REACH, RENEW, RELEASE

CityLights has adapted a strategy that is simple and easily found in scripture. This is our way of fulfilling the Great Commission (Matt 28:19) and fulfilling Godʼs original plan of sending disciples to make disciples. This process serves as a prerequisite for Leadership (Elder, Deacon) at CityLights.

REACH

Every Christian is COMMISSIONED by Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit. -Matthew 28:16-20

No matter how creative and loving we can be, we believe that the Gospel must be preached (Romans 10:14). CityLights is a community of disciples called to make disciples. We call this REACH. Inviting an unbeliever to church is nobel and effective but, not as effective as bringing the Good News to them. Whether itʼs during a lunch break or a family gathering, we are confident that the Spirit of God will anoint you to bring people into His kingdom. When someone accepts Jesus and or desires to be a part of our church, we connect them to one of our Community Groups (REACH) and assign them to a leader that will take them through our one on one Discipleship Guide. This helps a new believer understand whatʼs next and also gives them a clear understanding of what it means to be a disciple.

RENEW

Every Christian grows in COMMUNITY. -John 17 20:24

We believe that Christians are all called to be “disciples”. This means “a devoted and disciplined follower of Jesus Christ”. We call this RENEW. It involves being trained and developed by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God through the Elders and Deacons of the church.

We have simplified this rigorous process by categorizing the development in three easy steps:

1. Membership Orientation, Community Group, & Sunday gathering
2. Prayer classes (5 weeks), Foundation Classes (3 weeks), Doctrine(10 weeks)
3. Advance Discipleship Training: We believe it is important for each person to be mentored as Jesus mentored the twelve disciples.

Each person must be:
Teachable: 2 Timothy 2:1-2
Accountable: 1 Corinthians 4:8-21
Humble: Philippians 2:19-22
Committed: John 6:66-69

These are the environments we utilize within the three steps:

1. Living Room -At CityLights, Community Group is our way of bringing accountability and spiritual growth. A community group is a place where you are able to share your life with others in community as God has always intended for His church. Community Groups are weekly gatherings of six to twelve people that meet all over the city in a group leaders home. At CityLights, Community Groups serve to connect with others in the body, through studying the Bible, serving God, as well as, one another, and growing together.

2. Classroom -We believe that somethings are meant to be discussed in a classroom. Historically the church of Ephesus grew to over 100,000 people. We attribute this growth to the twenty-four months of classroom training given by Paul. Through this account, we see the effectiveness of classroom style leadership training where a person can get one-on- one instruction, questions answered, and tools to equip others.
“But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus.” -Acts 19:9

RELEASE

Sending trained disciples into ministry as Deacons and Elders to make new disciples. -1 Timothy 3:1-13 & Titus 1:5-9

We believe once a person has been properly and effectively trained as a disciple they are now qualified to be a leader in the church. We also believe that every believer should be a leader. The church appoints and ordains them to be either an “Elder: A public leader of a ministry” or as a “Deacon: A helper and assistant to the Elders in a ministry.” This example can be found in 1 Timothy 3:1-13 & Titus 1:5-9.

Once the leader is sent out into ministry, they will remain accountable to the other Elders and Deacons of the church and “can be” given a ministry to work in.

Therefore, the newly sent disciple must always remember to:

See the Lord: The Elder or Deacon can never forget to see God in all that they do, they must guard their heart, family and devotional life with God. -Isaiah 6:1-9

See the Harvest: The Elder or Deacon must always see the harvest all around them and bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to the lost. -John 4:34-38

See the Need: The Elder or Deacon must always commit to seeing the needs of the people and doing all they can to meet those needs. -Romans 10:14-15

See their Ministry: The Elder or Deacon must always follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus did, and know their place in the church and the work they are called to do. -1 Corinthians 5:17-21