Empowering Churches to Disciple with Purpose
At Strategic Discipleship, we are committed to helping churches intentionally and strategically disciple believers to have a kingdom impact.
Our Journey
Our story began with the planting of LifeBridge Community Church in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. As our congregation grew, we welcomed many individuals with little to no church background. This diversity brought excitement but also highlighted a pressing need: developing mature spiritual leaders within our community.
Recognizing that spiritual maturity and leadership development take time and intentional effort, we embarked on creating a curriculum tailored for small group settings. This curriculum became the “content” component of our discipleship process, designed to equip believers for the life mission Jesus has called them to.
Our Passion
After years of leading traditional small groups and now witnessing the fruit of an intentional and strategic growth process, we are convinced of its effectiveness. We invite you to join us on this journey of purposeful discipleship
Rob Laidlaw
Rob Laidlaw is the founder of Strategic Discipleship and a dedicated church leader with over 30 years of ministry experience. Passionate about helping people grow in their faith and step into leadership, Rob has planted two churches in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, where he’s witnessed firsthand the challenges—and the immense rewards—of guiding believers toward spiritual maturity.
Rob’s heart is to see every believer discover who God is, who they are, and what they’re called to do—and to help churches equip them to walk confidently in that calling.
Statement of Faith
God
There is one God who eternally co-exists as three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is infinite, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present, and never changing. He is characterized by Holiness, Justice, and Unconditional Love.
Eternity
We were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God because of our sin (Judgement), or eternally in God’s presence as his child, caring for a new perfected earth on his behalf (Heaven).
Salvation
Salvation refers to the rescue from our sin nature, the consequences of our sinful actions, and our eternal separation from God. Salvation is a gift from God through Jesus Christ and can never be earned by self-improvement or good works. Only through a change of heart toward God, acknowledging that he died to pay the penalty for our sin, and asking for his forgiveness may we receive this gift of a new and eternal life.
We teach that for salvation people need to 1) confess their sin to God and to 2) confess Jesus as their Lord (Life Leader). The Bible then teaches that we are to proclaim that step of faith through baptism.
Spiritual Realm
Angels were created by God to declare his glories and to act on his behalf for the care and protection of his people. Some angels chose to rebel against God and his purposes and were cast out of heaven until the time of their judgment. The leader of this revolt (Satan) and his followers (demons/evil spirits) are focused on destroying that which God loves the most (people), preventing us from experiencing joyful relationship with him.
Christian Conduct
Followers of Jesus live for the glory of God in all that they do. Our lifestyle and morals are not to be determined by the values of our culture but by the character of God and his will as expressed in the Bible. We are to be faithful managers of all that God has given us (time, wealth, talents, gifts, creation). We are to strive to see ourselves, and others, reach full spiritual maturity in Jesus Christ.
Us
We were all perfectly created by God to experience life as his child, in intimate relationship with him. Being made in his image we are to represent his love and character to the rest of creation and each other.
We broke our relationship with him by an attitude of independence from him and disobedience called “sin”. This sinful state separates us eternally from God and can only be remedied through a personal commitment to Jesus Christ and placing our faith in what he accomplished for us on the cross.
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is God who became man, while remaining co-equal with the Father and Holy Spirit. He led a sinless life and offered himself on the cross in order to pay the consequence for our sin. On the third day, after his crucifixion, he conquered the effects of sin and death by rising to new life so that we might receive new life through him. After appearing to over five hundred people he ascended back to heaven where he advocates on our behalf until he returns again as King of Kings to put an ultimate end to the matter of evil.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and Jesus, the Son. He is present in the world to make people aware of their need for Jesus Christ and his forgiveness. He resides in every believer from the moment of salvation, providing them with the ability to live a godly life, understand spiritual truths, guidance through life, and giving them special spiritual abilities for the strengthening of God’s family. Followers of Jesus seek to live under the Holy Spirit’s leadership daily.
The Bible
The Bible (in the original manuscripts) is God’s flawless Word on how to be restored to intimate relationship with him, as his child. Though humans wrote it, it was under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit and is the final source for belief and how to live.
Marriage
Men and women are created equally, but image God in very unique ways. As these two diverse images come together in marriage, they more fully represent the character of God. Marriage is the union between a man and a woman, created by God to be a picture of the intimate covenant relationship he desires us to experience with him.
The Church
The universal church consists of all true followers of Jesus Christ. The local church gathers as a community to worship God and support one another as we seek to become more like Christ. The primary task of the church and its members is to present the message and person of Jesus Christ to the world who is spiritually separated from him. Scripture challenges us to not give up meeting on a regular basis so that we can:
1) Grow in Relationship to God and each other
2) Represent God to the world as
Salt: A moral & spiritual influence
Ambassadors: Presenting Christ’s message of Forgiveness and Reconciliation to the world
Image: Responsibility to care for creation on God’s behalf
Light: To reveal God’s glory & truth wherever we go
The local church has two primary celebrations:
1) Baptism: a public declaration that you are a follower of Jesus Christ and belong to the family of God. It symbolizes that the old self has died, been buried with Christ, that you have been washed clean, and raised to new life in Jesus Christ – a new life with a new focus and ministry.
2) Lord’s Supper: a reflection on the fact that our forgiveness carried an extremely high cost and that Jesus paid that price with his own life on the cross. It is both a somber remembrance of the consequence of our sin yet also a joyful celebration of the gift of eternal life that is ours because of his sacrifice.
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