Spotlight: Gospel Fluency

Our vision at Redemption Church is to lead people to Jesus who lead people to Jesus, which is another way of saying that we want to make disciples who make disciples.

We have seen people saved, baptized, and joined into our community, and it is always awesome! However, it’s exceptional not normal. If we press in on it much to try to measure our “success” we may find that in reality not very many of us are leading others to Jesus who lead people to Jesus. The vision seems to imply that we should eventually be seeing Jesus transform lives all the time.

Honestly, my instinct is to believe that I am a failure. I feel ashamed. I begin to question if we would be more successful if I was a more passionate preacher or had planned a better event, class, or system. Maybe the church would be better off without me. I need to be reminded of the gospel – the good news of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

See, it is easy for me to forget what Jesus said to Peter in Matthew 16:18; “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” When I forget that it is Jesus who is building His church, I am quick to believe the lies that the future of the church rests on my shoulders, that if I fail the church will fail, and that God will be disappointed with me.

However, Jesus says that He is building the church, that He is in control, and that not even the gates of hell can cause it to crumble. If that is true, then what can I do to to wreck what Jesus is building? Furthermore, in the person and work of Jesus I see God’s true affections toward me. 1 John 4:9 says, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” When I believe that to be true with my heart, soul, and mind, confessing my unbelief, the Spirit draws my attention back to Jesus and gives me the ability to stand confident as a cherished child of God with eyes to see Him at work among us

Jesus is really good news for me.

Now, we’ve said repeatedly over the last year or so that a disciple is one who is “increasingly submitting all of life to the empowering presence and Lordship of Jesus Christ.” Here’s the question, how can we submit any area of life to Jesus if we can’t see how Jesus brings good news into all areas of life? If we don’t know how or why Jesus is good news for us in the everyday, then we probably won’t be able to lead others to see Jesus as the answer for their everyday either.

We totally ripped-off that definition of discipleship from Jeff Vanderstelt whose newest book, Gospel Fluency, is also super important and timely for us. Jeff makes the case that while many Christians believe that the gospel of Jesus is true and central, many Christians aren’t equipped to articulate the good news of Jesus Christ into the “everyday stuff of life.” While we preach and hear the gospel clearly on Sunday mornings in our service, we haven’t all necessarily learned how to apply it when the world presses in on us with lies about our identity, ability, value, and so on. Gospel Fluency does a great job of teaching the basics of the gospel as it lays the foundation for Christians to be able to learn and speak the language of the gospel to themselves and to others.

As a church we will be working to equip one another to become a gospel fluent people because, the truth is, if we are going to submit to Jesus in all of life then we have to be led to the gospel in all of life. If we want to lead people to Jesus who lead people to Jesus then we must be a people who are capable of proclaiming the gospel to ourselves and each other when the enemy stands against us.

I know that Jesus is at work in the hearts of the people of Redemption Church. I can see how the Spirit is surfacing some heart issues among us as we have been looking to Jesus through Matthew’s gospel. There is a tension in many as our personal kingdoms are being exposed in light of the kingdom of God. As we continue to pray that we would be led to increasingly submit to Jesus we’ll need to be able to articulate how Jesus is better than our own understanding in the everyday stuff of life.
This is in a way a book review, and in another way, it’s a challenge to keep seeking first the kingdom and the righteousness of Jesus. I highly recommend Jeff’s book. He does a fantastic job of teaching the language of the gospel, and I believe that to be something that we desperately need. The Book Tavern – next door to Redemption church – on our recommendation has some copies of both of Jeff Vanderstelt’s books; Gospel Fluency and Saturate. So stop by and grab a copy.

Spotlight: The Doris Building

The historic and beautiful Doris Building is home not only to the Redemption Church family, but also serves as a bridge to the local community as an event facility that the public can access for their special occasions. We don’t just want to be an empty storefront during the week with a presence in the vibrant downtown Augusta community on Sunday mornings. While utilizing our space as a rental facility provides additional income that helps to cover the expenses of owning a building, the primary focus of using our building in this manner is to be a good neighbor to other businesses by bringing more people downtown to events.

The process to reserve a date at the building starts digitally, with a visit to thedorisbuilding.com.
There, interested parties can find pricing, event rules, available dates and a form to fill out to schedule a building tour.

After a prospective client tours the building, a rental agreement (or contract) is drafted and a deposit is paid to hold the date. So far, the Doris Building has been host to over 20 events, including spoken word poetry slams, fundraisers, birthday parties and fashion shows. We have also partnered with Augusta Sports Council and Arts in the Heart for some of their events.

