A few churches in the Northwest desired for several years to plant a church in the Spokane Metropolitan Area.  In the spring of 2002, the Seattle Church of Christ held a congregational devotional where it was announced that a new church in Spokane would be planted that summer. Mark and Annie McCune had been selected to lead this new church and the Seattle Church of Christ decided to do the majority of the financial support.  Disciples of Jesus were called that day to have a missionary type heart and make a decision to stand up as someone who would be willing to move to Spokane.  Many stepped forward, some of which had never even thought of living in Spokane before, but felt called to be on a mission team to take the Gospel to a new city.  Then 22 people from the Puget Sound Area in Washington and Montana (Tacoma, Seattle, Bothell, Everett, and Missoula, MT) moved, in faith, with the McCune's to Spokane, WA in August of 2002 to plant the church.

 

A. Primary Environments

• The Lord's Day (Worship Service) (Love God)

• Small Groups (Care for People)

• Midweek and Discipleship Times (Grow in Christ)

• Serving Opportunities (Change the World)

B. Environments Summary

1. The Lord's Day (Worship Services) Primary purpose of our Sunday is to Glorify God and address the spiritual needs of the body of Christ. Disciples are expected to: Partake of  The Lord’s Supper. Worship God as an assembly. Listen to the Word Preached. Share Encouragement. Give Offerings. Inspire Faith. Spur on a life of Lordship.

Though Sunday’s are driven to help spur on loving God it is expected that disciples spend their days striving to love God in everything that they do every day of the week.  Loving God is a 24/7 expectation.

2. Small Groups Primarily used to meet the relational needs of Christians and for reaching out to people. Disciples are expected to minister to one another through close discipling relationships and have activities that introduce people to the Church.  Groups should feel the freedom to have personal bible studies during this time if seekers are pursuing God and need a consistent time to meet.

In order for the group to function effectively each group should help members use their gifts and/or have a role to fulfill. Each Small Group Leader should have an Assistant Leader who understands at some point in the process, the group will split at which time they would lead the group and both groups would designate new Assistant Leaders to help repeat the process.

Christlike principles of Reaching out:1)Come and see, 2)Come Follow Me, 3)Come and Be with Me, 4)Remain in Me and Go make disciples.

3. Midweek and Discipleship Times Midweek Primarily used to pray with, play with, practice with, and push the Church to grow. We’ll pray during the “Time of Prayer,” we’ll pray for the needs, activities, one another and seekers studying the Bible. We’ll play together through various sports, “Bible Bowl” and simply enjoying one another’s company by having fun together.  We’ll practice together through scripture memorization, discipleship support with putting into practice what we are learning, practice for Sunday Services, practice singing or song leading, practice speaking, preaching or rehearsing.  We’ll push each other through deeper Bible study, have occasional Fun Quizes and pushing each other to be prepared to answer to anyone for the hope that we have in Christ.

Discipleship Times all disciple should have a partner in the gospel that will encourage you to remain faithful to the teachings of Jesus.

4. Serving Opportunities Primarily used to serve Jesus through serving his Church, serving the poor and needy and serving the community.  This would include Hope Worldwide, feeding the poor at City Gate and Meals on Wheels, home projects in Juarez, serving orphans through helping to support an orphanage in Juarez Mexico, giving blood to the Inland NW Blood Bank, Relay for Life, and finally participating in community events such as Bloomsday, Spike and Dig and Hoop-fest.

There are many opportunities to serve the Church whether building and grounds, various leadership roles, worship team, cooking, planning, ushering, administration, and communications.

“May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”    John 17:23 NIV
GOD: Father, Son and Holy Spirit
We believe in and surrender our lives to the one God who made the heavens and earth and who breathed life into humanity.  We worship and praise the Father who spoke the world into existence, Jesus, the Son, who died upon the cross to redeem us from sin, and the Holy Spirit who is the seal of our salvation.

