Discipled Warriors - Young Adult Ministry
WELCOME
Welcome to Discipled Warriors* the Young Adult Ministry of Tar Landing Baptist Church (TLBC). We hope you find this portion of our website user-friendly and informative. Come back often as we continue to update and upgrade it. Our sincere prayer is that God would bless you by His grace even through the pages of this site. Our name says it all – we desire to “present every man complete in Christ” (Colossians 1:28). We desire to be “Discipled Warriors” who glorify Jesus Christ. We hope to see you soon at TLBC!
Keith McWhorter
Associate Pastor of Young Adults
*The inspiration for this name comes from the book by Chuck Lawless, Discipled Warriors: Growing Healthy Churches That Are Equipped for Spiritual Warfare (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel), 2002.
PURPOSE & MISSION
Our purpose and mission in the Young Adult Ministry is the same as that of this local church.
Our purpose is to glorify God in all we are and in all we do.
Psalm 8:1
Psalm 29:1-2
Isaiah 42:8
Jude 25
Revelation 5:13
Our mission is to proclaim God’s Word so that believers will be strengthened and unbelievers may be converted.
This mission statement communicates our understanding of the Great Commission.
Matthew 28:18-20
Luke 24:46-48
Acts 1:8
Three words are emphasized in our mission: proclaim, strengthened, and converted. These words describe our aim in this ministry.
Proclaim – we understand the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, infallible and inerrant in all it teaches. We believe God has spoken to humanity definitively and absolutely authoritatively in His Word. The gospel (good news) of God recorded in His Word is “the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). God also grows believers in Christ by His Word (1 Tim 4:6). Therefore, Discipled Warriors is a Word-centered ministry.
1) Understands the Word.
2) Shares the Word.
3) Lives the Word.
4) Mentors the Word.
Holistic Discipleship Entails:
HEAD – Understands the Word.
HEART – Lives the Word.
HANDS – Mentors the Word.
FEET – Shares the Word.
Converted – we are committed to taking the gospel to our neighbors and to the world. “How will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14)
VALUES
Though the values below do not exhaust all that is important to us, they do represent the primary emphases of this ministry. This is our core value statement:
•We value the preaching and teaching of Scripture (2 Tim 4:2).
1) We desire dynamic, expository preaching and teaching that God will use to transform us into the image of His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
2) “Expository” preaching / teaching aims to make the point and principles of the biblical text the point and principles of the sermon or lesson. We desire to faithfully explain and apply Scripture.
3) A consistent diet of Scriptural preaching and teaching imbues us with a Christian worldview.
4) We are commanded and committed to sharing the Word with all people (evangelism).
•We value obedience to our Lord as an expression of our love for Him (John 14:15).
1) We love Him only because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).
2) The Greatest Commandment is to love God and others (Matt 22:37-40).
3) Our love results in obedience and testifies to our discipleship (John 13:35).
4) Our love for Christ compels us to love others (Matt 5:44; 1 John 3:17-18; 4:11).
• We value worship of the One True God (Exodus 20:1-7).
1) Worship is an expression of our heartfelt praise, adoration, and reverence for God who is the eternally worthy Creator and Sovereign Lord (Revelation 4:11).
2) Worship is acknowledging our helplessness as sinners before a holy, perfect God, and our dependence upon His grace for forgiveness and salvation (Psalm 130; Luke 18:13).
3) The only way to truly worship God is through faith in His Son, Jesus (John 14:6; 1 John 2:23).
•We value the family (Psalm 127).
1) God created the family and gave it a unique role in spreading the faith (Gen 1:28; 2 Tim 1:5).
2) Our family consists of more than those physically related to us; for Christians are a unique family bound together in the unity of God’s Spirit by our union in Jesus Christ (Eph 4:1-7).
3) We will commit ourselves to living in genuine biblical community (Gal 6:1-10).
•We value prayer (Luke 18:1).
1) The early church undeniably was a church of prayer warriors (Acts 1:14; 2:42; 4:31; 12:5).
2) Prayer is our time to engage our Creator and Savior in personal communion, as well as our opportunity to hold one another up in the fight called life.
3) We commit to prayer that transforms us as the redeemed people of God.
OBJECTIVES
Discipled Warriors has three main objectives that we desire to see become a reality in every young adult that God sends to us. This is what we strive to achieve, as we rely upon God’s enabling grace:
1) Bridge the gap between high school and young adult ministries.
» Research consistently demonstrates that the majority of young people do not continue to serve Christ through a local body of believers (church) after high school graduation.
» We are committed to attack this issue head on and reduce our “drop out” rate by instilling a comprehensive Christian worldview in our young men and women.
» We are committed to a LIVING FAITH in a LIVING LORD and Savior.
2) Lead young adult believers to be “discipled warriors.”
» We take God seriously when He tells us His Word is absolutely sufficient for us (2 Tim 4:16-17).
» We desire to be equipped warriors in the kingdom of Christ (Eph 6:10-20).
3) Engage young adults in the ministries of TLBC.
» We believe every Christian is a minister called to serve Christ in His church (1 Cor 12).
>We are committed to helping every believer discover and use his or her gifts, talents and abilities to benefit the local church and to glorify God.
» We believe every Christian is called to minister to people physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, and are committed to serving our community and our world in the name of Christ (Matt 25:40).
If you have read this far, you have already come to understand much of what makes us “tick.” We desire to live as the redeemed family of God in Christ, serving God and others, bringing our Lord great pleasure and great glory. We do hope you will join us soon so that we can share and enjoy life with Christ together.
For details on our current and upcoming studies, activities, ministries and events please follow the “How We Are Growing & Serving” link under "Discipled Warriors".
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Strengthen – we seek to nourish Christians with the Word of God. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Discipled Warriors defines a “strong believer” as one who:
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