We look forward to a busy spring schedule, with four community events already booked for March and the Augusta Handmade Fair coming the first weekend in May. Visit the Doris Building website or email info@thedorisbuilding.com for more information about our facility.

Spotlight: Redemption Women Gears Up for Another Year

One of the most exciting new developments in the life of Redemption Church last year was the launch of our women’s ministry, Redemption Women.

Redemption Women hosts monthly gatherings—usually each third Thursday at the Doris Building—to offer ladies an opportunity for deeper church-wide fellowship and discipleship.

“Women need each other. I believe God wired us to need all kinds of relationships, and female friendships are one of them,” said Holly Love, founder and co-leader. “There’s a feeling you get when you’ve had fellowship with others that’s hard to explain. It’s like a little bit of your soul got filled up.”

When you ask today’s busy, tired, and overworked women the one area of life they wish they could improve, the most common answer is their involvement at church. Research by Barna Group indicates that a majority of Christian women crave deeper relationships and more emotional support among their congregations.

“It’s really important for Christian women of all ages and stages of life to be able to come together and be encouraged by one another,” said Claire Riche, who also co-leads the ministry alongside Holly, Tiffany Snow, and Kelly Skelley. “I have loved seeing this group of women as diverse as we are come together as one unified body.”

Holly felt God calling her to launch the ministry not long after moving from San Antonio to Augusta. Interest from fellow women and her co-leaders led her to begin planning meetings over the summer and official gatherings starting in September.

Each Redemption Women gathering includes a meal or snack, a short presentation or discussion, and an activity. The group has brainstormed ideas to highlight and serve the range of interests among them, and so far has swapped recipes for favorite soups, tried their hands at seasonal crafts, and started an inaugural Christmas Tea.

This month’s event, scheduled for January 19 at 7 p.m., will be a pajama party and coloring night. (Women at Redemption can chat with one of the leaders or click to join our Facebook Group for updates on all Redemption Women happenings.)

The co-leaders recognize the stereotypical downfalls of women’s ministry—that it could turn cliquish or exclusive—and are actively working to infuse a sense of openness and togetherness. In an earlier blog post, Holly introduced the four major principles guiding Redemption Women: inclusiveness, fellowship, teaching, and outreach.

Titus 2 encourages women to raise up one other in the Lord. “They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women” (Titus 2:3-4).

“My biggest hope for Redemption Women is that it provides a safe and welcoming place for women of all ages, backgrounds, and experiences to come together and experience the warmth of each other’s company and the love of God,” said Holly.

Spotlight: Redemption Women

Redemption Women is just a couple of months up and running, and it has already been a lot of fun. Just this week we hosted a Christmas Tea that was an excellent time of fun and fellowship. While there will be many future events and activities, lets take a moment to highlight the goals behind Redemption Women.

As a ministry of Redemption Church, our ultimate hope for Redemption Women is that it will be an avenue for leading women to Jesus who lead others to Jesus. Missional Communities, DNA’s, serving, and worshiping together are mutually beneficial and important for our whole community. With that in mind, we also feel that there is value in creating space for women to minister to and with each other as we continue to participate in the body of Christ. That is the space Redemption Women hopes to fill. 

Four Values of Redemption Women:

  1. Inclusiveness – Everyone wants to feel included, welcomed, and like they belong somewhere. Therefore, we want to create an atmosphere of acceptance and inclusiveness; a place where everyone is important and known. We endeavor to accomplish this by looking at each woman who attends Redemption Women as Jesus does; Seeing them as special, unique, and worthy.
  2. Fellowship – Our fellowship helps shape us, and that makes it a significant part of our lives as Christians. So we want to help facilitate friendships that invite and incite joint participation in each other’s lives as we grow and learn together.  God uses Christian fellowship to make us more like Him.
  3. Teaching – We want to be intentional about bringing the gospel to bear in the lives of women. To that end, we will have speakers and teachers share periodically who can help shine a light on how Jesus impacts women and uses women to spread His fame.
  4. Outreach – There are two ways in which Redemption Women hopes to reach out to the community. First of all, we hope to create an environment where women feel comfortable inviting their friends, neighbors, and family members. Secondly, we desire to touch the lives of women downtown and in our area through mission projects and opportunities.

Want to get involved, learn more, or know what’s coming up? Contact women@redemptionchurchga.com for more information.