Membership Class

GRACED FAMILY CHAPEL

Please read up the content of this class to be acquainted with our Church. It’s a self-study material. However, if you have any questions, please send it to email: info@gracedfamily.org.ng

We shall get back to you immediately.

OUTLINE OF MEMBERSHIP CLASS

The Church

What is a Church (1Tim.3:15, Eph.2:19)?
Who is the Owner of the Church?
Who can be a member of a Church?
What is Chapel of Grace Transformation Ministry?

Our Statements

Our Purpose: Why we exist
Our Vision: What we intend to accomplish
Our Faith: What we believe
Our Values: What informs what we practice

Our Strategy

Brief history of Chapel of Grace Transformation Ministry
Who we are trying to reach (our target)
Introduction to Individual Development Process (IDP)

Our Structure

How the Ministry is organized for growth

Membership

Requirements for membership
Benefits of being a member
Responsibilities of membership
How to get involved in Ministry once you become a member

The Church

What is a Church? (1Tim.3:15, Eph.2:19)

The Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Holy Spirit with divine appointments for the fulfillment of the Great Commission. The individual local assemblies like ours are a part of the Body Christ.

The Church is the pillar and ground of the truth. It is the Household of God. The Church can also be seen as God’s embassy on earth, through which He directs the affairs of men.

Who can be a member of a Church?

While anyone is permitted to attend a church, only those who have received Jesus as Lord and Saviour are identified as members of the Church. Members of the Church have their names written down in the Lamb’s Book of life in heaven.

The Holy Spirit is the one that joins a person to the Body of Christ as the person receives Jesus and is born again.

What is Chapel of Grace Transformation Ministry?

Graced Family Chapel aka Chapel of Grace Transformation Ministry Inc exists to bring individuals to the knowledge of Jesus Christ; nurture them; prepare them; and support each one to fulfill their ministry. We have the mandate “to raise the foundations of many generations through teaching and preaching of the Word and engagement in social works.

We are in ministry to raise ministers for the Kingdom.

Our aim is to provide a place where individuals like you can find love, acceptance, and encouragement in Christ to enable you fulfill God’s purpose for your life.

Brief history of Graced Family Chapel

Graced Family Chapel, aka Chapel of Grace Transformation Ministry, is the outworking of a mandate that God gave to His servant, Joseph C. Ibekwe on February 17, 1995.

During a session of three days fasting and personal inquiry while in Lagos, God spoke specifically to him from Isaiah 58:12b in this manner: “Go raise the foundations of many generations; those that come out of you shall build the old waste places, and you shall be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of the paths to dwell in”.

On further inquiry, the Lord explained to him that he is to propagate what He called ‘Social Gospel’. This vision initially led him to inaugurate a non- governmental organization on April 17, 1995, called Foundation for Leadership & Education Development – FLED.

In April 2012, the Lord began speaking to him concern starting a Church to provide a different platform to actualize the mandate given to him in 1995. At this time he was serving as the Supervisor of the Teens Church, at the Living Faith Church Nyanya, Abuja, where he and his wife, Maryann, were ordained as Deacon and Deaconess.

Upon this, he consulted with the Resident pastor, Dr. Rotimi, who prayed for him and asked him to take a short break from Church activities to be with the Lord in order to get clarity on how to go about the new assignment. He obeyed and took off for awhile. During this period, he was able to develop the Ministry’s focus and operational structure.

Before starting this Ministry, he and his wife have served in several Ministries including The Household of God Church, Christ Chapel International Churches, Living Faith Church, Abuja, etc.

The Ministry was incorporated in September 2012, but started holding Sunday services May 13, 2013 in Abuja.

Our Statements

Our Purpose: Why we exist

As part of larger Body of Christ around the world, we exist to transform lives for kingdom impact.

We are a purpose-driven, multi-dimensional ministry that works to meet the spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional, social and economic needs of those that come in contact with us (John 3:16; 10:10b).

Our Mission: What we intend to accomplish

Our mission is “to raise ministers through a seamless combination of spirituality and social action”.

Therefore, our mission is five-fold:

To Reach and save the lost, disciple and expose them to diverse ministries.
To Meet needs of people (physical, material, intellectual, etc), in any way we can.
To build actively productive citizens who are spiritually and socially responsible.
To Raise ministers for kingdom assignments.
To Support ministers to engage in their ministries.

