SOAR DISCUSSION GUIDE

An Empowered Church

Ps Chee

Scripture: Read Ephesians 4:1-16

Observation

Choose one or more of the following questions:

how does Jesus equip the church to continue His ministry on earth?
in what ways have you experienced the ‘equipping’ of apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists and teachers? Give personal examples.
what is the role of pastors/leaders in the church?
how do leaders empower an ordinary member (saint) to help build the body of Christ?
what is the fruit of an empowered church where leaders are equipping and members are empowered to build the body of Christ? (vs 13-16)

Application

Ps Chee shared that an empowering church is when leaders are freed to equip and members are empowered to change lives by making disciples of Jesus.

what are your personal expectations of the pastors and lifegroup leaders of the church?
if pastors are to equip the saints to build the body of Christ, what would that look like practically? How would that change your expectations?
Ps Chee shared that if leaders are equipping and members does the work of the ministry then every member will become the frontline ministers. What does becoming a frontline minister look like in your everyday life?

Response

Read through these practical suggestions of how to be empowered to make disciples in everyday life:

Embrace your mission – own your call to disciple making of those far from Jesus. Ask Jesus to reveal what making disciple can look like in your everyday life.
Identify your spiritual gifts and skills – what skills and gifts has God given me by which I can bless my world? A good starting point to discover your spiritual gifts can be explored here athttp://www.chazown.com
Advance the mission in your everyday world – ask the Lord to reveal a friend that He wants you to be available, accessible, to bless and share your spiritual journey with. You may now know what to do, but just go to grow.
Learn from our equipping library (Right Now Media) – you can register onlinehttp://www.claytonchurch.org.au/project/rightnow-media/. There are a lot of resources here available for you to be equipped in different areas and seasons of your life. You can use this resource and learn together by watching the videos to journey with your non Christian friend through a particular issue in life (e.g. parenting, marriage, depression etc).

Ask the Lord which one of these practical step He wants you to obey. Share with one another. Hold each other accountable.

This week: We will be speaking on ‘Building An Everyday Church’. Please read Ephesians 4-6 in preparation for this Sunday.