Live like Jesus. 

Jesus is the living Word of God and when we live like Jesus, people will want to know more about God.

Follow God’s Word. 

Jesus reveals himself to us through the Bible, so we aim to saturate our lives with the wisdom and teachings found in the Bible.

Talk with God. 

To draw closer to God, we must talk with God and listen to God as God speaks to us.  The attitude and action of prayer is essential to everything we do.

Live authentically.  

Jesus’ love transforms the whole person.  God does not require perfection from us but desires us to live transparently in obedience to God.

Live in community. 

We encourage each other to live life together in small groups so we can encourage, teach, challenge, and love each other as God loves us.

Practice generosity. 

God is infinitely generous and calls us to regularly give of our time, talents and resources.

Share God’s love with the world. 

It is our responsibility as followers of Jesus to love others by meeting the physical and spiritual needs of people locally and globally.

What Does a Follower of Jesus look like?

These characteristics are present in a person who is trying to be more like Jesus.

• Read the Bible.  We are changed when our mind and our perspective on life and the world are shaped by the truths we find in the Bible.  (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
• Commit to God and God’s ways.  Choosing to follow Jesus means you recognize Jesus is the authority in your life and you set aside your selfish desires to choose the things that are priorities to God (like loving God and loving people).  (Luke 9:23)
• Serve God and Others.  At times we will set aside our own needs or dreams to meet the needs we see in others.  We choose to love like God loves by meeting physical and spiritual needs of others. (Matthew 25:40)
• Share Jesus with Others.  Following Jesus is a personal decision, but it cannot be kept private.  As we grow to know Jesus more and more, we will want to share the good news and hope of the gospel message with others. Our desire should be to encourage other people to become followers of Jesus. (1 Peter 3:15)
• Live our Faith.  We listen to God and try to live our lives in obedience to God’s desire for our lives – we are patient, we are joyful, we are generous, we are loving even when we don’t feel like it.  We can live like this because Jesus lives in us.  Living our faith requires trust in God in all things.  (Galatians 2:20)
• Seek God Daily.  We cannot grow closer to Jesus without creating space for God in our lives.  This can simply mean talking with God throughout your day and asking God to give you guidance for your daily decisions. (Matthew 6:33)
• Build Relationships with Other Followers of Jesus.  We are created to be in relationship with other people and we learn so much more about ourselves and God from these intentional relationships. (Acts 2:42)

Steps You Can Take to Help You on Your Journey with Jesus:

Following Jesus is not easy, but it is simple.

Our hope is that all members will join in these five simple practices at Meadowbrook to help them grow closer to Jesus and live more like Jesus.

• WORSHIP is celebrating God’s presence because we are created to worship God.  Worship is a life live toward God, but we believe worshipping together as the family of God allows up to experience the Holy Spirit in profound ways.  When the people of God worship, we pray, confess, sing, listen and learn.
• CONNECT to other people who are broken because we need each other to provide encouragement, teaching, discipline and love.  We provide small group opportunities for members to nurture healthy relationships as they grow closer to Jesus.
• GIVE because everything belongs to God.  A characteristic of followers of Jesus is generosity.  We practice this generosity with our financial resources and our time and talents both inside and outside the church.
• SERVE because the church is called the body of Christ and all parts are needed for the church to fully function.  God has given you unique gifts and talents that are essential in helping our church share God’s love and care with the world.
• GO because Jesus clearly told us that if we love Him, we are to go and tell others about God’s forgiveness.  We are to share the good news of Jesus Christ not only in our words, but also in our actions.  We strive to create opportunities for our members to serve those in our community, in our country and in our world.