Discipleship
Our mission at The Bridge Church is to ‘make mature disciples who will innovatively take the Gospel to our neighbourhood, our networks and the nations’.
We are also committed to equipping every member of The Bridge Church to grow actively in their discipleship to Jesus: Individually – where each member grows from abiding in a deep relationship with God;Â Communally – where each member grows relationally within a vulnerable community; &Â Deliberately – where each member grows deliberately at their stage and season.
Church plays an indispensable part in the shaping of and context for discipleship, but all Christians are individual disciples with our own responsibility to follow Jesus deeper into love. The church doesn’t do our discipleship, it equips and expresses it.
At The Bridge Church we seek to equip individuals to be responsible for their own life as a disciple through:
- Bi-annual Discipleship Journal resource forming a consistent culture of intentionally abiding in Christ and his love.
- Teaching on a shared set of spiritual practices, lived communally as a church, yet finding unique expression in each individual’s own rhythm of life.
- Spiritual Check-ins for members encouraging their personal walk with the Lord.
- Helpful resources through our bookstall, articles, podcasts and other website content.
We meet in a variety of ways, with a range of communities being key to our fellowship.
Connect Groups:
Our Connect Groups are all about making every member of church a mature and active disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as a meaningful way of doing life together as God’s family. They are the way to be more connected into community at church. For information about Connect Groups please visit the Connect Groups page of our website here.
One to One:
See the ‘Read with a Christian’ tab on this page for more info.
Encounter for Women:
Encounter Gathering on Tuesday mornings at Kirribilli is open to women of all ages and stages to worship in Spirit and truth, with head and heart, hear women preach & teach, disciple each other and ultimately encounter Jesus.
Encounter Wednesday evening courses are available at Neutral Bay and involve in-depth Bible teaching along with studies to complete throughout the week. Previous courses have looked at areas such as living a life of significance, finding freedom in trusting Jesus, strengthening your faith, depending on God in everyday life etc.
Bridge Young Adults (bya):
For the Young Adults of The Bridge Church (18 to 25 year olds). The vision of this ministry is simply Friendship and Faith. Redeeming the idea of Friendship and clarifying a life of Faith.
We want to gather together the young adults of our church to forge community, worship, pray, and seek greater faithfulness to Jesus in this cultural moment we’re living in. We meet regularly across the year.
PRIME:
Flowing from a love for God and his people, PRIME is a group for our over 55s (or thereabouts!) in our congregations, who are freshly inspired to develop and exercise their gifts and years of experience, both within and beyond The Bridge Church community, through personal, social, relational and spiritual encouragement and care.
For further info on any of these groups please contact admin@thebridgechurch.org.au.
At The Bridge Church we seek to ensure that each member grows deliberately at their stage and season, by offering a variety of courses, programs, seminars and events.
Explore Courses:
Our Explore courses are free courses designed to give you the time and space to consider the big questions of life and to explore the life of the person at the heart of the Christian faith – Jesus Christ. See more info here.
Follow:
‘Follow’ is designed to immerse you in the essential realities of the Christian life of discipleship, following Jesus as he shows us the way of ‘life and life to the full’ (John 10:10). See more info here.
Intern Program:
Through our intern program, we hope to train people for a lifetime of serving God, whatever that might look like- whether as a pastor, church planter, bible-college student, secular worker, campus worker or overseas missionary. See more info here.
Events & Seminars:
For a selection of past and current events, see our events page here.
Christmas at The Bridge Church
Belonging Evening
Belonging Afternoon (Macquarie Park)
‘Let’s Talk About’ Wellbeing Event – Supporting Vulnerable Children & Families
‘Let’s Talk About’ Wellbeing Event – Spiritual Formation & Mental Health
‘Let’s Talk About’ Wellbeing Event – Secure Attachment with God & Others
Baptism Information Session
Intern Information Night
Belonging Afternoon at Kirribilli
Would you like to read the Bible with me?
It’s as simple as that! Anyone can do it. Just open the bible and watch God work.
We believe God speaks powerfully through his word. You don’t have to be a Bible teacher or church leader to read the Bible with someone.Â
Reading the Bible with another Christian is a great way to help each other know and love Jesus better.
You could read with:
- Church friends
- Someone who is new to church or not well connected
- An older or more mature Christian who can disciple you
- A younger or newer Christian who you could encourage
- It can be helpful to meet in threes, that way if one person has to cancel, you can still meet for the week!
Get started:
We’d love to encourage you in reading one-to-one. Click here to get started and receive a starter-pack with some helpful tips. If you don’t know who to read with, we can help offer some suggestions from people at church.
Here’s some answers to FAQ’s in the meantime…
What should we read?
Start with Ephesians, 1 Thessalonians, or for something more challenging, Daniel 1-6.
How often should we meet?
Weekly is best, or fortnightly is fine too. Any less frequent and it is hard to keep up momentum.
Is this a long term commitment?
No – it doesn’t have to be. From the beginning, agree to give it a try for 3 months weekly or 6 months fortnightly!
Where should we meet?
Anywhere that is convenient for you both: a cafe, park, workplace (before or after work, or during lunch), school, university. The key is to find somewhere you are both comfortable.
How long do we meet for?
1 hour is a good amount of time: 15 mins catching up, 30 mins reading, 15 mins praying. But if you have more or less time, do what you can! A lot can be achieved even in a 30 minute lunch break.
What preparation do I need to do?
The beauty of reading the Bible one-to-one is that you can do it without really doing any preparation. God speaks through His word – we only need to read it to hear God speak. And this is meant to be something easy and relaxed, not a teaching session. However, it can be really useful if both of you read through the passage together before arriving – then you’ll be familiar with it and have questions and insights ready to share.
Enjoy!
Find joy in the friendship, support, and encouragement that comes with meeting one-to-one. Most importantly, enjoy God as you spend time with Him in his Word and hear Him speak.