Our Faith: What we believe

As a Church and Ministry, we believe in:

1) The Holy Trinity
2) The Deity of Christ
3) The Virgin Birth
4) The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
5) The Verbal Inspiration, Inerrancy and Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures
6) The Genesis Account of Creation
7) Justification by Faith
8) The Blood Atonement
9) The Necessity of Repentance and the New Birth
10) The Free Will of Man

11 The Sanctity of Male-Female Marriage
12) The Necessity of Perseverance and a Holy Life
13) The Great Commission

14) The Church as the Universal Body of Christ, with local Assemblies
15) The Second Coming of Christ
16) The Resurrection of the Body
17) The Eternal Bliss of the Saved in Heaven
18) An Eternal Hell for the Unsaved

Our Values: What informs what we practice

Prosperity of the spirit, soul and body
Righteousness
Integrity (walking the talk)
Sanctification

Our Strategy

Who we are trying to reach (Our target)

The main targets of this Ministry are:

Non-believers.
Nominal Christians that have no specific local church.
Believers looking for where to grow and develop their ministry skills.

The Individual Development Process (IDP)

The Individual Development Process (IDP) is a structured process that allows our members to develop themselves and grow within the system. It is about how we build and prepare our people for responsible Christian life and ministry. It is a deliberate plan to help you become the best you can be for the Lord and Hid Kingdom.

IDP is a Six-step development process that members of our Family go through.

It comprises the following stages:

Believers Foundation Class
Membership Class
Discipleship School
School of Ministry
School of Missions
Strategic Leadership Training

Our Structure

How the Ministry is organized for growth

The Ministry is structured around specific ministry purposes, not on traditional departments. We have Directorates working to realize the Ministry’s purposes. Each Directorate is headed by a Director.

There are six main Directorates

The Music Directorate
The membership Directorate
The Discipleship Directorate
The Ministry Directorate
The Missions Directorate
The Educational Directorate

Membership

Requirements for membership
Benefits of being a member
Responsibilities of membership
How to get involved in Ministry after becoming a Member.

REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP

To be accepted as a member of this church, individuals must fulfill the following the requirements:

Must have received Jesus Christ as Lord and savior.
Complete Membership Application
Must be Baptized in water by immersion – either here or elsewhere
Must attend Believers Foundation Class – either here or elsewhere
Attend Membership Class
Sign Membership Covenant

BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP

You are identified as an individual not just a number in the crowd (Eph. 2:19, Rom. 12:5)
The church provides you an extended family to turn to for support and prayer in times of crisis; and to encourage you in your walk with God (Gal. 6:1-2, Heb. 10: 24-25).
Membership allows you to discover and use your talents and gifts in ministry within and outside this local church (1Cor. 12: 4-27).
Membership of this Church places you under spiritual protection of Godly leaders (Heb. 13:17; Acts 20; 28-29).
It gives you the accountability you need to grow as a believer (Eph. 5:21).
The church enables you to have a positive impact on the community as you participate in outreaches, events, conferences and service activities.
Importantly, there’s spiritual fellowship and association with other positive, wholesome and spiritually minded people who provide support, mentoring, counsel and friendship.
The ministry stands with you in times of personal life challenges and supports you to in all matters relating to your physical, material, financial and social well-being.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF MEMBERSHIP

As a member of this Church, you have responsibilities. Responsibilities are areas the Church expects a new member to aspire to and grow in. A new member may take months or years to become fully mature in carrying out all the responsibilities of membership. The following are areas a new member can work towards:

Regularly attend and participate in weekly church meetings. Participate in worship, prayer and growth opportunities that are offered.
Live a Godly life, with the Lord’s help, as a testimony to the power of God. As you do, you’ll notice and those around you will notice the blessing of God in your life.
Reach out to others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Tell your friends, co-workers, neighbours and family how the Lord is working in your life, and using your church to do it.
Give tithes and offerings regularly. This shows you acknowledge the Lord as the source of your finances and is a key to releasing financial blessing in your life.
Participate in activities and opportunities. As soon as possible, begin to be involved in any service in the church.
Contribute to the work of the church as a member of a small group, ministry, or committee.
Participate in social/fellowship activities. Get to know your new family and let them get to know you!

HOW TO GET INVOLVED IN MINISTRY

The Church has different Ministry Groups through which each member can join to develop their individual life ministries. By being part of a Ministry or Small Group in the Church, it’s easy to learn firsthand and prove your faithfulness in small things, in preparation for higher responsibilities in the Kingdom. Faithfulness in Ministry starts from the bottom.

To join any of the Ministries in the Church, all you need is to check the different advertised Ministries and locate the one that appeals to you. The leaders will help you on what next to do.

Every member is encouraged to join at least one Ministry Group.