born again; (3) Jesus commands us to be baptized; and (4) baptism demonstrates that the person is a Christian. Several basic facts about baptism were given and explained, such as the fact that it does not save a person, is for believers, by immersion, and means that a person is joining a local church.
The importance of the Lord’s Supper was also covered in session 1. Participants were taught using many Scriptures that (1) Jesus instituted it; (2) it reminds Christians of their sin; (3) it symbolizes Jesus’ atonement for sins; (4) it reminds us of Jesus; (5) it proclaims the gospel and anticipates Jesus’ return; and (6) it provides an opportunity to renew one’s personal commitment to Christ. To address a question that I am commonly asked by members and visitors, I explained the frequency with which Ballardsville Baptist Church takes the Lord’s Supper.
Session 1 required exactly forty-five minutes and concluded at 1:50 p.m.
Participants were given a fifteen minute break. Snacks and drinks were provided during this time. Participants appeared to enjoy the class and fellowship with others during the breaks.
County and around the world, the opportunity to hear, see, and respond to the saving gospel of Jesus Christ, and to become fruit-bearing disciples in the church.”
I pointed out the various elements of the mission statement and the importance of each. First, the mission includes every person a church member meets. Second, giving people the opportunity to hear, see, and respond to the saving gospel includes our
ministries, lifestyles, and the proclamation of the gospel. Third, the mission is to give people an opportunity to respond to the gospel as succinctly demonstrated by the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:20: “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” The mission is to implore people to be reconciled to God.
Fourth, the mission of Ballardsville Baptist Church includes the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. That is his deity, his perfect life, sacrificial death, victorious resurrection, glorious reign in our lives through the Holy Spirit, and position at the right hand of the Father to make intercession for his people. Fifth, the church’s mission includes discipleship in that we want to give people an opportunity to become fruit-bearing disciples. The great commission makes clear the importance of disciple making and Jesus demonstrated its importance throughout his earthly ministry. Last, the mission of Ballardsville Baptist Church includes the church. Specifically, this is the local church. Our aim is to plug people into healthy local churches in their own communities.
Strategy. I used this opportunity to explain the church’s strategy to accomplish the aforementioned vision and mission. In this section, I outlined the Connect, Grow, Serve, and Go priorities of our assimilation process. I explained that they were the freshman class going through the Connect 101 class, but soon there would be three more orientation classes designed to help them understand how the church is structured to Grow them closer to Christ through discipleship, Serve Christ and his church through
Christ for salvation and to the church for membership.
Five great passions. Session 2 also contained an explanation of “Our Five Great Passions.”20 These five passions are the heartbeat of the church in that whether we are together or apart, our church body strives for biblical truth, godly character, fruitful living, intentional relationships, and to embody unity.
Affiliations. This session also included a section entitled “Our Affiliations.” I taught the group that Ballardsville Baptist Church is an autonomous gathering of believers in Jesus Christ who affirm the same core beliefs and covenant together for common purposes. In one sense, the church is independent in that there are no outside entities or organizations controlling or offering leadership to the church. The church does, however, voluntarily affiliate with the Southern Baptist Convention and its affiliates for the purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. I explained that the Southern Baptist Convention is an affiliation of over 45,000 like-minded Baptist churches that cooperate for the purpose of missions and Christian causes in local communities, states, North America, and the world. Furthermore, the affiliation is completely voluntary and consists of a church’s affirmation of “The 2000 Baptist Faith and Message,”21 and contributing financially to the Cooperative Program.
Articles of faith: What we believe. Session 2 also contained an explanation of the church’s Articles of Faith.22 While the curriculum contained the full Articles of Faith document, only certain topics were covered in the class. Students were encouraged to thoroughly read the Articles of Faith and contact a staff member if any disagreement
20See appendix 14 for “Connect 101 Curriculum.”
21The 2000 Baptist Faith and Message can be downloaded from http://www.sbc.net/bfm2000/ bfm2000.asp.
22See appendix 7 for “Articles of Faith.”
existed. In the class, we covered the supremacy of Christ and the Scriptures and how we unapologetically follow the Bible. The class explained the Trinity including the deity of Jesus Christ. Because Session 1: Connecting with God, extensively covered the condition of mankind, the doctrine of salvation, and the ordinances, the exposition of those topics were omitted from this section. The section entitled “The Christian Family” was read in its entirety in order to clearly present the church’s position on the biblical understanding of marriage and when life begins.
Session 2 required exactly one hour to teach and concluded at 3:05 p.m. It was the hardest portion to teach and seemed to have the least interest from the learners. My impression is that most of the participants expected this section and already knew the church’s position on these topics. The only exception would be the couple who had only been visiting the church for three weeks. Participants were given a fifteen minute break and refreshments were provided.