Parkwood Baptist Church

Contents

1. Who is Parkwood?
2. How does Parkwood make disciples?
3. How does the Parkwood Process work?
4. How do I get involved?
5. What responsibilities do members have?

Who is Parkwood?

Parkwood isn't a "what" but a "who". It's not a group of buildings, but a group of people, united by their faith in Jesus Christ. We've been in existence in one form or another since 1944, which you can read about more on our history page. But dates and numbers don't really explain who we are.

As a local fellowship that is part of Christ's universal church, we at Parkwood Baptist Church believe that God has provided the only way of salvation through his son, Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, and lived a sin-free life, perfectly following the will of his Father in all he said, thought, and did. We also believe that Jesus Christ died, willingly giving his life as a payment for our sin. Then, Jesus was brought back to life by God as a sign of his victory over sin and death. (For more information on what it means to become a follower of Christ, click here.)

We participate in both baptism (by immersion) and the Lord's Supper, the two ordinances that Christ left for his Church as ways of identifying ourselves with him and remembering all he has done for us. Neither is necessary to become a Christian, but both are very important for Christians to participate in and should not be neglected.

As far as other beliefs go, our fellowship subscribes to the teachings and doctrines detailed in "The Baptist Faith and Message" (2000 ed.) We also have a church constitution and by-laws that we use to help take care of administrative issues and business matters. It makes sure we share the same system of accountability, and encourages every member to be an active part of the Parkwood community.

We believe that our role as the Church in the present day is to obey the command of Jesus found in Matthew 28:19-20 (known as The Great Commission): "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."

Basically, we're here to do what Jesus commanded us to: "make disciples."

So how does Parkwood make disciples?

A "disciple" is a follower. We're trying to help people not only become followers of Christ (Christians) but to also mature in Christ. When we first become Christians, we are infants in a spiritual sense, but we shouldn't stay that way! Like a baby grows each day, we should mature a little bit every day that we are alive in Christ.

At Parkwood, we believe that God's Word (the Bible) teaches three key areas that are important for becoming a disciple: worship, growth, and service.

Let's take a brief look at each of these three areas and how we use them at Parkwood:

WORSHIP

Worship is defined as "great admiration and devotion." It's a means of expressing sincere love and gratitude. In a Christian setting, our worship is directed to God alone, and we praise Him for both who He is and all that He has done. At Parkwood, we have set aside times of worship where we can come together each week to praise God.

During our times of worship together (sometimes called "corporate worship"), we seek to be God-focused, Christ-exalting, and cross-centered. This means that the message of Jesus Christ is central in all we do, and we would not try to worship God apart from it. In fact, the reason we meet on Sunday mornings is because Jesus Christ was resurrected on a Sunday morning. During our time of worship on a typical Sunday, we worship through singing, prayer, and studying the Bible.

We worship the one, true God who has revealed himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Since God's main form of revealing Himself to us is the Bible, or His Word, we make a deliberate effort to sing the Word, preach the Word, pray the Word, and read the Word on a weekly basis. Since the Bible tells us the most about God, we use it to learn about him and to worship Him.

The songs we sing reflect what we believe. Songs with rich biblical texts and beautiful music encourage our understanding and practice of Christian discipleship. It also brings us together in a spirit of unity and truth.

Of course, the worship of God is not limited to corporate worship services. This means that the way we think and act at all times should honor God. We express our faith in God by the way we speak, the way we treat others, and how we react to whatever situations come our way. We are to do all things to the glory of God in Christ, and offer our daily lives as an act of worship unto Him [Romans 12:1-2].

GROW

This refers to a person's spiritual maturity. Part of our discipleship process includes opportunities to study God's Word and mature in our faith.

Parkwood offers weekly Sunday School classes (Sundays from 9:30-10:30am) as well as seasonal discipleship programs for men and women. We also have a weekly prayer service (Sundays from 6:30-7:30pm) and our children, youth, and college programs offer additional Bible study times during the week.

In the book of Hebrews, the author is encouraging his readers to grow when he says this:

About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. [Hebrews 5:11 - 6:3]

Did you notice the last sentence? Growth only occurs through God. When Peter correctly identified Jesus as God's Son, Jesus told him that his awareness of Christ didn't come from his own intellect, but was a gift from God. [Matthew 16:13-20]. Likewise, any of us who know that Jesus is the Christ can only claim that truth because God has allowed us to learn it!

As we continue to grow in our understanding of who God is and what He has done for us, we have been given a Helper, the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us that the Spirit of God lives within all those who trust in Christ, and that the Spirit helps us understand what God's Word means and how it is to work out in our lives.

