Elevate is a class designed to help us develop a church culture of discipleship here at Auburn Alliance.  Every church has a culture.  It's the backbone that determines the purpose behind all of its programs, ministries, functions, and leadership decisions.  Most church cultures take a life of their own.  At Auburn Alliance, the leadership wants to intentionally develop our church culture into one that promotes and develops mature disciples of Jesus Christ who are instrumental in making more mature disciples of Jesus.

For the most part, everyone who attends church thinks they're a disciple of Jesus, but this might not be the case.  Most of the people who have been part of Elevate have learned a lot about what being a disciple of Jesus is really all about.  They've become equipped to properly read the Bible, pray, discover their spiritual gifts, share their faith, and be an active part of a culture of discipleship.

Elevate is a class that combines attributes of many different healthy church and healthy discipleship materials in a way that teaches personal, small group, and church-wide discipleship.  At its foundation is the key principles from Growing A Healthy Church, by Dan Spader.  Growing a Healthy Church teaches us to understand and emulate five key aspects of the life and ministry of Jesus.  They are:

Reach others with the life-giving message of the Gospel of Jesus.
Build into the discipleship of each and every believer.  We'll talk about how to do this corporately and individulally.
Equip believers so they can be disciples who can properly read and study the Bible, pray, reach others, and serve the Body of Christ.
Multiply leaders who can lead others into a deeper relationship with Jesus.
Send called ones into ministry positions here at Auburn Alliance, in our area, and throughout the world.

Elevate is designed as a three-year class. 
The first year is a Sunday School class that introduces these concepts and wrestles with their implication in our lives. 
​We present these concepts and wrestle with them together as a class.
The second year allows us to go deeper into each of these aspects of discipleship and works to equip us in each of these areas.  This year involves homework and deeper engagement in our times of discussion.
The third year is a deeper dive into leadership development.  We read three books and discuss what the Lord is teaching us in our study.

Have questions about Elevate?  Want to sign up for our next class?  Contact PJ Bogoniewski for more info!