years as a church member. Knowing this would have been a great help to me and led me to avoid many errors in judgment and understanding. Nearly 48 hours of college level study on this subject have burdened me with teaching it to others. The answers to the following questions are of great importance to serving the Lord in any church. When did the church start and who started it? What is the nature of the church? What is the mission of the church? Why do we believe what we believe?
Countless folks think that all churches believe the same thing. They also think that every church is independent thanks to 1776. However, Christ declared the independence of His church. What, if any, is the difference between churches that are independent and those that are not independent? What is an independent Baptist? Why are some Baptist churches independent? Where did they come from? Where did the denominational system and associations come from? Has it always been this way? If I am an independent Baptist, why? If I’m not an independent Baptist, why not?
Most church members remain unaware they are scripturally “bound” by the terms of the church covenant. This is according to 2 Corinthians 8:23 and Philemon 1:17. We are each partners in the Lord’s work in a local church context. Responsibility comes along with church membership. What conditions must church members meet before entering the covenant? What is expected of church members? What happens if a member fails to keep the covenant?
One of the most unpopular but most needful areas of teaching is that of church discipline. This is a strong preventive measure, rather than a curative one. It is also one I hated teaching. However, I don’t know of a single person that needed its use after they heard this lesson. What are the purposes and causes of church discipline? Does the church have an obligation to keep itself pure? There should be a strong emphasis on the purpose of restoration, not destruction. The only time I ever heard a lesson on this was when it was actually used!
Another area that needs reinforcement is the relationship between pastors and members. You and Your Pastor examines the man sent from God. Countless relationship problems develop in churches between the pastor and a member because the member often has a narrow viewpoint. The pastor is an ordinary man, but he is also a man sent from God. As a man, he has the same weaknesses as other men and the same temptations as anyone else. Sometimes he hurts the feelings of church members without knowing it. Members must understand that though the pastor is an ordinary human being, he also has a God-given office as Pastor that sets him apart from the other church members. How many church members realize that?
Optional Lessons
Class members made me more sensitive to where they were coming from by their questions and reactions to the above lessons. New ideas constantly presented themselves and other areas of need also made themselves known. This section is about lessons that became options as the need arose.
One of the biggest struggles appeared to be Charismatic confusion about tongues. This was an area that confused me as a young Christian. When a person considers 1 Corinthians 13:8 and 14:33, help is often needed to explain what Paul really meant. Is the charismatic gift of tongues for today? Why do charismatics believe that every true Christian will speak in tongues? Is there anything charismatics don’t tell us about tongues? What is the whole counsel of God about this issue?
Another area of charismatic confusion is the issue of faith healing. Aren’t we healed by Jesus’ stripes, according to Isaiah 53:5? Is the miraculous gift of physical healing found in New Testament times also for us today? What scriptural proof is there of this healing today? What about the testimony of those healed? Can God still heal?
Saved and lost alike spend a lot of money learning how to find financial freedom in today’s world. What are the real scriptural guidelines from God’s Word that will get me out of debt?
There are also many other areas developed over time that helped the curriculum. We dealt with how to fit in at the church, the church constitution and bylaws, near death experiences and others as the Lord led us.
Consider This
Several churches claim they already have such a ministry but it just doesn’t seem very effective. Why not? It’s up to the church when to use this ministry, but many say the best time is a special class on Sunday evenings. We considered that too, but we also knew that very few visitors or new members started coming to Sunday evening services until they had already been there quite a while. Expecting them to come on Sunday night, after spending years at home on Sunday evening, was expecting a lot. It was a blessing just to get them there early enough for Sunday school. Therefore, we decided the best time for class was on Sunday morning as a Sunday school class. This became highly effective.
We also decided to make the class generally mandatory for new members and visitors. Not only did this allow them time to adjust to their new church, but it also helped visitors learn what we were all about before they joined. Regular church members also attended as they were rotated in and out to help them get to know the new people and refresh their memories about what we believed and why we believed it.
Needless to say, four weeks was not enough time to accomplish everything. Nor was twelve weeks long enough. I had some visiting pastors suggest the class last for one year. Yes, even pastors and missionaries came to the class. One time, I even taught it through an interpreter.
