

Bethel Temple Cathedral
of Agape Christian Ministries
New Bedford, Massachusetts

Spiritual Growth & Development
Bethel Temple is a transformational church where discipleship is transformational. The Gospel of Jesus Christ not only saves us from eternal damnation but it provides the grace for us to become who we were created to be from the beginning. We are new creatures consistently be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ and here at Bethel every aspect of ministry takes us toward that spiritual goal.

Walking with God
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With the new covenant we have in Jesus Christ, the law has been fulfilled in the judicial sense. All of the laws we were not able to keep, Jesus kept. All of the laws we broke and punishment needed to be handed down, Jesus took the puniishment deserved by the lawbreakers. And God's presence was no longer located in the holy of holies at the innermost room of the temple. With faith in Jesus, a Christian is given the deposit of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit directs us to the spiritual disciples. As a person engages in study, fasting, service, or any of the disciplines, only by the Spirit's presence can transformation occur. The disciplines are activities that give time and space for the Spirit to give understanding about the truth presented in the Bible. When believers engage in spiritual activities, the Spirit can speak and move in our hearts. The disciplines give a place of structure for transformational growth to occur.
The first discipline to engage as disciples is Bible Study. Though the Word, God is providing what is necessary for living as we should. Reading, studying, and memorizing the Word are classic practices of the Christian life that brings us into alignment with God's will for us. Engaging God's Word should be an all-consuming discipline for the believer.
The greatest ministry of discipling is prayer. Asking is the rule of the kingdom. It is also the time God speaks to us. The Holy Spirit takes the time we give to prayer to teach us about the Scriptures. It is also the time He can align our will with His own.
Sharing Your Faith
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Discipleship is simply helping someone find and follow Jesus. Helping someone live out relationship with the lost, fishing for men, and helping someone do that in community with others. Much of what we do in the Christian life is out in front of others. It is especially true when we engage in God's mission. Going public with your faith tests your commitment. The Christian faith is personal but never private. As a discipline, service gives room for us to develop in our character.
The nature of the word church in the New Testament dictates that the Christian faith is not private and that God designed maturation to occur in the context of interdependent relationships. Church literally means "the calaled out ones." The word is plural in nature indicating that believers are automatically called to Christ out of the world and placed into the community of faith.
Jesus cares deeply that His followers live with an interdependent posture in community with other Christ followers.
