Thank you for your support
of The Center for Church Based Training
as we celebrate our 8th year as a ministry!
We have some
exciting news to share...
At the beginning of 2007, we launched a global initiative by bringing
two seasoned men onto our team...
They are already
making an impact as they have networked with church and ministry
leaders to implement church-based training initiatives and have
worked extensively with denominational groups to incorporate church-based
principles into their missions strategy.
CCBT has been blessed
to meet with numerous churches in the past years through our One-Day
Seminars, Elder Retreats, National
Events, and Conferences. Now, we will be adding International
Events to our calendar. Some of our events will include:
- CBT
Symposium 2008 in Vienna, Austria in April 2008
- Sepal's
Pastor's Conference in Sao Palo in May 2008
Dr.
Gene Getz will be a general session speaker at some of these
conferences and will present church-based training through his
message on local church leadership. There will also be workshops
where church-based training will be discussed in greater detail.
We are expecting 2008
to be a very exciting year for our ministry. We will continue
to reach out to you and will expand the number of cities we visit
with our One-Day Seminars. We appreciate
the opportunity to bring the value of church-based training into
your communities. We are also privileged to have been invited
to participate in several denominational conferences and training
events across the country.
We are thrilled to
hear about lives that have been transformed through your local
implementation of church-based training and invite you to contact
us to tell your stories. We will continue to develop resources
and tools you can use at every level within your church to “bring
all to maturity and many to leadership.” Thank you
again as we remain committed to further Christ's mission of discipling
the nations through healthy churches.
The Center
for Church Based Training History
After having served as a professor
at Moody Bible Institute and then Dallas Theological Seminary,
Dr.
Gene Getz started the first Fellowship Bible Church in 1972,
in Dallas, Texas. With the first Fellowship church, Dr. Getz stressed
the value of developing people for ministry through a mentoring,
in-ministry and life-on-life approach. His commitment to mentor
people led to the development of an intensive internship program,
an intentional process of developing emerging leaders for pastoral
ministry and church planting.
This process was formalized in
1990 when Bruce
Miller was brought on staff to develop a “church-based” training
program at Fellowship Bible Church North (now known as Chase Oaks
Church). In 1995, Jeff Jones
joined the staff and The Center for Church Based Training (CCBT)
was formally established. In October 1999, CCBT launched as a
ministry to local churches with its first “Churches Training Leaders”
conference.
Through their conferences and
seminars, consultations and retreats, and the church-based training
resources they are developing, CCBT is a valuable resource to
local church leaders in the areas of discipleship training and
leadership development. Since the launch in October 1999, the
Center for Church Based Training has interacted with church leaders
from 30 countries, comprising 28 denominations, and has distributed
over 40,000 training courses.
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Church-Based Training Defined
Developing all believers to maturity
and many to leadership in the local church, under the authority
of local church leadership, through an apprenticeship on-the-job
approach, with other churches, for Christ's mission of multiplying
churches worldwide to God's glory.
“In the Church”
: The Power of Context
The training takes place in the life and ministry of the local
church, which is the visible expression of the body of Christ
(Acts 13:1; Ephesians 1:22-23). The church is the body of Christ,
the family of God, the temple of the Spirit. The church is the
hope of the world. God is at work today in a direct way through
local churches.
“Under the Church”
: The Power of Responsibility
The training takes place under the authority of the leaders of
the local church (Acts 20:25-31; Hebrews 13:17), who must give
account to God for the training of godly leaders and for the maturity
of the church's members. In developing leaders in a local church,
we are working with people who have God-given responsibility for
that church or for a specific ministry in that church. In Acts
20:28 Paul told the elders of the church in Ephesus that they
were responsible for the flock over which the Holy Spirit had
made them overseers, and responsible for the local church that
Jesus Christ purchased with his own blood. In the churches we
serve, God will hold us responsible for how we use what we learn
to improve the church's ministry. This direct accountability to
God gives church-based leadership development an energy that is
missing from most classrooms.
“Through the Church”
: The Power of Community
The training takes place through a non-formal, in-ministry, life-on-life
approach to maturity and leadership development (Acts 11:25-26;
2 Timothy 2:2). This kind of leadership development involves much
more than just offering courses. It is a process built
into the very fabric of a local church's life and ministry. This
is not a form of a Bible institute that operates alongside the
church and meets in a Sunday school classroom. Rather, church-based
people development occurs in and through the real-life, ongoing
ministry activities of a local church. It includes life-on-life
mentoring in the context of authentic community.
“With other Churches”
: The Power of Partnership
Churches need both autonomy and interdependence, as in the first
century (Acts 11:22-24). Rarely does one church by itself have
all the necessary resources for developing leaders, but we can
and should work together locally and globally to develop qualified
leaders for the local church.
“For the Church”
: The Power of Mission
The training takes place for the sake of the lost and for the
multiplication of the local church worldwide (Acts 13:1-5; 14:21-18).
We are not just learning for the sake of learning – which can
lead to pride and sterility. We are developing leaders for the
sake of reaching people for Jesus Christ in our community and
for the sake of multiplying churches around the world.
“To God's Glory”
: The Power of Worship
Ultimately our goal is to develop people for the purpose of bringing
glory to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Romans15:5-6; 2
Thessalonians 1:11-12). When you are serving Almighty God, it
changes your perspective. We should develop leaders, not just
because it is an effective way to run our ministries, or even
because it is the right thing to do; but because we want to bring
honor and glory to our God.
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The Doctrinal Statement... The Essentials We Believe
1. About God
God is One, the only God, eternally living in three persons:
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, equal
in deity and glory.
2. About God the Father
The Father is fully God; his fatherhood is eternal and
personal. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus and of all who believe
in Christ.
3. About Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the only Son of God. Jesus was born of
a virgin, lived a sinless human life, and offered Himself as the
perfect and complete sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying
on a cross. He rose from the dead physically, demonstrating His
victory over sin and death, then ascended to God's throne where
He presently intercedes for us. One day He will personally and
visibly return to reign as King of Kings.
4. About the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is equal in deity and person with God
the Father and God the Son. As the living Holy Spirit, He moved
the human authors of the Bible to write God's Word. He makes people
aware of their need for Jesus Christ, performs the miracle of
new birth, and comes to live in every Christian the moment they
trust in Jesus Christ. He unites all Christians into the one Body
of Christ providing each of them with power for service, understanding
of spiritual truth, and comfort in life's trial.
5. About Human Beings
People are created in the image of God, to be like Him
in character. However, all of us by nature are marred by sin,
which alienates us from God, makes us liable for His judgment,
and ultimately results in eternal death apart from God's salvation.
6. About Salvation
Salvation is God's gracious free gift, which He offers
to us all. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement
or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ alone can we be
forgiven for our sins, overcome our alienation from God, be saved
from God's judgment, and begin an eternal relationship with God.
The moment we turn from our self-ruled life to Jesus Christ in
faith, we are saved, born again as children of God.
7. About Eternity
People were created to exist forever. We will either
exist eternally separated from God by sin in hell, or eternally
with God through forgiveness and salvation in heaven. Heaven and
hell are real places of eternal existence.
8. About the Church
The Church is the family of God, the Body of Christ and
the temple of the Holy Spirit created by God to show His glory
on the earth by reaching out to people who do not know Him, lifting
up worship to Him, loving each other as His family, growing in
maturity to be like Christ, and serving others in His Name. The
Church celebrates baptism and the Lord's Supper until He comes.
9. About the Bible
The Bible is God's revelation to us written by human
authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit, so
that it is without error in the original manuscripts. The Bible
is our supreme and final authority in all matters about which
it speaks.
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