Faith Foundations
A discipleship track for new Christians

Faith Foundations is a discipleship track, available through Deeper Devotion, which lays a solid foundation for a lifelong faith. Its goal is to help the participants develop an intimate friendship with God and grasp hold of the promises which are theirs in this relationship.

How it began

The material was developed as an 'After Alpha' initiative within Crossroads Amsterdam. In December 2008 eighteen Alpha Course participants asked for help to grow in their faith. God provided a team who shared the vision to mentor these new believers and I developed material to meet their needs. Afterward the participants carried on as a small group and the team took a new group under our care. Both groups are off to a solid start in their life of faith and the team is enthusiastic about what lies ahead.

What makes Faith Foundations unique?

Here are a few aspects which contribute to the effectiveness of our approach:

1. Theme-based Each month, over three evenings, we walk through one foundational theme of the Christian life. Within five months the participants have begun to experience what it means to:

• develop intimacy with God
• claim a new identity in Christ
• receive and extend forgiveness
• surrender to Christ's lordship, and
• participate with God in their process of transformation

These truths run deep and it may take a lifetime to grasp their full significance. By introducing them early in the walk of faith, we lay a solid basis upon which healthy spiritual futures can be built.

2. Mentoring Once a month we intentionally connect the participants with their mentors to encourage personal application of what's been learned.

3. Learning style Each gathering incorporates a short teaching time, interaction around the theme and a Bible study. There's a creative dynamic to the learning which the participants love. The teaching is intentionally short because we give priority to letting one carefully chosen Bible passage teach on the theme. Related scriptures are suggested for home to deepen their learning and encourage the habit and confidence of reading the Bible for themselves.

Available for your church

We are now offering training and support to facilitate Foundations Groups in other communities.

We will run the initial training in November 2010 to facilitate a January 2011 start of your group. We encourage you to prepare for this training by recruiting a team and building interest among potential participants. The training will take place in the Amsterdam area.

Why is the training necessary?

At Crossroads Amsterdam we've tried various approaches to After Alpha but the percentage of new believers who have found a place of long term spiritual nurture within our community has been small. We see a difference with our Foundations approach.

In order for Faith Foundations to be effective, the leaders must grasp the principles upon which it was built.

We want you to be successful! We will make this discipleship track available as follows:

• In Phase One we will train and support three to five 'early adaptor' churches. The training will take place in the Amsterdam area.
• Phase Two* will involve refining the training material and making the whole package available to a wider audience.

Interested?

If you are interested in participating in this exciting initiative, please complete the online questionnaire. Please indicate your interest as soon as possible. This will not commit you to anything but will assist with our planning. The final date for submitting the questionnaire is 15 October 2010.

If you prefer instead to be informed about future developments and wider availability of the material, please indicate your interest via the questionnaire.

Sample Material 1 Theme 1 Building my friendship with God Week 3 NEW! Intimacy with God Evening Overview Bible study Teaching

Sample Material 2 Theme 2 A new identity in Christ Week 1 I am loved Overview of the theme Bible study Evening plan Teaching (Henri Nouwen video)

Foundations Questionnaire

* How phase one progresses may affect the way phase two unfolds.