Questions were strongly encouraged. That’s how I learned about new lessons to teach and new ways to teach the old material to answer questions before they were asked. Some of our discussions were much more meaningful than the actual lessons.
Students were also strongly encouraged to take notes. We learned the best way to do this was to make the lessons interesting by using many different teaching methods, tools and so forth.
Teaching the same lesson twenty or thirty times makes the teacher work harder to add new material and re-work the materials already in hand.
God did amazing things with this material! He can still do amazing things with it. That’s why I included it on the website as an offer of help to you pastors. Not every detail fits here, so I’m going to make you an offer.
If such a ministry sounds interesting to your church, I’ll help you. All of the materials will eventually appear on this website. In the event you still have questions, feel free to email them to me and I’ll do what I can to help fill in the missing pieces. Or, at your discretion and depending on my schedule, I’ll be glad to come and see you at your church to help with this ministry. I’ll even teach it for you if you want me to. Either way, feel free to email me at twentyfourhoursaday@yahoo.com. Otherwise, keep checking the website as the lessons appear.
How long will the new members stay in church? What problems or conflicts might lead them away from the church? Why are churches seeing so many visitors who fail to return or new members that only attend once in a while?
What, if anything, can churches do today to slow down the revolving door of church attendance? Several years ago, I faced this challenge by developing a curriculum for church visitors, new members, and regular members of the church. The senior pastor and myself felt the need in this area was an issue rarely dealt with among independent Baptists. We called the class our Foundations class because it dealt with the foundations of the faith and the founder of our faith, Jesus Christ.
It started without a basic set of lessons other than those things covered in our Confession of Faith. We started with six students. I had no idea the class would last for fifteen years before it was turned over to someone else. No, it wasn’t easy teaching the same lessons over and over again. However, this allowed me the joy of polishing and “experimenting” on what worked best in the classes while providing a source of great blessing to the church that used me as a staff member!
God poured out his blessings on those who learned the foundations. In time, the graduates served God faithfully as Trustees, Sunday school teachers, choir members and faithful tithers. Some became pastors, missionaries and discipled other members. Most important of all, though, several became Christians and were baptized into the church membership. We did not copyright the work or the plan because we couldn’t. This was God’s plan as outlined in His Word. All we did was follow it.
Many of those who went through this process have remained faithful to church for many years. Those who were already Christians that weren’t really serving the Lord began serving our Lord faithfully. To God be the glory!
Those were exciting days! Churches today need that kind of excitement to survive fluctuating membership patterns, the constantly changing mores of modern society, and the onslaught of gospel perversions that abound today. No one believes in sound doctrine more than myself. However, there’s more to it than that. (Please read the article about Doctrine).
Do you have or need a class like this in your church? This isn’t an easy process, but the rewards from God for following His Word far surpass any problems with having a ministry like this in any church.
Blessings and Difficulties
Most pastors carefully consider both of these areas before starting any ministry as they try following the path of the greatest blessing.
Consider the blessings of this ministry. A special relationship develops between teachers and students that reaches far beyond the classroom itself. Former members of the class often return for special counseling. The interest of students results in requests for information or outlines of any new material added after they finish the class. Growth patterns are established that continue working long after the class is over.
There are also some difficulties associated with the class. Teaching the same lessons over and over again can prove itself a dull routine unless great caution is used in choosing the teacher. Another great challenge for some involves getting new students, developing a close relationship with them, and then “losing” them. Such a class may range from the smallest class to the largest class and then back to the smallest class. In the process, special students will emerge that a teacher hates to lose. But they must go into the regular classes too. There is also a strong temptation to continue adding classes or lessons so a teacher can keep the students longer. I have personally faced each of these temptations, won some and lost others.
Suggestions
Does this still sound like a good idea? Are you ready to face the challenge of such a class in your church? God’s Word made it clear to us that certain subjects needed to be addressed without exception. May I list them for you?
