Program Details

What can I expect from E4:12?

You will attend a discussion-based class each week, serve in your local church, and be supervised by a spiritual coach.

• Location:  Training is offered locally at Orangeville Baptist Church in Plainwell, MI. You can also attend virtually by video conference.
• Time:  Training takes place from 6-8pm. The Ministry Leadership, Church Planting, and Revitalization groups meet on Monday evening. All other groups meet on Thursday.
• Workload:  Expect to devote 10-15 hours per week in addition to class.
• Registration:  Registration is open from May to August.
• Cost:  Our $100 registration fee covers tech costs and supports future ministry efforts. You will also need to purchase books (roughly $100).

Our Commitment to You

This training will stretch and challenge you. You will grow through transformational, interwoven, active, and accountable learning.

• Transformational:  Our goal is that you look more like Jesus. In E4:12, learning leads to doing.
• Interwoven:  Learning is woven into the fabric of local church ministry and your everyday life.
• Active: Interactive discussion promotes deeper growth as students share their lives with each other.
• Accountable:  Students are expected to share what they are learning and to implement it at home.

Your Commitment to Us

• Ministry:  Involve yourself in the life and ministry of your church. Serve faithfully and do life with other believers in a small group.
• Weekly Meetings:  Participate in weekly meetings and engage openly in group discussions.
• 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 is 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 personal life.

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 advances God’s purpose of multiplying transformed disciples by unleashing Jesus-style disciple makers who strengthen, start, and support churches. We accomplish this mission by envisioning everyone equipped and encouraged.

• Envisioning:  We pursue a big vision of God and His purpose in the world.
• Everyone:  God’s people give themselves with total abandon to His purpose.
• Equipped:  You leverage your spiritual gifts for God’s purpose where you live, learn, work, play, and worship.
• Encouraged:  We help you persevere because living on mission is hard.

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

In short, E4:12 is a community living out Ephesians 4:12 and unleashing churches for God’s mission. In this way, we are not a para-church ministry. We are, instead, a ministry based in the local church, serving the church 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 as Jesus led – Colossians 1:28-29; Ephesians 4:11-16; Matthew 28:18-20

Jesus-style Disciple Makers

Disciple-making is living out the MESSAGE of Jesus where we live, learn, work, and play, through the MODEL that He has provided, for His glory and our joy (MOTIVATION), by the power of the Spirit (MEANS), with an everyday, everywhere, everyone intentionality (MISSION). And we are never more like God and more glorifying to God 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 good theology and a strong philosophy of ministry impact the day-to-day ministry of a local church.
2. Immersive Training:  E4:12 provides a training-ground in which your calling, character, conviction, and more can be observed, tested, and developed. You will gather around a table with seasoned ministry leaders to talk about pastoral life, character, ministry, and the gospel.
3. Personal Mentorship:  E4:12 equips you through on-the-job ministry training in the local church. With the guidance of experienced ministry leaders, you will grow in wisdom, sharpen gifts, build faith, and prepare for ministry effectiveness. You will receive feedback and encouragement from mentors in life-on-life relationships through observation, evaluation, and coaching. You will also receive input to help you determine your next steps for ministry.
4. Relationally-Centric:  Build deep relationships with your fellow students and leaders for present and future ministry encouragement. Enjoy a collaborative format, which utilizes roundtable discussions, webinars, conferences, coaching, and active learning. We intend for you to learn more from each other than you do from your books and lectures.

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. 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 a specific ministry 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, serving faithfully 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:  This is training by the church, for the church. We believe the best place to grow outside of our home is in the local church. The local church is God’s specially designed vehicle to grow us in Christ and 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)