Our Vision

Our vision at LifeWay is God’s vision for the earth. To go and make disciples. We exist to win souls and to make disciples. The church can’t simply reach the lost. It’s been also called to train and equip those that are being reached. Every church must have the two-fold purpose of leading men to a relationship with Christ and maturing them in the faith. Our expression of this purpose is the following:

"LifeWay community Church exists to reach and develop people into fully devoted followers and worshipers of Christ"

What does a follower and worshiper of Christ look like? What are we looking for? How do we know we are fulfilling our vision? Every vision must have a goal or it will never become a reality. That goal has to be tangible so we can assess the progress of the vision.

Our Goal

A follower or disciple of Christ will begin to display the character of Christ in his own life. He transforms in the likeness of the one he follows. Not only there will be growing evidence of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, but the disciple will also start to win souls for the Kingdom of God. That is the ultimate goal of our spiritual growth in Christ. That we may reach others for Christ. When Christ called His disciples, He said to them:

"Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men" (Mark 1:17)

He called them to follow Him (become His disciples) and had for them a very specific goal: to win souls. He wanted them to be able to reproduce in others what He was doing in them. As they followed Him they were going to inevitably bear fruit in terms of lives for the Kingdom of God. At LifeWay, Christ’s goal is our goal. We’ve stated it in the following way:

"Every Believer a Leader"

By leader we’re not talking about a position to be occupied, but an influence to be exerted. With that definition, everyone –dads, moms, youth and children- can become an influential believer. They can all be trained to win souls.

When Jesus was answering the question concerning the Greatest Commandment, He was implying that in order for us to reach out to others, we need to reach into His heart first. As we follow God and learn to love and obey Him in every area of our lives, we’ll be empowered to love and reach our neighbor for Christ. We can’t do the second unless we do the first. We need to love God before we can love our neighbor. If we focus on the fruit and neglect taking care of the root, we will loose a harvest. And we can’t afford to do that as the church of Jesus Christ.

"Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40)

Our Strategy

Every goal requires a process or it cannot be achieved. To accomplish our goal we’ve adopted a Biblical, New Testament approach, one that was implemented by God Himself through the ministry of His son Jesus here on earth. He came to seek the lost, He discipled 12 and He sent them to seek the lost and make disciples. God’s strategy was a very effective one and He charged the church with it. We need not to create a strategy of our own, but do what Jesus did with His own.

The concern of many churches has been how to keep the fruit, as sometimes it seems as though the back door of the church has been left wide open. Many are converted, but in a short time they leave. Through a simple strategy, we will be able to retain the fruit until every believer is formed and has become a successful leader in all areas of his life, able to reproduce the character of Jesus in the lives of others.

Our strategy consists of four simple steps: Win, Reinforce, Disciple and Send. These steps that allow the servant of God to reach the lost in these days of grace, demonstrating that he or she is a believer indwelt by Jesus, prepared by the Word of Life, empowered in leadership and sent to win souls for the sake of the most High God. This strategy is a fundamental tool in the process of multiplying cells throughout the community and a pillar in the vision of LifeWay Community Church to fulfill the Great Commission.

Win

This is the stage at which evangelism takes place, achieved through the cells, and one on one relationships. On a much larger scale we win souls through the congregational meetings and special outreach events. It is defined and lived out as an act of obedience to God's heart's desire -to see the salvation of souls- through His compassion for the lost at work in our lives. It is an act of humility and the demonstration of a genuine love for God and for the people.

"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise" (Proverbs 11:30)

To Win is to bring the lost to the road leading to eternal life in Jesus Christ, whom they accept as Lord and Savior. This is an experience that relies on the combination of God's timing, His anointing and sensitivity to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Thanks to the commitment of the first disciples at work in the Early Church, salvation is a reality written in the history of mankind that is a continual challenge to us all.

Reinforce

This second step is an essential pre-requisite that closes the back door of the church. It helps the new believer understand who He is in Christ and lays the proper foundation for a consistent spiritual growth. This step can only be reached through love, dedication, effort and hard work.

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God" (1 John 4:7)

During the reinforcement process, the new believer is grounded in the faith, taught the correct attitude towards life - being eager to serve, being compassionate and friendly- and encouraged to live a life of holiness and prayer. This process takes place in the cell or at the church with a team of specially trained leaders or consolidators. Through special retreats called “Encounters with Christ”, the believer will have the opportunity to yield to the Holy Spirit and experience the power of the cross in specific areas of his life.

Disciple

The goal at this stage is to make a disciple out of every believer, a leader out of every disciple, and a servant of Jesus out of every leader, in line with His character.

For the future leader to develop it is essential that they be enrolled in what we call the School of Leaders. There will be a training school for adults, youth and children, designed to be places of learning basic doctrine, growth, leadership and the Vision of the church. By means of this training, the disciple will learn how to walk in the Spirit, win the lost, lead a cell group and become a successful leader.

Send

"Here am I, send me" These are the words LifeWay endeavors to write in hearts of all of its leaders and in so doing make them into righteous servants prepared to reproduce the character of Christ in their own disciples.

All of the talents and gifts given to us by the Lord are a precious inheritance that we must share with others and to put to good use. To be sent into the Harvest field is an act of obedience and the response of a grateful heart for the many blessings we have received from the King. The servant becomes the worker in the Harvest field, and the Lord of the Harvest is forming men and women with servant hearts that will reap the Harvest of souls in this, the third millennium.

"Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (Matthew 9:38)