Every Christian needs a basic understanding of how we got the Bible, as well as the value of the Scriptures in everyday life. What Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16 is still true. How many bibles did God write? Can we trust the Bible as being God’s Word? What’s all this debate about verbal inspiration? Is God’s Word really the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice for us today? What about modern bible translations? Can they be trusted? Countless churches seem to take it for granted that their members already know about these issues but many times they know nothing about it, especially new members!
The Bible also teaches us about the identity and work of Christ, according to Matthew 1:20. No small amount of controversy exists about this subject today. While reputable magazines raise questions about the issue, church members often find themselves at a loss for answers because they have not been taught. This seems like elementary education but it is still necessary. Is Christ human? Is He Divine? Was he really born of a virgin or was it just a young lady? What about his life and his death? Should I believe the bible’s account of Christ’s life? Did the Lord really die for me or in my place? Is it true that only the shed blood of Christ washes away all my sin?
Now this is crucial, according to the Bible. Paul indicated the same in 1 Corinthians 15:3,4. The issue of the resurrection of Christ is vital for salvation. There are those who don’t believe Christ literally rose from the grave and ascended back to heaven. Some feel his body was converted to a form of gas, he seeped through the wall of the tomb, and his atoms gathered themselves back together again before He appeared in resurrected form. This belief is contrary to the bodily resurrection of Christ, but some believe it. Why is this so important? Did Christ rise bodily from the grave and did he literally ascend back to heaven? Will he literally return?
Many preachers want to preach sermons on heaven, but it seems few preach on hell any more. There is both a heaven and a hell, according to the bible. Why is heaven such a joyful place? Why is hell such a horrible place? Do they both exist? Are they real places? Is this why we need to make our decision for Christ while we’re here on earth? Make no mistake about it, heaven is final for the saved and hell is final for the unsaved. How do we know the Bible says that? How do you account for near death experiences if either place is final?
One of the most difficult areas for new members involves scriptural baptism. Many church members know just enough about this subject to “get by”. Yet this is a reservoir of blessing that often remains untapped. What do you need for a proper baptism? Why should a believer be baptized? Is alien immersion more than baptizing someone without proper identification papers? If I have already been baptized, why are you asking me to submit to baptism again? Or is one enough? There are scriptural requirements for scriptural baptism. What are they? This is one of two ordinances for the church, so it is important members understand it.
The second ordinance of the church is the Lord’s Supper. I used to think it was a potluck dinner. Special requirements for this event are listed in 1 Corinthians 11:26-28. What are the elements of the Lord’s Supper? Who can take the Lord’s Supper? When and where may the Supper be taken? Who has the right to change it or can it be changed? Is the Lord’s Supper a church ordinance or is it a sacrament? I recently saw a church sign that listed it as a sacrament!
John himself was concerned that people know how to be saved. This comes down to either the presence or absence of a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. What do I mean by that? A clear explanation of God’s plan of salvation is vital to any person.
We also found it vital that church members learn about the church’s one foundation. God explains this in Mark 3:13-14 and Matthew 16:18. No one taught me a lesson on this subject for nearly twenty years as a church member. Knowing this would have been a great help to me and led me to avoid many errors in judgment and understanding. Nearly 48 hours of college level study on this subject have burdened me with teaching it to others. The answers to the following questions are of great importance to serving the Lord in any church. When did the church start and who started it? What is the nature of the church? What is the mission of the church? Why do we believe what we believe?
Countless folks think that all churches believe the same thing. They also think that every church is independent thanks to 1776. However, Christ declared the independence of His church. What, if any, is the difference between churches that are independent and those that are not independent? What is an independent Baptist? Why are some Baptist churches independent? Where did they come from? Where did the denominational system and associations come from? Has it always been this way? If I am an independent Baptist, why? If I’m not an independent Baptist, why not?
Most church members remain unaware they are scripturally “bound” by the terms of the church covenant. This is according to 2 Corinthians 8:23 and Philemon 1:17. We are each partners in the Lord’s work in a local church context. Responsibility comes along with church membership. What conditions must church members meet before entering the covenant? What is expected of church members? What happens if a member fails to keep the covenant?
