Value #3.

The Great Commission will be completed through prayer, evangelism, discipleship, and church planting.

The Webster’s dictionary defines a disciple as one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another. The fact that the word disciple appears 270 times in the King James Version of the Bible and the word Christian appears 3 times, illustrates the necessity to align ourselves with a biblical view of discipleship.

We are called to be disciples and to make disciples. After accepting the message of forgiveness for sin and release from the kingdom of darkness, each disciple is taught, trained and equipped to live a new life. This new life-style is not for self, but instead for the glory of God, the author of eternal life.

Every disciple is called to help spread the message by speaking the Good News and sending others to proclaim the power of God. The power of God will manifest from each disciple differently but will be coordinated by Holy Spirit with one purpose, to get the message out. Every disciple will live with intimate communication with God and will understand His plan. They will understand how to pray for those who did not enter this eternal relationship with God. New churches will emerge as disciples join together to be a community where there is evidence that God’s power is working in and among those who are committed to learning and spreading God’s message.

Harold was the target of prayer by our church for years. He knew about God but what he saw of religion turned him off. We would challenge him with the message of the Good News but he wanted to get his life in order before coming to God.

At a DCFI marriage retreat, he decided to receive God’s love and forgiveness and began his journey as a disciple. Through relationships, he was discipled in how to live out his commitment to God, his family, and others. Harold is now praying for and declaring the Good News to his employees and others he meets. He is now discipling others as he serves as an assistant cell group leader. Harold has experienced evangelism, prayer, and discipleship and is now passing it on. This is the way to see the kingdom of God increase.

Nelson and Sue Martin are the senior elders of ELANCO DOVE and Nelson serves on DCFI’s Apostolic Council.

Value #4.

We deeply value the sacred covenant of marriage and training our children to know Christ.

George Barna, a well-known researcher, recently surveyed 3,142 randomly selected adults and discovered that 24 percent of those adults who have been married have also been divorced. While this figure is disheartening, another statistic he gave in his study is even more discouraging. Barna found the divorce rate among born-again Christians to be 27 percent. Does a person’s faith make a difference in his or her marriage and family?

One of the results of this statistic is that the percentage of children living in single parent homes in 1998 was 28 percent. The most recent percentage of children who now live apart from their biological fathers is 35 percent.

This DCFI value is one of the most important ones. Without solid, Christ-centered, committed families, we will not have solid, Christ-centered cells and churches. Marriage as an institution predates Christianity. Marriage and family was God’s idea from the beginning of creation. In Deuteronomy, He told Israel to impress His commandments on their children… “Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:7).

God has always had a mission when it comes to marriage and family. In the New Testament (Ephesians 4), He related to marriage as a picture of His church. His admonishment in these scriptures is to love our spouse as He loves us.

So what is the purpose of marriage today? I believe that a phrase that best describes it is… “To build the life of Christ in my mate.” Everything you do, everything you say, everything you think, and everything you feel concerning your spouse can be filtered through this phrase. What then becomes the purpose of having children? It’s quite the same… “To build the life of Christ in my children” (see Colossians 1:28).

Steve Prokopchak, DOVE Elizabethtown, heads the DCFI Counseling Resource Department and serves on the DCFI Apostolic Council.