Think about the verses we just read from Hebrews: the writer expected all Christians to have a full understanding of the foundations of Christian faith! Many of us who trust Christ would have trouble if we were asked to have a deep discussion about repentance, faith, resurrection, and eternal judgment with others. But since we are here as Christ's ambassadors, we are supposed to know these things, and that's why we must grow!

Of course, growing as a disciple isn't just about gaining knowledge, but about putting that knowledge into action. We must apply the truths we learn from God's Word to the way we live before we can grow. Like the book of James reminds us: "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." [James 1:22]

So, if we hear a sermon or participate in a Bible study on patience, then it's very important we practice patience in our lives, trying to do what we've heard and read. Maybe we don't complain as much when someone cuts us off in traffic, or when the elevator seems to be taking an extra long time. Or maybe we don't sigh as loud when the person in line ahead of us asks for a price check on every item in their cart, or snap so quickly at our children or co-workers when they get on our nerves. The application may be different for each person, but we must apply it. We don't become patient just by studying about it, but by practicing it as well.

Another important part of growing is teaching others what you've learned. You may not ever be a classroom teacher or preach a sermon, but we're each supposed to tell others what God has taught us from His Word. By sharing our faith we "become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ." [Philemon 6] (You can find out more about how to tell others about Jesus by clicking here.)

So, we grow as the Holy Spirit helps us understand the truth, practice the truth, and share the truth with others.

SERVE

All Christians are commanded to serve by first and foremost sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ [Matthew 28:10-20, Acts 1:8] At Parkwood, we seek to do this on four levels: local, state, nation, and world.

The example of the early church is to be devoted to teaching, fellowship, and breaking bread. In addition, we see the early church selling all they have to meet the needs of others [Acts 2:42-47]. Christians are called to serve each other [Galatians 5:12].

In addition to being actively involved in ministering to others by sharing the Gospel and meeting needs, a tithe of our weekly offering is given to mission organizations that fund missionaries around the world. Additionally, we frequently take special offerings that go to meet specific needs in specific ministry areas such as Kentucky Baptist Home for Children, Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions, Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions, and Women's Resource Center Baby Bottle Program to name a few. We also provide prayer support for home, local, state, national, and international missionaries.

By sharing the Gospel and meeting needs of people around the world, Christians are being obedient to God. We do these things out of humility as we strive to imitate Christ's humility [Philippians 2:1-4] as we look to the needs/interests of others.

Of course, it's easy to see that each of these areas overlap as well. Serving someone in the name of Christ can also result in your own personal growth. Studying the Scripture can cause you to worship God for who He is and what He's done. Not only is this overlap good, it's also a necessary part of maturing in faith and becoming a disciple of Christ.

Sounds like a good plan. But how does this disciple-making process actually work?

The PBC Process As we have said, the process is simple: Worship. Grow. Serve.

How it works can be explained by the Parkwood logo. This logo is already seen as part of our church's name, but it can stand alone as well. Here's what the different parts of it represent:

> The center of the process is Christ, symbolized by the cross in the middle. He is not only the beginning of the process, but He is also the One who makes it possible. Remember, the goal of the process is to make disciples, and a disciple is a follower of Christ. It's all about Him.

> The two loops, one for growth and one for service, both stem from worship and both return to worship, keeping with our belief that Christ is and should always be the center of all things. "Apart from me you can do nothing." [John 15:5]

> You might also notice that the logo's two circles form an infinity symbol (the one that looks like a sideways "8"). This reminds us that the entire process is based on and fueled by the eternal salvation provided through Jesus Christ.

I like what I'm reading. How do I get involved?

All are welcomed to attend Parkwood to see what we're all about. If you visit, chances are it will be during one of our worship or Bible study times...so you'll already be seeing the process in action!

You can get more information by calling or visiting the church office during the week, or by browsing this website. We've tried to answer most of the basic questions a person might have online, but if you've got a specific question we haven't answered, e-mail us and ask!

So, anyone can be involved. But becoming a member of Parkwood is a bit different.

Membership has its privileges...and responsibilities

Since Parkwood is simply a local gathering of people who are part of Christ's universal Church, anyone wishing to become a member of Parkwood must already be a Christian. We also believe that a person should follow their salvation with the act of baptism as soon as possible, as an outward sign of the new life that Christ has produced within.

We ask that anyone who wishes to join our fellowship attend a brief new member's class that further explains what we believe and the expectations of our membership. This way, a person can get to know us a bit better before deciding if they want to commit to serving God as a part of our fellowship. Following this class (usually one hour a week, for three to four weeks), any prospective new members will be voted on by the current members in attendance the next Sunday.

Members are expected to cheerfully serve the Lord together, giving time, talent, and treasure as commanded by God's Word. And to join us in the process of making disciples, "building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature" [Ephesians 4:12-13].