October 7, 2020
It’s been an exciting week of progress: An initial round of invitations have been sent to potential hosts and facilitators. The structure and goals for discipleship groups have been developed and are being refined by the discipleship team. We are drafting two things to share with you soon. First is a brochure that shares an overview of the vision for A Year of Discipleship, and which answers questions about discipleship groups. We plan to follow that with a poll which will ask, again, about your participation and preferences.
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Also, you may be aware that the Michigan State Supreme Court has recently ruled that our Governor’s extended emergency declarations are unconstitutional, and will expire in several weeks. Therefore, we will be watching the news closely for updates on regulations re: gathering, and also engaging that conversation with our admin elders. Please continue to pray for wisdom and unity through this season.
September 30, 2020
D-groups will not only help us begin to re-gather—they will also propel us into a yearlong journey of growing in discipleship together. This week the staff finalized criteria and responsibilities for D-group facilitators and hosts. We also identified a list of people who may potentially serve in these roles, and will begin inviting them to serve over the coming week.
Two to three weeks from now, we aim to begin contacting each of you to ask, again, about your desire and willingness to join a D-group for the purpose of growing as a disciple and a disciple maker. Thank you for your prayers—the administration load is heavy right now, but we are trusting the Lord to bear great fruit through our willingness to grow.
September 23, 2020
We are excited and eager to launch Discipleship Groups at Gold Avenue Church! D-groups will be both a means of beginning to re-gather, and of each becoming better equipped to obey the Great Commission. Longing for the return of Jesus, we must bring the Gospel of the Kingdom to all people (Matt. 24:14)!
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As the staff is already working diligently on initial planning for D-groups, we aim to use this corner to bring you weekly updates on the status and timeline for beginning them. Right now, as we consider identifying hosts/host criteria, group facilitators/facilitator criteria, facilitator training, communication regarding group formation, and the development of the Gospel Tool Bible studies, our hope is to launch D-groups by mid-November. We are praying for church-wide participation in D-groups.
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The elders have blessed the staff with flexibility to adapt our roles, in this season, so that we can most effectively work together to prepare D-groups. One example of how you’ll experience this is in our preaching rhythm. Pastor Gina will not preach until November so that she can focus on curriculum development while Pastors Dave & Jaleesa preach four sermons in a row, each, on Our Blessed Hope.
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We thought you’d appreciate hearing of this small change, and ask, would you please continue to pray for Gold Avenue Church, as we make intentional efforts to develop a culture of discipleship, and for the staff, as we prepare to launch D-groups. Interestingly, as the staff met this past week to begin planning in earnest, we noted that there were 52 days until we hoped to launch—the exact same amount of time it took for Nehemiah and co. to re-build the wall of Jerusalem. The Lord has gone ahead of us!