We often find that many Christians can get ‘stuck’ on their journey to the abundant life God has for them.
Too often we can get held back by baggage from the past, wrong ways of thinking, being caught up in sin-confess-sin-confess cycles or the inability to live out of the good of all that Jesus has done for us. We tire ourselves out with ‘try harder’ attitude believing the lie that ‘what we do is who we are’ when the truth found in the Bible says ‘it is who we are that determines what we do'. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
We have used the ‘Freedom in Christ’ material at ODC for several years and have found that it helps people grasp all that happened to them the moment they became Christians. It covers areas such as: who they are in Christ; the truth of God's unconditional love; why there is no condemnation; and why we don't have to stay trapped in cycles of sin, negative thinking and hopelessness.
The material is used in the context of building supportive relationships with participants - teaching and standing with them as they 'clear out the rubbish' that holds them captive and guiding them out of the shadows of fear and condemnation into the assurance and blessing of life in Christ.
Many people have been greatly helped by this and have found it a turning point in their life. It can help people at whatever stage they are on their journey with Christ for new and aged believers.
There are three main ways of engaging with this material:
Individually
Two trusted members of the church would come alongside you to lead, support and pray with you through this process. This takes about 7 weeks with one session a week covering seven different areas for gaining freedom. This is a good option if you feel you need to be able to talk through issues in a private and more personal setting and has the advantage of being available throughout the year.
The Freedom in Christ Discipleship Course
This is a thirteen week course, which is held in a home with a group of between 10-15 people. The main advantage of this option is the time that can be given to teaching and discussion along with the opportunity to build relationships on wider level. Opportunity is still available for those who want to talk privately at a personal level.
Freedom in Christ Weekend
This is an opportunity for the whole church to gather together for a weekend of teaching, worship and ministry. In the past these have taken place on a Friday evening and all day Saturday culminating on the Sunday morning with testimonies from the weekend and a praise celebration.