One of the most unpopular but most needful areas of teaching is that of church discipline. This is a strong preventive measure, rather than a curative one. It is also one I hated teaching. However, I don’t know of a single person that needed its use after they heard this lesson. What are the purposes and causes of church discipline? Does the church have an obligation to keep itself pure? There should be a strong emphasis on the purpose of restoration, not destruction. The only time I ever heard a lesson on this was when it was actually used!
Another area that needs reinforcement is the relationship between pastors and members. You and Your Pastor examines the man sent from God. Countless relationship problems develop in churches between the pastor and a member because the member often has a narrow viewpoint. The pastor is an ordinary man, but he is also a man sent from God. As a man, he has the same weaknesses as other men and the same temptations as anyone else. Sometimes he hurts the feelings of church members without knowing it. Members must understand that though the pastor is an ordinary human being, he also has a God-given office as Pastor that sets him apart from the other church members. How many church members realize that?
Optional Lessons
Class members made me more sensitive to where they were coming from by their questions and reactions to the above lessons. New ideas constantly presented themselves and other areas of need also made themselves known. This section is about lessons that became options as the need arose.
One of the biggest struggles appeared to be Charismatic confusion about tongues. This was an area that confused me as a young Christian. When a person considers 1 Corinthians 13:8 and 14:33, help is often needed to explain what Paul really meant. Is the charismatic gift of tongues for today? Why do charismatics believe that every true Christian will speak in tongues? Is there anything charismatics don’t tell us about tongues? What is the whole counsel of God about this issue?
Another area of charismatic confusion is the issue of faith healing. Aren’t we healed by Jesus’ stripes, according to Isaiah 53:5? Is the miraculous gift of physical healing found in New Testament times also for us today? What scriptural proof is there of this healing today? What about the testimony of those healed? Can God still heal?
Saved and lost alike spend a lot of money learning how to find financial freedom in today’s world. What are the real scriptural guidelines from God’s Word that will get me out of debt?
There are also many other areas developed over time that helped the curriculum. We dealt with how to fit in at the church, the church constitution and bylaws, near death experiences and others as the Lord led us.
Consider This
Several churches claim they already have such a ministry but it just doesn’t seem very effective. Why not? It’s up to the church when to use this ministry, but many say the best time is a special class on Sunday evenings. We considered that too, but we also knew that very few visitors or new members started coming to Sunday evening services until they had already been there quite a while. Expecting them to come on Sunday night, after spending years at home on Sunday evening, was expecting a lot. It was a blessing just to get them there early enough for Sunday school. Therefore, we decided the best time for class was on Sunday morning as a Sunday school class. This became highly effective.
We also decided to make the class generally mandatory for new members and visitors. Not only did this allow them time to adjust to their new church, but it also helped visitors learn what we were all about before they joined. Regular church members also attended as they were rotated in and out to help them get to know the new people and refresh their memories about what we believed and why we believed it.
Needless to say, four weeks was not enough time to accomplish everything. Nor was twelve weeks long enough. I had some visiting pastors suggest the class last for one year. Yes, even pastors and missionaries came to the class. One time, I even taught it through an interpreter.
Questions were strongly encouraged. That’s how I learned about new lessons to teach and new ways to teach the old material to answer questions before they were asked. Some of our discussions were much more meaningful than the actual lessons.
Students were also strongly encouraged to take notes. We learned the best way to do this was to make the lessons interesting by using many different teaching methods, tools and so forth.
Teaching the same lesson twenty or thirty times makes the teacher work harder to add new material and re-work the materials already in hand.
God did amazing things with this material! He can still do amazing things with it. That’s why I included it on the website as an offer of help to you pastors. Not every detail fits here, so I’m going to make you an offer.
If such a ministry sounds interesting to your church, I’ll help you. All of the materials will eventually appear on this website. In the event you still have questions, feel free to email them to me and I’ll do what I can to help fill in the missing pieces. Or, at your discretion and depending on my schedule, I’ll be glad to come and see you at your church to help with this ministry. I’ll even teach it for you if you want me to. Either way, feel free to email me at twentyfourhoursaday@yahoo.com. Otherwise, keep checking the website as the lessons appear.
