Program Details

What can I expect from E4:12?

In E4:12, you will actively participate in ministry at your local church under the supervision of a spiritual coach, while attending class-based trainings each week.

• Location:  Training is offered locally at Orangeville Baptist Church in Plainwell, MI, and virtually by video conference.
• Time:  Classes are offered on Monday and Thursday. Times vary based on program:
  • The Art of Disciple-Making:  6:00-8:00 on Thursday Nights
  • The Art of Worship:  6:00-8:30 on Thursday Nights
  • The Art of Evangelism:
  • The Art of Spiritual Friendship:  6:00-7:30pm on Thursday Nights
  • The Art of Ministry and Leadership:
  • Church Planting and Revitalization (CPR):  6:30-9:30pm on Monday Nights
• Workload:  You will devote 10-15 hours per week in learning.
• Registration:  Registration for the following school year is open from May to August.
• Cost:  You will need to pay for your books and a $100 registration fee, to help cover tech costs and support future ministry efforts. That’s it!

Our Commitment to You

1. Intense equipping and in-depth training that will stretch and challenge you.

2. Training will be transformational, interwoven, active, and accountable.

• Transformational:  The emphasis is on knowledge that leads to doing. The goal is not “smarter” Christians, but increasingly Christlike disciples.
• Interwoven:  Each learning pathway is interconnected. The first year is foundational and subsequent years build on with specific ministry emphasis.
• Active:  The classes are collaborative. It is our conviction that adults learn best through asking questions and solving problems and thus we limit the amount of direct lectures in our classes and instead utilize discussion that will provoke deeper reflection and critical thinking. This interactive discussion also requires students to develop key interpersonal and relational skills such as humility, tact, and patience.
• Accountable:  Participants are strongly expected to articulate to others what they are learning and to implement it in their lives.

Your Commitment to Us

• Ministry:  Involve yourself in church life and ministry (includes participation in a small group).
• Weekly Meetings:  Prepare for and participate in learning sessions. Each session is roughly 2 hours.
• Coursework:  Apply yourself to the study of course materials. Expect to devote 10 to 15 hours per week.
• Mentoring:  Humbly submit yourself to review, evaluation, and input from an E4:12 spiritual coach.

You will formally meet with your spiritual coach once per month. The purpose of these meetings is to receive the following from your coach:

• Affirmation:  Share positive ways God has been working in your life and ministry.
• Encouragement:  Receive spiritual support, equipping, and prayer.
• Inspiration:  Discuss theology, life issues, or stories of God at work.
• Help:  Ask questions and get accountability in your devotional life, home life, and integrity.

The Heartbeat of E4:12

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13)

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Our Mission

E4:12 is a collaborative community that exists to advance God’s purpose of multiplying transformed disciples by unleashing Jesus-style disciple makers who strengthen, start, and support churches. We accomplish this mission through 4 E’s:

• Envisioning:  We pursue a big vision of God and discover His purpose in the world.
• Everyone:  All of God’s people giving themselves with total abandon to God’s purpose where you live, learn, work, play, and worship.
• Equipped:  Training you to leverage your God-given spiritual fingerprint for God’s purpose where you live, learn, work, play, and worship.
• Encouraged:  Helping you to persevere because living on mission is challenging.

This is training by the church, for the church, to envision, equip, and encourage everyone to be on mission for Jesus everywhere in the everyday stuff of life.

In short, E4:12 is an intentional plan to put Ephesians 4:12 into action and thereby unleash churches for God’s mission. In this way, it is not a para-church ministry, but instead, a ministry based in the local church, serving the local church, and gathering resources from the local church to re-invest so that all benefit.

Transformed Disciples

• Transformed Mind:  Believe what Jesus believes – Romans 12:1-2
• Transformed Character:  Live the way Jesus lived – John 4:34
• Transformed Relationships:  Love as Jesus loves – John 13:34-35
• Transformed Habits:  Train as Jesus trained – 2 Timothy 4:7
• Transformed Service:  Serve as Jesus served – Mark 10:45
• Transformed Influence:  Lead the way Jesus led – Colossians 1:28-29; Ephesians 4:11-16; Matthew 28:18-20

Jesus-style Disciple Makers

Disciple-making is living and taking the MESSAGE of Jesus where we live, learn, work, and play, in the MODEL He’s provided, for God’s glory and people’s joy (MOTIVATION), by the power of the Spirit (MEANS), with an everyday, everywhere, everyone intentionality (MISSION). And we are never more like God and God-glorifying than when we live this way.

