[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Real Life Christian Communities is a community of Christian communities located in various places but united under one vision frame.
Our Common Mission
Jesus said, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:9-10)
We believe that real life is only found in Jesus Christ. This life is also called eternal life, just like what Jesus said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Our common mission, therefore, is to help all kinds of people experience this kind of life together with others.
Our Common Method
To accomplish our mission, we follow one common method called “communityship.”Communityship is the art and method of creating communities of faith by the power of the Holy Spirit through the word of God. A community of faith is a group of people united in Christ who are pursuing the DNA of the church (i.e. Discipleship, Nurturing Relationships, and Apostolic Mission) together. This is patterned after the church that Christ built on Acts 2:42-47.
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Communityship is a process involving 7 STAGES:
1. CONNECTION – We GO and build connections with all kinds of people through various means such as events, outreaches, and even online tools. Specifically, we…
✔️ Generate contacts
✔️ Offer God’s love in tangible and intangible ways
2. CONVERSION – We BRING people to Jesus Christ by helping them to understand the Gospel and make a decision to follow Him together with others. Specifically, we…
✔️ Begin spiritual conversions with seekers
✔️ Relay our personal testimony
✔️ Invite them to seeker-sensitive events
✔️ Narrate the Gospel
✔️ Guide them toward genuine conversion
3. ASSIMILATION – We JOIN people into our communities so that they can experience the presence, power and purpose of Christ in and through each one. Specifically, we…
✔️ Judge if they need help with their conversion
✔️ Orient them about the Christian life and the church
✔️ Involve them in a LIFE Group
✔️ Nudge them toward commitment to RLCC
4. DISCIPLESHIP – We BUILD each person’s faith within the community so that they can grow and become mature in Christ together with others. Specifically, we…
✔️ Begin mentoring/coaching relationship with them
✔️ Understand their learning needs and style of learning
✔️ Instruct them according to their learning needs and style of learning
✔️ Love them unconditionally and firmly
✔️ Direct them to the right ministry
5. MINISTRY DEPLOYMENT – We SPOT those who are faithful in discipleship and mobilize them for ministry to see if they have the potential to become servant leaders. Specifically, we…
✔️ See the potential
✔️ Pray for discernment
✔️ Observe life and ministry
✔️ Talk about LEAD Program
6. LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT – We TRAIN those who are faithful and fruitful so that they can help others also. Specifically, we…
✔️ Teach about leadership principles and practices
✔️ Rely on God’s processing methods for spiritual development
✔️ Assign them leadership tasks
✔️ Increase their responsibility over time
✔️ Nurture through mentoring and coaching
7. MISSION – We SEND faithful and fruitful servant-steward leaders to fulfill their grander vision either inside or outside the church. Specifically, we…
✔️ Set standards
✔️ Evaluate candidate
✔️ Notify others
✔️ Designate leadership role
Our Common Motivation
We have one Common Set of MOTIVATIONS, which is Faith, Hope, and Love.
Fulfilling the process of “communityship” is a challenging task. To help us persevere, all our communities are committed to abide by three important motivations.
1. Faith – We will trust in God, and in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and in His Gospel, which is able to save all those who will believe (Romans 1:16-17) through the power of the Holy Spirit.
2. Hope – We will put our hope in the promises of God and especially in the coming new heaven and new earth where we will spend eternity with God in His kingdom (Romans 8:18-30).
3. Love – We will depend on the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, of which nothing can separate us (Romans 8:31-39), so that we can love people always.
Our Common Marks of Success
To evaluate all that we are doing, we have one Common MARKS OF SUCCESS, which is “A community of Christian communities where the presence, power and purpose of Christ are being fulfilled in and through each one.”
Therefore, we will measure our success based on the increasing number of people who are experiencing real life in Christ together with others in and through various kinds of communities located in various places that are united by one vision frame, one set of values, and one set of distinctive biblical beliefs.
We will define real life as experiencing life change in six important areas:
1. Change of Affections – We are known by what we love. Those who have experienced the love of God through Jesus Christ by means of the Gospel are being transformed daily in what they now love, which include the word of God, the worship of God, and prayer.
