WELCOME TO DISCIPLESHIP

 

Welcome!

Thank you for checking out the MSBC Website. I’m especially glad you are here in the Discipleship/DGroup (small groups) area since I’m the Director of Adult Discipleship. I hope the information included here will be helpful in answering questions you may have concerning our Discipleship Ministry. Please contact me if you would like to discuss any of this, offer suggestions or comments, or need more information.

In the meantime, every ministry needs a vision or goal or purpose to guide and keep them on track. So, the first information parcel defines just that!  It’s a great place to start on this journey into Discipleship/DGroup ministry here at MSBC.

Thanks for being here.

Jim Hohenstein

Vision and Purpose

Military Street Baptist Church:

Vision

Beginning at home, with a vision for Houlton, the region, the country and the world, we will seek to build W.I.S.E. disciples of Jesus Christ who are:

Word centered and rooted in Christ;

In love with the lord and loving our neighbors;

Spirit-directed, equipped and empowered in life’s decisions;

Engaged in serving God by serving others.

Purpose statement of MSBC:

Changed lives, changing our world on purpose

Purpose statement of Discipleship Purpose Team:

Changed lives changing one life at a time together.

Basic DGroup Information

If you’ve been making our church a habit on Sunday mornings, we would like you to know there’s more to MSBC than what you see on Sunday.

Imagine a comfortable gathering in a home or here at the church that focuses on some or all of this; discussion, conversation, DVD presentations, fellowship, prayer, study, laughter, ministry, service, and learning good, solid, foundational and Christ-centered information. We call that gathering a DGroup. The D stands for Discipleship. They are our MSBC small groups.

DGroups average 5 to 15 people. There are groups for couples, men, women, and combinations of them called mixed groups. These small groups cover a variety of topics that are most times chosen by the individual groups but sometimes are part of a church-wide campaign where all groups are involved with the same subject or project.

Some of our DGroups meet at the church on Sunday evenings. For folks with children, this is very convenient.

There are meaningful activities at the church on Sunday evenings for children and youth from age 4 years through high school. If you take advantage of this scheduling, your family can all be at the same place at the same time! Some other Sunday evening groups meet locally so you could join one of those groups and drop your children/youth here at MSBC.

So how does one join a group? First, look over the DGroups listed here in the Discipleship page. Most groups are open unless the physical limits of the meeting room have been reached. You can call the DGroup Leader for more information and to confirm meeting time and place. Or, I would be happy to meet with you to become both better acquainted and answer any of your DGroup or MSBC related questions. Also, the Church Bulletin Board and DGroup Info Folders, located by the organ and Info Table (where the mailfolders are located), have all DGroup details and sign-up sheets. You may also indicate your interest by filling out the Tear Off section in your bulletin and dropping it in the offering plate on Sunday mornings. There is also a Discipleship section in our monthly Messenger news letter.

One more thing…Another offering here that may help you with the transition to a new church would be our Membership Milestone Classes. There are four classes; Membership Covenant, Maturity Covenant, Ministry Covenant, and Mission Covenant. If you are a new believer, they will be included in our Walkin; n Talkin' class just for you and folks who would like to review basics of the faith.  If you are a mature believer and are transfering your membership, these classes will be offered in 4 to 6 consecutive weeks.  Along with Believer's Baptism, their completion is a prerequisite for MSBC membership. They are designed 1) to introduce you to more info about the history and heritage of MSBC, 2) to help you mature in your relationship with Jesus, 3) to help you identify your ministry talents and gifts, and 4) to help you organize your testimony so that when that mission opportunity to share arises you’ll be ready. These  Classes are also “advertised” in the Bulletin, the Messenger, on the Bulletin Board and in the Info Folders.

We are blessed to have you as part of our family of Christ followers.