The Zone Gathering

ONE.

Before going to the cross, Jesus prayed for his future church-”My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father,” (John 17:21). Jesus’ dying wish was that his followers would be ONE. Just as the members of the Trinity exhibit unique attributes of the Godhead yet walk in inseparable unity, so Christ desires His followers to live in community with one another.

NCC is one church meeting in multiple locations. With one heart and vision, we seek to expand our influence by meeting in movie theaters at metro stops throughout the DC metro area. Small groups provide the connection points for newcomers. They also provide the connection points that bind the NCC locations together as one body.

The NCC Small Group Vision is Be One, Make One, For One.

Be ONE.
….a Disciple.

While walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus called out to Peter and Andrew, “Come, by my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people,” (Matthew 4:19 NLT). They dropped their nets and began to follow Christ. Over the next few years, they walked, talked, laughed, prayed, and ministered alongside Jesus. He taught them how to BE ONE — a disciple — a fully devoted follower of Christ.

Make ONE.
…a Disciple.

Before Jesus returned to Heaven, He left his followers with a mandate — “Go and make disciples of all nations,” (Matthew 28:19 NLT). A true disciple is a person who makes other disciples. Like Paul, they say to their sphere of influence, “Imitate me, as I imitate Christ,” (I Corinthians 11:1 NLT). Jesus not only wants us to be disciples, He also wants us to make disciples.

We believe that discipleship occurs best within the context of friendship. Jesus’ discipleship strategy focused on 12 men and centered around shared activities and experiences — fishing, parties, ministry together. That’s our discipleship strategy at NCC. God created each person uniquely and granted them gifts and passions to be used in for His glory. We encourage every NCCer to consider using their interests as a tool for developing discipleship relationships. Whether it is a group running on the Mall or a group dissectig Scripture, relationships are developed and disciples are made in the small group. It’s all about doing life together and centering our lives around Christ. As He instructed us, we want to MAKE ONE — a fully devoted follower of Christ.

For ONE.
….Jesus Christ.

Matthew 6:33 commands us to “seek first the Kingdom of God.” Ultimately, our primary purpose is to know Christ and make Him known to others. All other priorities and goals in life should flow from our desire to bring glory to His name. Our destiny is found in following Him and advancing His Kingdom. Everything we do is FOR ONE — Christ.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 28th, 2005 at 4:34 pm and is filed under Discipleship. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.