What We Say: Part II

Trees, or what we are aiming for, play a huge part in accomplishing what we need to accomplish in Summit. The trees for the steps through our process of discipleship act like a funnel in which we attempt to move students through. There are three steps in our strategy. Here they are with the corresponding trees.

Wednesday Night Community Groups (The top of the funnel) (Gathering)

Students meet in smaller groups called Community Groups on the second and third Wednesdays of every month. These groups discuss the important stuff that is being taught on the worship rally nights that meet the other Wednesday nights of the month. But even those nights are focused towards getting the students in the CGs to hit the tree. Here's the Tree for Summit CG:

Involve students in open and honest discussion about the important stuff and what it means in their lives.

Everything we do on Wednesday night in Summit is focused towards that goal because we feel like that tree is what undergirds "gathering" for students.

Summit Sunday School (The funnel is getting smaller) (Equipping)

Students are challenged in smaller groups on Sunday mornings with the intent of building them into disciples. Students funnel into Sunday School from Wednesday night. To do this, several things need to happen; better communication with CG leadership and SS leadership, the feel of the program being more of a deeper continuation of CG? We're working on that. With that in mind here's the tree for Summit Sunday School:

Insure that students have heard the important stuff loudly, creatively and repeatedly.

Everything we do on Sunday mornings should aim for that goal and that tree!

Summit Student Leader Community (The opening) (Sending)

What is going to be the "community" will probably start meeting once a month beginning in April. These are students that "get" the strategy, show influence and involvement, and want to "Be an Involver" by involving other students in this process of discipleship by pulling them along the funnel. The tree is developing for this community but at this point, it may sound something like this:

Be an involver of other students in the process of spiritual growth.

These students will use this strategy and image of the funnel to be leaders of their friends, those that they know, and others in being disciples.

The Important Stuff (In Process)

Jesus as It! (John 14:1-6, 3:1-17, Colossians 1:15-2:17, Ephesians 2:1-10)

• His life, His divine and human nature
• Surrender
• By grace through faith
• The Church as His bride
• Your identity in Christ

Spritual Disciplines: These are in the toolbox for your relationship with God. (Mark 1:26, Psalms 119, I Timothy 4:19)

• Navigating and Understanding the whole of God's Word
• Mediatating on God's Word
• Memorizing God's Word
• Prayer: Open communication with God
• Silence and listening
• Church and worship
• Accountability and fellowship

Family: Being a Godly son or daughter mirrors being a follower of Christ (Deuteronomy 6, Ephesians 6, Proverbs)

• Not dependent on your parent's faith, but yours
• Understanding discipline

Friends: Who you hang with is who you'll become (Psalms 1, Proverbs, I Corinthians 6)

• Friends = Who influences you
• Can encourage or discourage your faith. There is rarely a neutral firend!
• Compromise is a progression that begins with compromised relationships which leads to compromised behaviors and finally culminates in compromised beliefs.

Choices: Be wise with them because they chart your future (Ephesians 5, James 1, I Corinthians 6)

• Wisdom is God's view of any particular situation
• Asking "What's wise?" instead of "What's right or wrong?"
• Purity is a picture of who you belong to
• Temptation

Serving like Christ: Giving yourself away for Christ is Spiritual Maturity (Phillipians 2, I Timothy)

• Love has more to do with conviction and giving than emotion.
• Loving others for Jesus has nothing to do with you
• Leading others to faith in Jesus
• Removing I and focusing your life to loving others

Where to go from here and a couple observations

The important stuff is a work in progress. Please feel free to comment. Look for some upcoming articles devoted to different pieces of the important stuff.

Something to notice is that the content itself (the important stuff) is primary at all levels, but it also funnels in depth and application throughout the process. It's also not an accident that the six important things themselves are a picture of the funnel. We begin with Jesus, move through the primary relationships in our lives, and finally end up serving and giving.

I hope to see ya'll soon!

Dennis