At First Baptist Church of Douglasville, we believe everyone is on a journey. We believe that everyone was made in the image of God (Gen 1:26-27), and God wants to have a personal relationship with us forever. Sin has broken the trusting relationship that humanity had with God, which has made the trip unpleasant and unclear. Frankly, it has made our journey impossible. Jesus Christ has made a way by dying on the cross and rising from the grave with all power in His hands. This is the journey that we all find ourselves connected to. We believe there are five essentials for our discipleship journey.
TURN
The essential nature of Turning is like having a compass that will guide you in the right direction. There are times in our lives where we get off track in our walk with Jesus, and we need to be pointed in the right direction. Turning is an ongoing confession of sin that leads to a change of behavior by daily striving to put on the things of God.
FOLLOW
The essential nature of Following is like having a planned journey on a map. When you put a location in your GPS it creates a route for you to take. The path we're Following is Jesus. He says that He is the Way. Following is a lifestyle of being led by Jesus and others who are following Him.
ABIDE
The essential nature of Abiding is like your lodging place when you travel. Either we need rest from the journey, or we may want to stay in a particular place to explore the great things of that location. We say Abiding is staying in fellowship with Christ and other Christians by meditating on His Word, being constant in prayer, and resting in His goodness.
BECOME
The essential nature of Becoming is like having a passport - it is an indicator that keeps you up to date on your progress in the journey. We say that Becoming is the process of evaluating to see how personal transformation is happening to reflect Christ more each day. This process is done through the Holy Spirit working in the life of a believer.
GO
The essential nature of Going is your mode of travel. We say that Going is intentionally developing relationships by sharing the gospel message and serving other to create more disciples. We are called to make disciples of all nations, whether that is the neighbor next door or the one on the other side of the world.
Leadership Development
Leadership development is where we want to equip disciples that are wanting to lead at some type of capacity within their homes, church, community, nation, or the world. There are three checkpoints within this pathway here at FBC Douglasville:
Pathways
At our church, there are three checkpoints for every disciple:
Corporate Worship
Our corporate worship is where we want everyone to start. Here you will receive expositional teaching from the word of God and challenged to take your next step with Jesus.
Small Groups
Small groups consist of our Sunday School classes and Bible Study classes. You will receive teaching from the Bible and be able to build relationships gaining community.
D-Groups
D-groups are coming in the Spring of 2022, and you will receive teaching from the Word of God and participate in accountability with a group of about 3-5 people.