2. Commitment – People who are beginning to follow the Lord will slowly show true commitment to the local church. They will not just follow at first and then forget about it over time. Instead they will identify themselves with the local church and become part of its life and ministry over time.
3. Identity in Christ – People who are being transformed by the Spirit of God through the word of God are beginning to see themselves differently. Instead of finding their worth in external things, other people, or the things of this world, they are now finding their identity in Christ alone.
4. Life-giving Relationships – Real life cannot be experienced in isolation. That’s why those who are being transformed in Christ are seeing the value of relationships and true community. They are now prioritizing relationships in their lives over other activities.
5. Stewardship – Discipleship, or following Christ, is all about learning to trust Him in all areas of life. A true disciple is learning how to manage (steward) his or her time, talents and treasures to honor God.
6. Ministry involvement – As the natural outflow of a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and other believers, a disciple must learn to serve God according to the gifts entrusted to him or her. This is a sign of a growing maturity in the Lord.
7. Faithful and fruitful Servant Leadership – Faithful and fruitful disciples of Christ must learn to multiply themselves through others so that they, too, may become faithful and fruitful. They need to invest their lives in helping others to grow just like they did. At the same time, they need to develop a grander vision to change the world for the glory of God.
One Common Set of Values
The following statements define the culture of RLCC as a unique church. Those who would like to join us and serve or lead with us in the ministry should understand and embrace each of these value statements wholeheartedly.
1. Christ will always be our true north.
2. Obedience to His will always be our main goal.
3. Maintaining a personal rule of life will always be a prerequisite to being a leader in our communities.
4. Making time for shared spiritual experiences will always be our top priority.
5. Understanding the questions behind the question will always be part of our discernment process.
6. Noticing our desolation and consolation will always be part of our hearing God.
7. Inviting openness and transparency will always help us to arrive at clarity.
8. Taking God’s word as the final rule will always guard our choices.
9. Yielding to God will always be a faith challenge for all of us in different ways.
One Common Set of Distinctive Beliefs
We believe in the historic teachings of biblical Christianity. But aside from that, we also believe in the following distinctive biblical beliefs:
1. The BIBLE is the word of God and He communicates it to us through various means. – God speaks through the Bible, which is the word of God, holy, inspired and without errors in the original manuscripts (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and He uses various means to communicate it to us (Hebrews 1:1-4).
2. EVERYONE needs to be thoroughly saved. – Everyone has fallen short of the glory of God in all aspects (Romans 3:23) and needs to be thoroughly saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-10).
3. The LORDSHIP of Jesus Christ must also be acknowledged. – Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). Therefore, He is both Lord and Savior of all (Acts 2:36). Everyone must believe in Him and follow Him as Lord, and not just as Savior, in order to be saved.
4. The IMAGE of God remains but is hindered. – Man was created in the image of God to represent God (Genesis 1:26-27). This status is never removed. However, because of sin, and apart from salvation, man cannot represent God.
5. The END OF THE PRESENT WORLD is the beginning of the new creation. – Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead, and to usher in the new creation, a new heaven and the new earth (Revelation 21:1-5).
6. The FILLING of the Holy Spirit has a beginning and is personal and experiential. – The Holy Spirit is a gift promised to all who will believe in Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38-39). Receiving this gift is a personal experience that can be verified (Acts 19:1-2).
7. SPIRITUAL FORMATION is part of salvation, not separate from it. – God wants every Christian to be transformed into the image of His Son Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). This is part of salvation, not separate from it.
We invite you to join us
We have an exciting journey ahead of us. If you’re looking for a purpose larger than yourself, then we invite you to begin by attending any of the following services held at our Real Life Center.
Sunday Schedule
- 8:30 am to 9:00 am – First Prayer Gathering
- 9:00 am to 10:15 am – First Worship Service (Using Mabuting Balita)
- 10:15 am to 11:00 am – Mentoring or Coaching Time
- 11:00 am to 11:30 am – Second Prayer Gathering
- 11:30 am to 12:45 pm – Second Worship Service (Using NIV)
- 12:45 pm to 2:30 pm – Lunch Break
- 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm – Various Fellowships
To see a map of our location, click here. To set an appointment with any of our pastors, click here.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]