2024-10-31
Our raison d'etre
We are all on a journey. We each are each choosing a path to find our way through the maze of life with all of its opportunities, challenges, uncertainties and tragedies.
There are many paths that lead in many directions. The problem is that so many people are lost as in a wilderness, or stuck and not able to move forward.
We need a map. We need a compass. We need someone who can show us the way forward.
For many, to discover the Jesus of ancient scriptures is to find "the way, the truth and the life." We think of this as the 'discovery path.' For others who have come to believe on him as God in the flesh of man, there is now the 'discipleship path.' What does it mean to be a disciple, a follower of Jesus.
We are a band of friends who are committed to finding new paths together into the hearts of people so that we might share the love of Christ among them. We do this through winning, discipling and equipping people in simple relational settings ... it might be in a home, in a business venue, within a family network or among an affinity group of friends who enjoy sports or other activities together. Some call it 'simple church' or 'organic church' To us, its all about the good news of the Kingdom which Jesus modelled, taught and died for.
We are stimulating an alternative to 'church as we know it.' We recognize the exodus from religion in its many forms and the Western congregational scene in particular as an opportunity to connect, build and mobilize Jesus followers into a missional focus.
Our Mission:
To experience and share Christ through small circles of grace.
Our Vision:
To advance the gospel through oikos practitioners, households of faith, who live among the lost and make disciples in the mainstreams of culture.
Our Scope:
Our burden is for the nations, especially the frontiers at home and abroad, where Christ has not been lived out or made known. Jesus commanded us to make disciples of all nations 'as we go' and to that end we envision ekkesia in the form of 2s and 3s occupying gates of influence in the family, the arts, media, science/technology, government, education and the marketplace.
pathfinders news
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home churching in a time of Covid-19 ...
November 05, 2020Perhaps the big take-away of 2020 is that the people of God are learning that they can 'be' the church without having to congregate in large numbers.
Congregations have historically emphasized two parts of the Body, the mouth and the ear, teaching and listening.
To be a disciple of Jesus, where he is the head of the Body, means to 'play our part' and to connect with all the other parts and functions! The 'one anothers' of Scripture help keep the Body healthy and functioning. Two body parts alone cannot do that.
Ross Rains
We believe the Body is held together by the dynamic functioning of Ephesians 4:11-12 roles at the local and trans-local level and that it is the 'one anothers' of scripture that preserve and make strong the life of the Body of Christ.
Our dream is to find new trails so that more people can discover the life Jesus offers.
What we value ...
- ordinary people leading 'where they are'
- nurturing relationships
- Scripture-rooted open fellowship and sharing
- focusing outward to seekers
- practical discipleship and accountability
- reproducibility of fellowships to create new fellowships
- relational and intentional
- house churching / marketplace cells
- Kingdom-centric