
Antioch Gospel Church has three primary goals ...
1. EVANGELISM
At
Antioch Gospel Church we believe that evangelism is
a priority for every believer. We encourage and facilitate
effective evangelical activities and we teach and lead
church members in their outreach to non-Christian family,
friends and colleagues.
In
Acts 11:19-30 we discover a number of key principles.
Following the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7) there was
great persecution throughout the land. However, despite
the massive increase in intolerance for the Christian
faith amongst the religious leaders and Roman authority,
there was also an outbreak in the evangelical efforts
of the early Church. They recognized the need for people
to hear the gospel even though there was an enormous
price to pay. In fact, many lost their lives for the
cause of Christ.
Some
of the ways we can evangelize are:
- Sharing the Word of God (Acts 11:19-20) - We can increase
our efforts to talk about God and to actively share His love with
other people.
- Through the power and presence of God (Acts 11:21) - The
powerful manifestation of the glory of God, His mighty and miraculous
acts and the presence of the Holy Spirit is evidence and confirmation
that He is still alive and still the Saviour of the world (Mark
16:20).
- Sharing our life testimony (Acts 11:22,26) - There is a
beauty, power and fragrance that shines and flows from the life
of a believer. The believer who lives with a Godly lifestyle and
is a constant source of blessing to those around him/her causes
others to question their lifestyle and to seek and search for answers.
This is a particularly effective evangelism tool since people often
look for the fruit that comes from living with Christ before they
will commit themselves.
- Be full of God's grace (Acts 11:23) - We need to walk in
the authority that has been given us by Christ and release His grace
upon everyone that we come into contact with (Ephesians 2:8-10).
As
a congregation of believers and as ambassadors for Christ
we believe that each member needs to have a clear purpose
and vision for evangelism in their life and to outwork
that vision in their day-to-day lifestyle. It is our
prayer that the Church of Christ will fulfill its God
given mandate (Matthew 28:19) and be a blessing and
a light, shining for the entire world to behold.
2. DISCIPLESHIP
At
Antioch Gospel Church we believe that discipleship is
an integral part of the Christian lifestyle. We focus
on balancing discipleship with evangelism, knowing that
a successful balance between the two leads to a greater
effectiveness in reaching the lost and fulfilling the
great commission (Matthew 28:18-20).
There
are many ways that discipleship is conducted in our
congregation. We believe that by strong Biblical teaching,
an increased knowledge of the promises of God, an understanding
of our collective responsibilities as believers and
ambassadors in the kingdom and mentoring on living with
Godly principles, that we can be equipped in order to
be ready at any moment. It is all about each member
building their lives on the right foundations.
Through
our discipleship programs we teach people how to live
Godly lifestyles - eliminating sin from their life and
dealing with worldly influence and the spiritual enemies
that seek to destroy us (John 10:10). We emphasize building
a strong Christ-like character and teach about being
the salt and light of this world. Those who are more
mature in Christ often impart deep revelation to help
others build their life on the firm and solid foundation.
Once
again from Acts 11 we can discern a number of important
discipleship keys.
- We teach the things that matter and the things that are necessary
for the Church (Verse 24).
- We teach the church to be good people, reflecting the image
and attitude of Christ (Verse 24).
- We teach the need to be a Church full of the Holy Ghost,
allowing Him to lead us in every area of our lives (Verse 24). Ephesians
5:18 and Galatians 5:16-26 illustrate that the Holy Spirit is the
best teacher and He gives us the wisdom to live our lives like Christ.
We need to be hungry for His presence in our lives and to be filled
so that we can take the great glory of God to the people of this
world.
- We teach principles of faith (Verse 24). The Word tells
us that by faith we overcome the world, by faith we move mountains,
by faith we experience the miraculous, by faith we are saved, by
faith we are forgiven and by faith we are healed. We need faith,
not logic, to please the Lord (Hebrews 11:6) and we can see through
Barnabas' life that he was a man of faith who taught the people
how to function and operate their faith in a Godly manner.
- We teach people to be givers (Verse 29). Luke 6:38 says,
"Give and it will be given back to you." Saul and Barnabas
knew how to give their life through their willingness and obedience
to stay at Antioch, knowing that it is the key to prosperity and
opening up the doors to abundant blessing. We teach the Church to
give faithfully and with thanksgiving in their heart.
- We teach a lifestyle of worship (Acts 13:2). The ultimate
result of real worship is to encounter God. We are a Church that
allows the Holy Spirit to move freely as He wills and without limit
and we teach the Church how to become worshippers in spirit and
in truth, dwelling in the presence of God always, so that the Holy
Spirit can move powerfully in their lives.
- We teach the power of prayer and fasting (Acts 13:2). This
is a very important subject taught in the Church. Many people have
been delivered from spiritual bondage, healed and propelled into
a greater anointing as a result of obedience in prayer and fasting.
We read in the Word that even Jesus set Himself apart to pray and
fast and all of His disciples followed this example later after
His ascension. When we do likewise, the glory and the power of God
is released very strongly in the Church.
3. SENDING
At
Antioch Gospel Church we believe that training people
and then sending and releasing them into missions work
is an essential facet of a healthy and balanced Church.
We
can see from Luke's account of Saul and Barnabas in
Acts that they were sent into the mission field through
the leading of the Holy Spirit. The impact they had
on both Jews and gentiles is astounding and we, just
like them, need to have a kingdom-focussed mindset and
a heart like Jesus, who was willing to pay the price
for the salvation of mankind. It is for the purpose
of establishing the kingdom of God on this earth that
we send people out to be a blessing for people outside
of our local community.
We
teach people how to be a blessing for others and equip them with
the necessary tools required to be a mighty example for the people
of God to follow. Then we release them into other regions of Australia
or other countries to be a blessing and to build and establish the
kingdom of God in that place.
We
understand that the heart of God is to see the whole
earth saved by knowing and receiving Jesus Christ as
their Lord and Saviour. In order to see this come to
pass, we teach and train members to be missionaries
to those around them and to ready themselves to be sent
by God to see His kingdom grow. We continually emphasize
a willingness to pay the cost to build His kingdom and
to be ready for the higher calling and a greater mission
and mantle of authority to be placed on their life.
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