What is The Mountain?
The Mountain is a daily morning Bible Study that we do as a church Monday through Saturday @ 6 am — 7 am (PST) and Saturdays @ 8 am — 9 am(PST).
What is the purpose of The Mountain?
To set our minds on Christ for the day by devoting our first hour to prayer, fellowship, and studying and meditating God’s word with the body of Christ.
There’s actually a bit to this purpose, so let me break it down a bit.
Study and meditate on the Bible every morning
The Bible doesn’t specifically say, “You must read your Bibles every morning.” But it does charge us to meditate on it day and night. Joshua 1:8 says,
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
However, we can’t meditate on the Word of God if we don’t know what the Bible says. And we can’t know what the Bible says if we don’t study it. But do you really have to study it every day? Matthew 4:4 says,
But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’”
Do you eat every day? Most likely. If we eat food every day for our physical bodies, how much more so should we eat the Word of God on a daily basis for our spiritual health? But why in the morning? And 6 am? It’s so early!
There’s nowhere in the Bible that says that you must wake up at 6 am to read your Bible, pray, and fellowship with the church. But, my experience has been that 6 am works particularly well for two reasons:
One, this is when most people don’t have anything scheduled, other than sleep. So, just logistically for people to gather online, makes the most sense.
Two, it helps to have the minds on Christ for the entirety of the day. For those of us who wear glasses, the first thing that we do when we wake up is to put our glasses on so that we can see clearly for the rest of the day. We don’t go halfway through our day or at the end of our day and then put them on right?
Spending time with God for the first hour of your day is like putting on God-glasses the first thing in the morning, giving us the best chances to see the entirety of our day clearly from the perspective of Christ.
So, this is why we choose to study and meditate on the Bible every single day at 6 am.
Fellowship
As disciples of Jesus, we are called to fellowship with the church. And if possible, every single day. In Acts 2:46, we read,
Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
Pray
1 Thessalonians 5:17 says,
pray without ceasing
… All with the body of Christ
When we often think about “spending time with God,” we think of it as an individual experience. Yes, there is definitely a time and place for that. At the same time, much of the Bible was not written to address an individual, but rather the collective whole of a church. For example, many of the church members didn’t know how to read, therefore, the letters that Paul wrote were read out loud to a church, the collective body. So, I believe that that is what we are called to do as well. And since pretty much everyone knows how to read and we don’t need someone to read to us, we can read the Bible as a body together, the collective whole, as a church.
Furthermore, it gives us an opportunity to share what the Holy Spirit revealed to us during our time of meditation in the Bible. I believe that there is a night and day difference between just reflecting on your own versus sharing with others. When you share, it often gives clarity to and refines what the Holy Spirit is saying to you. And it’s always encouraging to hear from other believers what the Holy Spirit is showing them through the passage because they often share things that you would have missed if you read the passage on your own.
Furthermore, reading the Bible with the church helps you stay accountable. Every time you want to sleep in rather than spending time with God, you think about the commitment that you made to other people. And it really helps you to get up and stay consistent.
Make it a non-negotiable
Most plants need water and sunshine. Without them, they will die and with them, they will grow. Growing as disciples of Jesus is no different. Disciples of Jesus need prayer, the fellowship of a church, and the Word of God to grow. And they simply will not grow without them.
So, what does it mean for something to be a non-negotiable? It is to say, “no matter what happens and whatever it takes, I will not compromise this one hour with God in the morning.” So, even if I get 0 hours of sleep, or I’m in a different state or a different country, I’m swamped with work or school or I am exhausted. I will not compromise this time with God.
Yet, we understand that we are far from perfect and sometimes choose other things over spending time with God. Or, sometimes, we just have life things that happen. If that happens, that’s okay! Trust me, I have more than my fair share of not spending time with God in the morning.
Further, the thing that we value more than discipline is our love. And we believe that even if we read our Bibles and pray without fail but do not have love, then all of it is pointless. In fact, the litmus test to know that we are growing as disciples is not by how consistently we attend the Mountain, but by how much we grow in our love for God and other people.
So, who is the Mountain for?
The Mountain is for those people who have been wanting to read the Bible, pray, and fellowship with the church on a more consistent basis.
And if you’re reading this, I’m sure you’ve tried countless times to get up in the morning to try to read the Bible and pray. And have failed because it’s not easy! Or if you’ve never tried, let me tell you, it is literally one of the most difficult things to do in life.
So if you want more consistency in your spiritual disciplines, you’ve come to the right place!
So, what happens at The Mountain?
- 6–6:05 AM: As people are trickling in, prepare our hearts to read the Word in prayer.
- 6:05–6:35 AM: Read the Bible together, study, and meditate on the scripture for the day.
- 6:35–6:53 AM: Share what the Holy Spirit revealed to us through the scripture with your breakout groups.
- 6:53–7 AM: Share announcements and end with prayer.
Is The Mountain a church?
The Mountain is the name of the Bible study that we do as the church, not the name of our church. The name of the church is the Tik Tok Community Church.
What is the vision of The Mountain?
Our vision is to have 24 Mountains, one Mountain happening in every time zone at the respective country’s 6 am by 2022.
What does that mean? There is a 6 am for every country in the world in a 24-hour time span. So, there is a 6 am in California, a 6 am in Texas, in Korea, in India, in the Caribbean. And all our 6 ams are happening at different hours. So essentially, I am hoping to have 24 Mountains for every 6 am in the world in a 24-hour time span.
How will we achieve this Vision?
With you! Those who attend the Mountain will be given a 6-month time frame to be equipped and to learn, which means that we ask for a 6-month commitment. And after the 6 months, the plan is, to start your own Mountain.
What does this have to do with you?
If you want to grow as a disciple of Jesus, please come and join us because our call as Christians is to make disciples of all nations. And if you have any questions about any of the information I shared with you here, please ask the person who sent this to you.
Also, if you have been growing as a disciple of Jesus for several years, have experience leading small groups or in ministry, please let the person who sent this to you know because we need more people to lead at The Mountain. And perhaps, you might be called to lead one of the 24 Mountains for the Kingdom of God.
So, how do you connect with us?
Join our discord with this link here!
And join us through Zoom Monday through Saturday @ 6 am — 7 am (PST) and Saturdays @ 8 am — 9 am(PST). Click here for the link and here’s the info:
Meeting ID: 217 713 7642
Password: mountain
