The Adult Discipleship Ministry Area helps Columbians grow in their faith in Jesus Christ.  As listed on the sidebar, Columbia offers a variety of ministries to help foster spiritual growth.

Vision for Adult Discipleship

The vision of the ministry area is for Columbians to live increasingly Christ-like lives.  Columbia desires people to grow in their faith—a growth that is reflected in what we believe, how we feel, and what we do.  As we deepen our faith, we increasingly resemble the way Jesus modeled perfect, holy living.

Adult Discipleship Objectives

To achieve its vision, the Adult Discipleship Ministry Area seeks to accomplish the following objectives:

  • To teach Columbians the message of the Bible and to help them understand how the biblical message is foundational to their lives. Our Bible studies, called Ignition Groups, are the primary tool for achieving this objective.
  • To help people coming into the life of Columbia understand our beliefs, participate in a Bible study, and find a place of ministry. Our Columbia Way course and our Coaching Ministry are the primary tools for achieving this objective.
  • To help grow smaller, more intimate, communities of faith within Columbia. This objective is principally achieved through our Ignition Groups, the Women’s Ministry, and the Men’s Ministry.
  • To instruct the congregation how to exercise the spiritual disciplines such as prayer, fasting, and reflection on Scripture. The spiritual disciplines are modeled in corporate worship and taught in the Ignition Groups.

Adult Discipleship Core Values

In addition to the church’s ten core values, the Adult Discipleship Ministry Area has specific core values which guide its activities.

Core Value #1: spiritual growth is the goal. The primary goal of the Adult Discipleship Ministry Area is to help people mature in their faith in Jesus Christ. While there are other objectives for the ministry area such as the formation of community, the transfer of Biblical knowledge, etc., those objectives support and are secondary to the objective of helping people grow their faith in Jesus Christ.

Core Value #2: biblical foundation. As stated in Columbia’s core values, Columbia “teaches and learns God’s Word.” The Bible is the inspired Word of God and the foundation for our beliefs and practices. As such, the Bible is our focus of study. Ignition Groups are encouraged to use the Bible as their primary text; if an Ignition Group uses other materials, those materials should have biblical teachings as their subject.

Core Value #3: assisting people in growing their faith. It is recognized that the Adult Discipleship Ministry Area can only assist people in growing their faith. Consistent with the Baptist distinctive of soul competency, the ministry area realizes that the individual is responsible to God alone for maturing of his or her faith. While we can provide ministries and tools to help people grow their faith, it is the responsibility of the individual to participate in these ministries and use the tools.

Core Value #4: helping people connect to the right IG. We recognize that no one Bible study fits all people. As such, we seek to offer Bible studies on different days, at different times, studying different topics, using different teaching styles, and requiring different levels of commitment. The desire for all Columbians to be in a Bible study that best helps them grow their faith in Christ.

Core Value #5: Spirit-led spiritual growth. We recognize that spiritual growth occurs only when we cooperate with the leading of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, illuminates the truth of Scripture, guides us in daily life, and transforms us from within.