Discipleship Pathway

At some point in our lives, whether through life’s challenges or seeing the brokenness of the world around us, we recognize that life as we are doing it is just not working. Or maybe we seek a deeper meaning to life through curiosity or dissatisfaction with the status quo. Sometimes people describe this as a “hole” in our life. We reach a point where we know the world is broken and we need something different – we need hope.

The Problem: Sin
One of the first steps of faith is recognizing that we all are in need of salvation and yet we cannot save ourselves. Sin isn’t just doing something really bad—it’s any time we turn away from God’s best for us. It includes selfishness, pride, hurtful actions, or even indifference toward God. The Bible says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). No one is holy, no one is good, and no one keeps the laws of God perfectly. In short, we all sin. God IS perfect, and therefore our sin (wrongdoing) keeps us from a right relationship with Him. And since we all have sinned, we all deserve the consequences of sin – death and separation from God.

Romans 5:6-8 explains it this way:
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

The Solution: Jesus Christ
The word Gospel literally means “Good News”. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to the world to bring us good news. This good news is that Jesus is not only able to forgive us from our wrongdoing (sin), but ready and willing to do for us what we cannot do on our own. You see, through death on a cross, Jesus paid the penalty for sin so the sinner (all of us!) wouldn’t have to. He gave up His life so that you could live abundantly, both here in this life and for eternity in the presence of God!

The Invitation: A Choice
Jesus invites you to come. God wants to be in relationship with you. Jesus has provided a way for that to happen. Here is where we have a choice to make:

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.”
Revelation 3:20

Will you accept the gift He is offering? Are you willing to admit your sin, accepting the reality that you are spiritually dead without God’s help? And are you ready to accept the Good News that God has made a way for you to have a relationship with Him through Jesus’ death on the cross?

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

The Gift: Salvation and Hope
To put it simply: the Gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ lived, died and rose again to save us from our sins and restore our relationship with God. This Good News is for everyone, regardless of our past mistakes, circumstances, social standing or background. It’s a message of hope, forgiveness and love, available to all who choose to believe and receive it!

“But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

Jesus doesn’t just forgive your past—He welcomes you into His family. You are no longer alone or unknown. You become a child of God, with a new identity, a new home with us here at Farmington Community Church and a new future. You can learn more about growing towards a Jesus-centered life as you read about the Discipleship Pathway on this page.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

If you have questions about any of this, or you are ready to accept the amazing gift of grace Jesus offers, we would love to talk with you! Our Pastor or any member of our staff would be happy to answer your questions and to pray with you. Contact our Pastor here.

If you are in this stage of your spiritual journey, we celebrate with you that you have decided to follow Jesus! You are growing in your faith through your church experiences and starting to incorporate spiritual practices into your daily life beyond Sunday mornings. If you are growing in Jesus, you are likely trying to answer the question “What?” What does the Bible say? And what does it look like to live as a follower of Jesus?

Colossians 2:6-7 says, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” As you root yourself in Jesus and Scripture, your faith will be strengthened.

During this stage in your faith journey we encourage you to participate in the following ways as you feel ready:

1. 1. Be Baptized. Contact the church office or talk with our Pastor if you’d like to be baptized.
   2. Join a Community Group.  This is a great way to begin to build spiritual friendships within the church and to learn more about the Bible. Community Groups are groups of 6-12 people who meet regularly to connect, fellowship, encourage each other, pray, and apply the Bible to their lives. Community Groups can be joined at any time during the year, with churchwide sign-ups offered in September and January. Our Small Groups Director can help you connect to a group that’s right for you!
   3. Continue to read the Bible, pray and attend worship regularly. These are ongoing practices that will help you stay on track and continue to grow in your faith.
   4. Participate in adult educational opportunities. We offer Adult Sunday School on Sunday mornings at 9am and also classes on specific topics of spiritual growth during the year. We also do a Summer Read, when the whole church reads through a book on a specific faith topic together.
   5. Find Christian music that helps you worship. There is Christian music for every style and preference – find something that honors God and connects with your soul!
   6. Help with an outreach project or try serving somewhere in the church. Contact the church office for information on serving opportunities. We also have spiritual gifts tests available if you are ready to start learning what specific gifts God has given you!
   7. Learn to tell your faith story within a small group. Listen to others share their testimonies in worship and your Community Group to see what the Christian life looks like for others.

At this stage of spiritual growth, you have a deepening intimacy with Jesus through trust and surrender by the Holy Spirit. You have engaged with more personal spiritual practices (also called spiritual disciplines), and serving is an important expression of your faith. While your devotion to Jesus has grown significantly, you likely still have areas that you hold back from full commitment. This is a normal part of spiritual growth, so don’t be discouraged!

If you are in the “Close to Jesus” stage of spiritual growth, you are mostly concerned with “How?” How do I live out a life committed to Jesus? And how do I serve Him? Continue to seek the Lord and ask Him to show you where you still need to grow. In John 15:4-5, Jesus tells us, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

During this stage in your faith journey we encourage you to participate in the following ways as the Spirit leads you:

1. 1. Join a Discipleship Band. Discipleship Bands are groups of 3-5 men or women who meet regularly to engage in transformational questions and pray for one another, aiming to become the love of God for each other and the world. Contact groups@farmingtoncommunitychurch.org for more information on Discipleship Bands.
   2. Be trained to lead or host a Community Group.
   3. Commit to regular and frequent Bible study and prayer. Engage in spiritual practices (spiritual disciplines) to continue spiritual growth. Continue to engage in the church community regularly for worship and prayer. In addition to Sunday morning, we have a weekly prayer time at the church and a daily prayer call. Contact the church office for details on how to connect to these regular prayer times.
   4. Continue to participate in adult educational opportunities. We offer Adult Sunday School on Sunday mornings at 9am and also classes on specific topics of spiritual growth during the year.
   5. Take on more advanced serving roles that fit with your spiritual gifts. We have spiritual gifts tests available when you are ready to start learning what specific gifts God has given you! We also periodically offer a Spiritual Gifts class to learn more about this topic.
   6. Be willing to share your faith story within the church and with your friends and family.

If you identify with this statement, you are living a Jesus-centered life and seek to reflect Him in all areas. You have fully surrendered your life to Jesus in a way that has transformed your behaviors and attitudes across the board. And while you are still growing, you seek to be Spirit-led in every area of your life. “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17)

The questions you ask at this stage revolve around “Why?” as you seek a deeper level of understanding of God, the Word, and His plans for your life and the world.

You can identify with Paul, who declared, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

During this stage in your faith journey we encourage you to participate in the following ways as the Spirit leads you:

1. 1. Continue to participate in your Discipleship Band. You’ve likely already discovered that this is a key part of your ongoing spiritual health, as you confess, share, pray and support one another.
   2. Invest in spiritual relationships both by being discipled and actively discipling others. Become a spiritual mentor or apprentice another person in your leadership role.
   3. Continue to engage in self-directed spiritual practices, like in-depth study of the Bible, prayer, regular community worship, and other spiritual disciplines.
   4. Serve in an area using your spiritual gifts both inside and outside of the church, both through church ministries and organically in your neighborhood, relationships, and workplace.
   5. Engage in relational service and evangelism opportunities, with hands-on and face-to-face contact with those in need and those far from Jesus. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)