V. DISCIPLESHIP PROGRAM “ Deeper “ is a discipleship program for any student enrolled at Word of Life Bible institute to meet with someone with expectation of bible study, prayer, encouragement, and accountability. As a Student Life Department our desire is to help you go from just a knowledge of the Bible which we believe can puff you up and makes you prideful (1 Corinthians 8:1) to a wisdom and love that helps you build up one another (Romans 14:19) and develop a deeper personal relationship with Christ (John 17:3.) 1. D Group: D-Groups are the primary mode of yearlong discipleship on campus. Led by staff members, these gender specific groups of 3-5 people create high accountability with other like-minded students. You can sign up through the discipleship application found on the Student Portal. 2. Home Groups: Students can sign up for a specific home group that meets periodically at that staff member’s home. These groups offer an atmosphere of encouraging community and relaxation with an emphasis on building relationships, discussion, and prayer. Sign-ups will be available in the fall. VI. RELATIONSHIPS We encourage men and women to form healthy relationships. Word of Life Bible Institute desires to teach and model an approach to moral purity in relationships that reflects biblical values. We believe that sexual intercourse and many of the acts leading up to it are reserved exclusively for the context of a biblically defined marriage (Genesis 2:22-25; Matthew 19:4-6). Outside this context, sexual activities such as sexual intercourse, oral sex, forms of intimate touching and homosexual behavior violate clear biblical teaching (Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-20; Galatians 5:19; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8) and are prohibited even when consensual. God’s design at creation for both sexual desire and orientation is within the context of the marriage union between a man and a woman. Therefore, gender identity is a feature of God’s original creative design (Genesis 1:26-28). Word of Life believes that the term “marriage” has only one legitimate meaning, which is how marriage is defined, described, and illustrated in the Bible: the joining of one man and one woman as their genders were determined at birth, into a single, covenantal union. Whenever there is a conflict between Word of Life’s position and any new legal standard for marriage, the ministry’s Statement of Faith, doctrines, and biblical positions will govern (Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:22-23; Mark 10:6-9; 1 Corinthians 7:1-9). Word of Life requires its students to obey the Bible’s teaching that no sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage as defined above. Word of Life believes that any other type of sexual activity, identity, or expression that lies outside of this definition of marriage, including those that are becoming more accepted in the culture and the courts, are contradictory to the Bible’s design and purpose for sexual activity (Genesis 2:24, 19:5; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; 1 Corinthians 5:1, 6:9-10; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4). Students who are involved in or are pursuing a “dating” relationship are to be guided by biblical principles. Scripture gives us helpful insight on how members of the opposite sex should interact with one another. “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity” (1 Timothy 5:1-2). In marriage, a husband and wife become one flesh (Genesis 2:24). In a dating relationship, however, a man and woman remain brothers and sisters in Christ. Scripture calls us to treat one another as brothers and sisters, “in all purity.” It is our desire to help students who face all kinds of sexual temptations. A. Dating, Engagements, and Marriages 1. Marriage plans made prior to attendance should be communicated to the Student Life Department upon enrollment. Marriages are not allowed during the school year without prior permission from the Student Life Dean’s Office. 2. The Student Life Department should be consulted prior to any engagement between two current students during the school year and that parental/guardian permission be given prior to the engagement. 3. Divorced or separated students are not allowed to date while enrolled at the Bible Institute.
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