Distinctives

1. Church-Centric:  E4:12 is a ministry of Orangeville Baptist Church and is governed by the pastors/elders of OBC. We are thoroughly grounded in the local church. Our students are able to learn valuable, practical ministry skills, and real-world lessons inside a healthy church. Learn firsthand how a distinctive theology and philosophy of ministry impact the day-to-day ministry of the local church.
2. Immersive Training:  Imagine preaching 48 sermons a year if you’ve only preached five sermons in your life. Imagine leading a church with all its various ministries when you’ve never been the primary leader of anything. Imagine trying to make disciples without ever having been discipled yourself. At E4:12 we provide meaningful places of regular service and training in which calling, character, conviction, and more can be observed, tested, and developed. Gather around the table regularly to talk with seasoned ministry leaders about pastoral life, character, ministry, church life, and the gospel.
3. Personal Mentorship:  We provide meaningful ministry experience under the oversight of experienced pastors so that you can build wisdom, sharpen gifts, grow faith, and be prepared for effective ministry. Each person is equipped through on-the-job ministry training in the local church. Receive guidance, feedback, and encouragement from mentors through small group ministry and life-on-life participation, observation, evaluation, and mentoring. Also receive input to help determine your next steps for ministry and training. See behind the scenes how a sermon is prepared, how to counsel, lead Bible studies or meetings, and engage in evangelism. The lives of your pastors and ministry leaders are the curriculum.
4. Relationally-Centric:  Build deep relationships with fellow students and seasoned pastors both for present and future ministry encouragement. Enjoy a collaborative format, utilizing roundtable discussions, webinars, conferences, coaching, and a healthy mix of passive and active learning. We intend for you to learn more from each other than you do from the classroom itself!

Program Goals

1. An increased knowledge of God:  We cultivate in our students an awareness of their insufficiency and dependence upon God, habitual practice of the spiritual disciplines, humility expressed in heartfelt repentance, and confident conviction in the way of Christ. (Ex. 33:18-23; Prov. 1:7, 2:1-22; Jer. 9:23-24; Hos. 6:6; John 17:3; Acts 20:24; Rom. 8:36; 2 Cor. 3:18; Phil. 3:7-10)
2. Commitment to and passion for God’s Mission in the world:  The church is not called to pursue her own agenda, but to follow hard after God. In the end analysis, it is best said not that the church has a mission, but that God’s mission has a church. (Gen. 1:28, 3:16, 18:18, 22:18; Is. 49:6; Matt. 16:18, 24:14, 28:18-20; Lk. 19:10; Acts 2:42-47, 4:32-35, 6:7, 12:24, 13:47, 19:20; Rom. 10:11-15, 15:20; 2 Tim. 2:10; Rev. 7:9-10)
3. Growth in Christlike character:  Disciple-making is transformative in nature, not merely informative. We expect our students to make every effort to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. (Prov. 11:3, 17:3; Rom. 5:3-4; Eph. 4:20-24; Col. 1:9-12; 1 Tim. 3:14-15; Titus 2:7-8; 2 Pet. 1:5-8)
4. Mastery of core content:  Academic attentiveness must be maintained throughout the E4:12 program for all coursework, seminars, and independent research in specific track emphasis. (Ezra 7:10; Prov. 18:15; 1 Cor. 10:31; Col. 3:17; 2 Tim. 3:16-17)
5. A love for lifelong learning of the Word of God:  By the end of the E4:12 program, a graduate may be competent to lead, but that does not mean their journey has come to an end. Graduates must continue to be tested and approved by their church, applying their trade in the trenches of ministry for many years and pursuing healthy habits of continued training. (Ps. 119:89-176; Prov. 15:14; Col. 1:9-11; 2 Pet. 1:5-8)
6. A love and deep devotion to the local church:  We are grounded in the local church. This is training by the church, for the church. This is because the best place to grow outside of our home is the local church. The local church is God’s specially designed vehicle to grow us in Christ and also to accomplish the mission He has given us. (1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 4:11-16; 2 Tim. 2:2; Titus 1:5; Heb. 10:24-25)