What We Believe
What We Believe
Statement of Faith
Disciples Made & the Fully Alive Community
Our work is rooted in the historic Christian faith and centered on Jesus. These convictions shape how we understand discipleship, spiritual formation, calling, mission, multiplication, and life together.
This statement identifies the essential theological convictions that guide the mission, leadership, and community of Disciples Made.
The Bible
The Bible is God's revelation of Himself, written under His inspiration. It tells the story of humanity's creation, fall, redemption through Jesus, restoration, and promised glorification.
Scripture teaches us what we are to believe and how we are to live as we participate in the Fully Alive life Jesus offers. The Bible has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth for its matter.
God
There is one God. He is the Creator, Redeemer, Provider, and Ruler of the universe. To Him we owe our highest love, trust, worship, and obedience. God reveals Himself as three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God the Father
God the Father demonstrates both affection and authority, faithfully providing for us and ruling over us as His children.
God the Son
Jesus is the Son of God and the Son of Man—fully divine and fully human. Jesus lived Fully Alive. Through His death on the cross and physical resurrection from the dead, He overcame sin and death and opened the way for men and women to live Fully Alive through Him.
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the presence of God in those who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus for salvation and life.
The Spirit enables and prompts men and women to believe Jesus, obey His commands, and participate in the restoration of intimacy and influence.
He cultivates Christlike character through the fruit of the Spirit and shapes our personal calling through spiritual gifts and life experiences that influence how we serve God through His Church.
Men and Women
Men and women were created by God in His own image and are the crowning work of His creation. Together, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, they are called to be fruitful and multiply as they exercise God's redemptive dominion over creation.
Because every person is made in the image of God, dignity and respect are due to every man and woman.
In the beginning, men and women were innocent of sin and enjoyed the Fully Alive life they were created to experience. Both disobeyed God, falling from their original innocence and inheriting a nature inclined toward things other than God and His authority.
In John 10:10, Jesus describes a thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy— an influence that continues to draw men and women away from God, His truth, and His authority.
Jesus' Gospel
In John 10:10–11, Jesus declares that He is the Good Shepherd who came so that we might have life and have it to the full.
Salvation is offered freely to all who receive Jesus Christ as Lord. The life of salvation is demonstrated through ongoing trust in Jesus and partnership with the Holy Spirit as He forms our character and calling.
This includes the continual practice of repentance—turning away from sin that leads to death and acting in trusting obedience to the good news of Jesus that leads to life.
Jesus' Kingdom
Jesus is King over all creation, and He came to inaugurate the kingdom of God. God's kingdom is seen wherever life on earth increasingly reflects life "as it is in heaven."
The character of God's kingdom is revealed through Jesus' teaching and is marked by love, beauty, justice, peace, righteousness, truth, and grace.
Followers of Jesus therefore live as citizens of His kingdom, partnering with the Holy Spirit to confront contempt, greed, self-centeredness, discrimination, and immorality with the redemptive love and grace of Jesus.
Disciple-Making
Becoming a disciple and helping others become disciples is Jesus' core strategy for expanding the kingdom of God.
Disciples are "made" as they become increasingly Fully Alive—partnering with the Holy Spirit to develop spiritual fruit, steward Spirit-given gifts, and participate in the expansion of Jesus' kingdom on earth.
Disciples do not simply go to church—they are the Church. They are sent into every sphere of society to embody the righteousness, truth, love, and grace of Jesus.
Unity
Jesus calls His disciples to unity. Satan works through lies, deception, and division. Followers of Jesus therefore resist those forces while pursuing both truth and unity.
Jesus is the truth who sets disciples free. Therefore, we do not believe unity requires abandoning truth, nor that commitment to truth gives us permission to abandon love, humility, or gentleness.
To remain focused on our mission to make disciples while faithfully balancing truth and unity, the following convictions guide our posture:
- Because God desires all people to be saved, we are for all people.
- Unity in shared leadership is built around the essential convictions expressed in this Statement of Faith.
- Around non-essential matters, unity is maintained through humility, deference, patience, and gentleness.
- This posture of truth, humility, and unity is expected of those who share leadership within the Disciples Made and Fully Alive communities.
These convictions are not simply ideas we affirm. They shape how we seek to abide with Jesus, become increasingly like Him, live our God-given calling, love our neighbors, make disciples, and participate together in His kingdom.
What Makes Disciples Made Unique?
Measurable Transformation
We focus on developing character & calling and measure these outcomes.
It’s important to measure the fruit of your ministry. That’s why we measure it by impact. Impact is the product of your character (Fruit of the Spirit) and calling (Gifts of the Spirit). After six months of intentional engagement in the fully alive process, you’ll see a surprising impact increase in yourself and the people you take on the journey with you.
Digital Yet Personal
Our experiences are delivered online but are forged in the community.
Jesus came that “we may have life and have it to the full.” You’ve experienced the intimacy and impact that comes with this promise as you’ve followed Him unrelentingly. Sometimes, it takes a new language and a new approach for others to see it. Our Fully Alive App can help you inspire others to embrace the priesthood of all believers.
Not a Church, but For the Church
We develop servant leaders who make their churches and communities more like heaven.
Want to turn spiritual platitudes into action? Fully Alive is a simple, proven process that helps you and your church thrive! By developing character through the Fruit of the Spirit and developing calling by exercising the Gifts of the Spirit, you, your leaders, and your faith community will see measurable growth inside your church and beyond.
How We Live & Lead
Our Core Values
Our values describe the kind of people we are becoming as we follow Jesus, serve disciple-makers, and pursue multiplication together.
These are more than organizational ideals. They shape how we make decisions, work together, serve others, receive feedback, and steward influence.
Uncommon Humility
The least among us is the greatest. The more influence we have, the more we serve.
We do not use influence to elevate ourselves. We steward it for the good of others, taking the posture of Jesus by serving first, listening well, and putting people ahead of status.
Continuous Repentance
Spirit-led obedience to Jesus is always greater than our competency.
We remain teachable, quick to listen, and willing to change direction. Growth requires regularly surrendering our assumptions, habits, and preferences to Jesus.
Persistent Innovation
We relentlessly pursue better methods and technology for multiplying disciples.
The mission does not change, but methods can. We experiment, learn, improve, and use technology intentionally when it helps disciple-makers reach and equip more people.
Selfless Accessibility
We enthusiastically help Disciple-Makers succeed, regardless of the ask.
We make ourselves, our resources, and our support as accessible as possible. When someone needs help advancing the mission, our default posture is to find a way to serve.
Timely Candor
We communicate openly, honestly, graciously, and on time.
We do not avoid necessary conversations or allow ambiguity to linger. We speak truth with humility, receive feedback without defensiveness, and address issues while they can still be resolved well.
Fully Alive
We consistently grow in character and calling across every area of life.
We pursue increasing intimacy with God and others while growing in our capacity to live our God-given calling. We want our lives—not only our work—to increasingly reflect Jesus.
Values Become Culture
We measure these values by how we actually live.
Our goal is not simply to agree with these values, but to practice them consistently—in our leadership, relationships, decisions, communication, innovation, and service to Disciple-Makers.