REACH
Your Christian life (a disciple) begins when someone reaches out to you, you hear the gospel message and believe (Eph 1:13) resulting in you trusting Jesus as your Savior and following Him as your Lord. We are commanded to also reach out to others with the gospel (Matt 28:19-20). Having a personal relationship with Christ means …
- God by his grace saved you (Eph 2:8-9)
- God made you His child (John 1:12)
- God sent the Holy Spirit to reside in you (Gal 4:6)
- God gave you new life by being born again (John 3:3)
REMAIN
Like every Christian, you begin the Christain life as a spiritual infant and you need to grow in faith (1 Pet 2:2), learn to walk with Jesus, and carry your cross daily (Luke 9:23). This requires you to learn to practice the Daily Disciplines of a Disciple of Christ – patterned after the life of Jesus …
- trusting Jesus alone for your salvation
- talking to God in prayer
- taking in God’s Word
- turning away from sin
- teaming up with other Christians through fellowship
- telling others about Jesus through witness
- transformed through trials and suffering
- tuning in to the Holy Spirit moment by moment
This is what it means to “hold on to” or “remain” in Christ (John 15:5). You also need to be accountable to a Mentor (Disciple Maker) who will teach you how to obey Christ (Matt 28:19-20). These daily disciplines and Your obedience is what the Bible calls godliness (1 Tim 4:8), this keeps Christ at the center of your life each day.
RAISE
As you learn to keep Christ at the center of your life daily you grow in faith and the knowledge of Him and you undergo a lifelong process of being cleansed from sin (sanctification), you become useful for honorable purposes and prepared to do what Christ calls you to do in this life (2 Tim 2:21). This means you need to be raised up and equipped to serve Christ through the preaching, teaching, and training of the Word of God (2 Tim 3:16).
- preaching means you worship, pray, fellowship, as you listen to God’s Word preached each Sunday
- teaching means teaming up with a small group of believers through a LifeGroup, also attending Riverlife Classes
- training means to be accountable to a mentor who will help you walk with Christ and to serve through a ministry
RELEASE
Serve Christ, you have a role in the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:4-6). This means being involved in Ministry and Missions. In Riverlife there are several ministries you can be involved with (teaching and leadership roles require more training). Your mission field is your circle of influence, people around you, and people you know. Your life from Monday to Saturday is your mission field. God might use you to minister across the street, around the world, or remotely.