The below model is the collaborative "best practices" of some of the folks at the IMB. It is also the vision that God has laid on Steve Scudder, my friend and the Director of Missions for the Savannah River Baptist Association, for how our association can strengthen our individual churches by equipping their members to become missional Christians, living out the Gospel in their communities.
If we are going to be serious about fulfilling the Lord's Great Commission, we must be serious about equipping God's people to live out their witness before the world. We must unite our efforts and focus them on one goal: working together to accomplish the cause of Christ.
If you would like to contact Steve to arrange for him to discuss this vision with your congregation, Sunday School, mission, or other group, he can be contacted at the SRBA offices at (843) 726-8294 or at stevescudder@savannahriverbaptist.org.
Vision for the Savannah River Baptist Association: The ASAP Model
Meet Jeff. He’s a Jesus Follower!
This is Jeff. He is a Jesus follower. His friend Jennifer, a follower of Jesus, told Jeff about her life as a disciple of Jesus, explaining what it means to follow Jesus and how you get started as a Jesus follower. Because Jeff could see the truth of Jennifer’s words in how she lived her life and he experienced the joy she felt as a disciple, Jeff decided to follow Jesus.
Jeff is happy because he is abiding in Christ (John 15). He abides by practicing every day talking to God and studying God’s Word. When he talks to God (prays), his relationship with God grows. He seeks to BLESS people he meets daily by praying for their:
Body—prayer for their health/healing and the meeting of physical needs;
Labors—prayer for God’s help in their work, school or daily tasks;
Emotional needs—prayer for comfort, hope, joy, peace, etc.;
Social needs—prayer for healthy relationships;
Spiritual needs—prayer that they will hunger for a rich relationship with the One True God.
Jeff’s ability to abide in Christ is strengthened by studying God’s word. He reads a chapter of the Bible every day and asks four questions so he can apply its lessons to his life:
1. What did he learn about God?
2. What did he learn about himself or other people?
3. Is there an example or command to be followed?
4. Is there sin to be avoided?
As Jeff goes through his day, he is intentionally seeking two people (Matthew 28:19-20). First, he is looking for people who are not following Jesus because they have no personal relationship with him. As he meets these people, he listens carefully to their story, so he can really get to know them and understand who they are. He blesses them by praying for them in specific ways (as mentioned above) and by meeting needs as he is able. And he looks for opportunities to tell them his story about how he became a follower of Jesus and God’s story of how he sent Jesus so that we might have a rich and meaningful relationship with God. This is called evangelism.
Body—prayer for their health/healing and the meeting of physical needs;
Labors—prayer for God’s help in their work, school or daily tasks;
Emotional needs—prayer for comfort, hope, joy, peace, etc.;
Social needs—prayer for healthy relationships;
Spiritual needs—prayer that they will hunger for a rich relationship with the One True God.
Jeff’s ability to abide in Christ is strengthened by studying God’s word. He reads a chapter of the Bible every day and asks four questions so he can apply its lessons to his life:
1. What did he learn about God?
2. What did he learn about himself or other people?
3. Is there an example or command to be followed?
4. Is there sin to be avoided?
If one of these people chooses to become a Jesus follower, then Jeff applies what the Bible teaches by discipling them. Jeff feeds them the milk of the Gospel; that is, he teaches them the foundational things people need to know to abide in Christ and follow Jesus (Hebrews 5:12).
Many people view the Association as the office where Larry Leming, Cindy Rhodes, and I (the associational staff) work. It is not.
Secondly, Jeff seeks people who have a relationship with Jesus, but not following as closely as they could. He enlists them to enter the life Jesus calls us to live. Jeff applies what the Bible teaches by discipling these believers through feeding them the solid food of the Gospel; that is, the commandments of God that calls us to abide in Christ more faithfully and to seek, disciple, and reproduce other followers of Jesus (Hebrews 5:14).
Jeff also applies what the Bible teaches by recognizing the call of the Holy Spirit in each disciple’s life and assisting in leader training (Ephesians 4:11-13). Although all Jesus followers are called to seek and disciple others, some are called to special areas. Some are called to be APEs. These are Jesus followers who operate primarily outside the community of disciples as Apostles, Prophets, or Evangelists. They actively go into their local community, state, and wider world to share the blessings (physical and relational) and hope they have received from God.
Others are called to be Physical Therapists (i.e., Preachers and Teachers). Though they recognize and obey their call to seek and disciple those who have no personal relationship with Christ, their call resides within the community of believers to disciple and coach them in abiding, seeking and applying.
All of this leads Jeff to join others in planting healthy communities where people grow in their relationship with Christ. Jesus followers reproduce healthy groups and healthy churches, communities that are active in abiding in Christ, seeking people to disciple, applying God’s teaching, and planting healthy communities.
The above process was developed by International Mission Board personnel as a response to the vision from God to the life of Jesus followers (disciples/Christians) in a part of the world where Christianity is the minority. The process is called ASAP (abiding, seeking, applying, and planting). I believe this is the Biblical model of following Christ. I believe it fits our area since evangelical Christianity is a minority (approximately 13% of our two –county area). I also believe that God is calling Savannah River Baptist Association to use this model as the foundation of God’s vision for our future.Many people view the Association as the office where Larry Leming, Cindy Rhodes, and I (the associational staff) work. It is not.
The Savannah River Baptist Association is Baptist congregations working together with God to carry out the mission of Christ.
The wording of this statement explains who we are and what we do:
- Baptist congregations—we are Baptists, more specifically Southern Baptists, and we seek to carry on a Biblical tradition that believes people should repent of their sin and follow Jesus as a conscious and adult choice, that all believers are priests and missionaries, and that each congregation is autonomous, but cooperates with others in fulfilling Christ’s mission.
- working together—the association is not a parachurch group, institution, or denominational entity. It is one Baptist church choosing to work with other Baptist churches to have greater impact in our community and world for the Kingdom of God.
- with God—as Henry Blackaby wrote, our task is to find where God is at work and join Him.
- to carry out the mission of Christ—it is Christ’s mission and Christ’s mission should be the sole focus of the association. It is the local church’s role to disciple Jesus followers to abide, seek, and apply. As these churches work in association with one another, then we can more effectively seek areas of our communities that are not being impacted, assist Jesus followers in applying God’s Word more broadly in the local area and around the world, and plant healthy communities that reproduce according to Christ’s plan.
