FRIENDSHIP CENTER

  • FRIENDSHIP CENTER

LEADERSHIP 

What is Leadership? It is the ability to inspire and influence a group of people to achieve a worthwhile goal. It is also providing the lead for a group of people. It can also be defined as being the shepherd of the sheep. Matt 4:19.The key to success is the ability to lead others successfully. Our greatest assets are people. It is not the buildings, properties or equipment that makes our Church big; rather it is the people that God blesses us with.

In TLC, God has given us the special assignment of helping people truly understand and operate in God’s purpose and plan for their lives. We are passionate about driving and inspiring people to realize their God given potentials through divine intelligence. This is why we constantly build and grow leaders as we believe that we have been won, built and equipped by God for the sole purpose of blessing other lives.

FC SYSTEM

What is a Friendship Center? We understand that a church must be big enough to accommodate you, yet small enough to know you which is why we have a structure that ensures that everyone who comes into the Church must feel a sense of belonging or oneness with other members of the Church. Acts 2: 41- 47.The Friendship Center (FC) System was created to act as smaller, functional units of the church. The FC system enables the Church to create a thriving environment for the members. Members have the opportunity to build and foster relationships with other members of the Church, which helps in maintaining a friendly atmosphere that keeps accommodating and creating a place for more and more people to come into the body of Christ. The FC system has been designed to adequately meet the needs of believers as a church.

The Friendship Center is a gathering of at least five (5) people and at most fifteen (15) people who fellowship together once a week outside the general church services. The scripture in Acts 2 encourages the gathering of God’s children in homes and places beyond the general gathering at the Church.

WHY MUST I JOIN FRIENDSHIP CENTER ?

Church isn’t complete until you have friends who are as close as family; friends who you can pray, fellowship and share testimonies with; friends who share the same beliefs and accept you for who you are.

  • It is a way to cater for God’s people spiritually and in every other way. Since the numbers of people in the Friendship Centers are limited, the word of God can be taught practically with people asking questions in areas they don’t understand.
  • It helps for leadership discovery. Since God’s purpose for a ministry is very great and vast, it obviously cannot be handled by one person. To this end, it is important to make use of other people to achieve this purpose. The Friendship Center helps to discover people who are called, gifted and talented in different areas of ministry.
  • It is a good structure for growth. Every living thing is expected to grow. Since the body of Christ is alive, it is also expected to grow. The Friendship Centers therefore help to grow the Church consistently if handled well.
  • It helps for intercession. Since they are smaller groups, it is easier to focus on the issues of each member and pray for them. The bigger assembly may not be able to pick individuals and specifically pray for them but the Friendship Centers can.
  • It provides fellowship. It is a good platform for members to meet each other and fellowship with one another.
  • It causes more manifestations of the Spirit. Gifts of the Spirit are easily expressible in the Friendship Centers than in the larger assembly.
  • It helps for proper evangelism. Friendship Centers ensure that evangelism is done in the areas where they are situated and therefore benefits the church at large.

WHY MUST I JOIN FRIENDSHIP CENTER ?

Church isn’t complete until you have friends who are as close as family; friends who you can pray, fellowship and share testimonies with; friends who share the same beliefs and accept you for who you are.

  • It is a way to cater for God’s people spiritually and in every other way. Since the numbers of people in the Friendship Centers are limited, the word of God can be taught practically with people asking questions in areas they don’t understand.
  • It helps for leadership discovery. Since God’s purpose for a ministry is very great and vast, it obviously cannot be handled by one person. To this end, it is important to make use of other people to achieve this purpose. The Friendship Center helps to discover people who are called, gifted and talented in different areas of ministry.
  • It is a good structure for growth. Every living thing is expected to grow. Since the body of Christ is alive, it is also expected to grow. The Friendship Centers therefore help to grow the Church consistently if handled well.
  • It helps for intercession. Since they are smaller groups, it is easier to focus on the issues of each member and pray for them. The bigger assembly may not be able to pick individuals and specifically pray for them but the Friendship Centers can.
  • It provides fellowship. It is a good platform for members to meet each other and fellowship with one another.
  • It causes more manifestations of the Spirit. Gifts of the Spirit are easily expressible in the Friendship Centers than in the larger assembly.
  • It helps for proper evangelism. Friendship Centers ensure that evangelism is done in the areas where they are situated and therefore benefits the church at large.

FRIENDSHIP CENTER MEETINGS

FC meetings hold weekly and spans for an hour. These meetings hold online via whatsapp but the members come together to hold a love feast during the last meeting for each month. The meetings are always interactive and allow the members to share their thoughts on the topics being discussed. The FC meeting is expected to include:

  • Praise/ Worship
  • Prayer
  • Testimony
  • Interactive session (Discussion)
  • Offering
  • Announcement
  • Closing prayer

TYPES OF MEETINGS

    The FC meetings are not expected to be monotonous which is why the types of meeting held per week vary:

  • Week 1: Prayer and Planning
  • Week 2: Bible Study
  • Week 3: Evangelism/Outreach
  • Week 4: Fellowship/ Love Feast

WEEKLY OUTLINE

WEEK 1- PRAYER AND PLANNING

During the first week of the month, the FC leaders and members are expected to make plans for the month. Meetings hold online every Saturday evening and this means that from Monday till Saturday morning of the first week, plans should be discussed on the whatsapp platform and every member must be encouraged to be part of this. These will include setting a target for the number of souls to be won into the FC and the larger church for the month, deciding whether to have an outreach program for the month or just go out for evangelism, preparations for the love feast etc. The members must also be encouraged to share their personal expectations for the month. After this has been done, the members and leaders will have a prayer chain all through the week, praying fervently for the Church and their personal lives. After the deliberations all through the week, the FC leader is expected to summarize and post the mutual plans on the FC whatsapp group during the FC meeting on Saturday evening so all the members can work with the plan in mind. This should be done after the discussion session of the FC meeting. Often times, members share amazing testimonies about the resultant effect of the word and prayer during their FC meetings.

WEEK 2 - BIBLE STUDY

During the second week, the FC leader would post some scriptures on the group. These scriptures will be given to all FC leaders by the church based on the theme for the month. At the FC meeting on Saturday, the discussion will be based on the members’ personal study of these scriptures. The meeting should be an interactive session where members can share their thoughts and ask questions based on the subject of study. The FC leader must ensure that order is maintained as members must not turn the meeting into an argumentative one. The members should always leave this meeting refreshed and blessed.

WEEK 3 - EVANGELISM/ OUTREACH

At this meeting, the FC leader and all the members spend the meeting discussing their evangelism strategy for the month. The FC is expected to have a combined evangelism geared towards inviting people for the love feast and church service during the fourth week. Every member must be encouraged to be part of this.

WEEK 4 - FELLOWSHIP/LOVE FEAST

At this meeting, the members and all their invitees for the month (including the people invited during evangelism) will come together to mingle and have fun. The meeting should be made as entertaining as possible. Members should be encouraged to make food, exchange gift items and mingle with themselves. You can also decide to watch movies, sing or do other entertaining and exciting things. The aim of this meeting is to make it easier for the members to build friendships and get to know themselves better.

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