’On the Same Page’
The Lord Jesus Christ in His Great High Priestly Prayer found in John 17 prayed repeatedly to God the Father for the unity of His disciples and the saints that would follow. Paul, also, in his first letter to the Corinthians spent the first five chapters dealing with this same vital subject. Unity, therefore, must be one of the first if not ’the’ first priority of the Pastor as he preaches and teaches the Word of God to the people God has given him to feed and lead.
In an effort to provide tools for the Pastor to accomplish this goal, we can provide:
1. A Scripture Memorizing/Meditating Plan
2. A Scripture Reading Plan
3. A Scriptural Praying Plan
4. A Scriptural Soul-winning Plan
5. A Scriptural Bible Study Lesson Series
6. A Scriptural Booklet/Pamphlet Series
7. A Scriptural Evangelist’s Preaching Ministry
The Scripture Memorizing/Meditating Plan is a compilation of good practices plus the added unique feature of utilizing the helpful feature of accountability. As each member of the body is encouraged to hide the Word of God in their heart, God supernaturally blesses and brings the church together in unity ’On the Same Page’ around His blessed Word. Using the suggested plan, reciting the weekly verse at the beginning of each service, celebrating the accomplishments of each one who successfully memorizes the Scripture by having a monthly 3M fellowship, and providing additional incentives for those taking part.
The Scripture Reading Plan is also an invaluable tool for the Pastor to encourage God’s people to become faithful to the Word of God. Here again, everybody will be ’On the Same Page’ as it were, providing the Pastor with the Scripture necessary for Sunday School Lessons/Preaching Messages for the same week that is being read by the entire congregation. Here too, a celebration for successful saints who read through the Bible in a year is encouraged. A special award, a dinner for all who complete the plan or simply recognition by the Pastor are all good ways to encourage all to participate and succeed during the coming year of again reading through the Bible. In this way unity of the body is facilitated by simply allowing the supernatural Word of God to work in the lives of God’s people.
The Scriptural Praying Plan entitled ’The Practicing Priest unto God’ also has as one of it’s goals the memory and meditation of Scripture. While praying according to Scripture the Word of God is memorized and the Biblically-based prayers for servants, saints and sinners alike will reap their Biblical rewards. This practice will also greatly assist the Pastor in bringing about the unity necessary for God’s people to prosper and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
The Scriptural Soul-winning Plan also utilizes Biblical Preaching/Teaching for enlisting those saints who have been lax in their efforts to witness for the Lord. The messages focus on our responsibility to be witnesses as our main goal in life, not just on the typical Thursday nite ’visitation’ program. Emphasis is placed on the Constraining Love of Christ, Coming after Christ, Commission/Commanding of Christ & Conditions for Spirit’s Control ending with an invitation to the saints. Also incorporated in this unique program is the enlisting of the entire church body for various duties related to soul-winning. A Thursday nite prayer team is recruited during the Wednesday nite prayer meeting, praying for those who have already volunteered to go soul-winning.
This provides the opportunity for all to take part in the Great Commission and could well be the missing ingredient to the successful soul-winning efforts of the local church. This teamwork of praying/winning souls also gets the entire church ’On the Same Page’ unifying the saints in a common effort to fulfill the number one priority of the saint, being an effective witness for the Lord Jesus Christ! In addition to recruiting, preparation must be thorough including names and addresses of those to be visited on 3x5 cards utilizing the back for visit information by the 2x2 visitation team. A new move-in program has recently been added to our ministry and has proven effective in organizing the saints for witnessing to those who are new to the area and need a church or the Gospel message.
The visiting teams names, date, and as much detail about the visit including suggestions for revisit if applicable. Maps can be acquired from the Internet or atlas so that visits can be grouped for each team. This also saves time and expedites the visiting process. Packets for each team must be prepared before visiting including in each packet the 3x5 cards, maps, church introductory brochure and a good Gospel tract. Packets are returned to visitation leader/Pastor with thorough records kept for revisit etc.
The Bible Study Lesson Series is divided up into eight individual booklets designed to give the new believer a firm foundation in the Word of God. It is the next and most necessary step after winning Souls for Jesus! Providing sound doctrine to the new believer or the believer that wants to learn vital Bible truths like: Bible Salvation, Biblical Baptism & Church Membership, Witnessing/Winning Souls for Jesus etc. so that they might grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