1. Our eternal purpose is to know God and to glorify him as God, and let our life shine so others will see God.  Our devotion and ultimate loyalties are to the Father, who is over all and in all and through all; to Jesus the Son, who has been declared both Lord and Christ; and to the Holy Spirit, who lives in us and empowers us to overcome the workings of the sinful nature (Acts 2:22-36, Romans 8:12-28).

2. The cornerstone of our faith is our belief in Jesus Christ.  Everything we hold dear in our faith originates from his words and his way of life (John 3:16, John 12:47-48, 1 John 2:5-6).

3. The Bible is the inspired and infallible Word of God.  It is sharp, powerful, effective, challenging, exposing, and encouraging when it is revered, studied, preached, taught, and obeyed because it is from our Creator and therefore relevant for all generations. (1 Timothy 4:13, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 4:1-5, Hebrews 4:12-13)

GOSPEL: the work of God
The culminating event of the Christian faith occurred between the time of the Passover and Pentecost at the end of the Gospels through early Acts.  The death, burial, and resurrection of the perfect Lamb of God are the substance of our faith.  Many were eyewitnesses to the risen Jesus as “both Lord and Christ”, and heard the promise that was for everyone.

4. Our salvation totally depends on the work of God, prompted by his own mercy and grace, not our good deeds.  That work redeems those who hear, believe and obey the Gospel message with total commitment, repentance, and baptism into Christ through their faith in God’s power and continue to remain faithful unto death. (Romans 2:7, Acts 2:22-37, Ephesians 2:8-10, Colossians 2:12, Hebrews 10:32-39, James 1:12).

5. Our earthly mission involves every member’s participation in the Great Commission to “Seek and save what was lost,” in bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to all parts of the world.  As we go about this mission, our testimony must be consistent with a Christ-like life of doing good deeds and supporting other Christians and churches around the world.  In imitation of Jesus’ mission, we are committed to remembering the poor by demonstrating compassion to those who suffer by regularly serving and supporting group benevolent efforts through international agencies such as HOPE worldwide, Casas por Cristo and others. (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 10:37-38, Colossians 3:1-6, Luke 19:10, Galatians 2:10, James 1:27).

6. Our motivation to love God, love each other and love the lost is prompted by God’s love for us, demonstrated in its greatest form by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on a cross for our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:14-21, 1 John 3:16, Luke 10:27).

The INDIVIDUAL Response: the surrender of God’s children
As disciples of Jesus, we surrender our lives to his Lordship.  We rejoice in our adoption as God’s children, and each accepts the call to be holy and follow the example of Jesus.

7. Our conversion begins with belief in Jesus as God’s Son, and in his death and resurrection from the dead.  Subsequent steps must include unmistakable repentance of sin, embracing discipleship of Jesus, and confession that “Jesus is Lord.” Finally, we become Christians at the miracle of rebirth with our immersion in water for the forgiveness of our sins and the promise that God will give us the gift of the Holy Spirit. (John 20:31, Luke 14:25-33, Acts 2:38-41, Romans 10:9, Titus 3:3-5)

8. God desires a personal relationship with us and our response is to obey the first and second greatest commandments: to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. (Mark 12:28-30)

9. Our personal discipleship to Christ begins with our total commitment to the Father, who is over all and through all and in all.  It involves an understanding of and a commitment to his terms of surrender to his Lordship, a daily decision to deny self and persevere to the very end. (Luke 9:23ff; 14:33, Romans 2:7, Galatians 6:9).

10. Our holiness in daily living is a command from God.  From baptism we are called to be set apart from the world and the ways of the world (sanctified) and live as saints of God   (Ephesians 1:1, Ephesians 2:1-4, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, 1 John 2:15-17).  With holiness in mind, the romantic and marriage relationships of Christians are to be pursued with only those who “belong to the Lord” as defined by Scriptures (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1, 1 Corinthians 7:39).