Discipleship
One of our in-house buzz words is the word “deliberate”. Whatever we do, whatever we call something, whatever we put our minds to, we want to be deliberate. Almost nothing is a given. This is why we have decided to use the term “discipleship” when talking about what most other churches call “ministries”. Not because we think we are better than them or anything like that, but because we think it is important for us to be deliberate.
The word “ministry” means “service”. Indeed, most men’s ministries, women’s ministries, youth ministries, etc., do provide a service for these groups. The service they should provide should be building up and equipping Christians to go into the world and make disciples. Unfortunately, many “ministries” also function like a fast food restaurant or a video store. The emphasis becomes one geared towards the consumer and getting as many consumers as possible. That isn’t discipleship. What is a disciple? What is discipleship? For more in-depth answers to those questions, head over to our Re-Think Tank where we have some PDFs on those very questions.
Many ministries function in such a way where the large-group meeting is the main event. The result is that these groups become mini-churches unto themselves. The unintended side effect is a schism in the church and discipleship doesn’t take place. Hopefully these larger ministries will have the means to put people into groups where personal discipleship and accountability can take place. Another layer would be one-on-one discipleship. However, instead of being the main goal of the ministry, discipleship is a kind of extra. We would like to reverse that trend.
How we do discipleship
As of this writing, we are still a relatively small church (under 100). But you have to start somewhere, right? So here are our goals for how we’d like to see discipleship happen.
Discipleship isn’t an option for the believer. Jesus said to His disciples to go and make more disciples (Matthew 28:19+). Sadly, what has happened is the church has been making converts, but not disciples. Converts may have changed their minds and made a mental decision to believe in God, but it isn’t always encouraged beyond that. A disciple is one who has surrendered their life completely for the purpose of becoming like Jesus. This is what every Christian is supposed to do.
To be a disciple means to be a student to the point of being a “copy” of the One we follow; Jesus. As a result, people who are more like Jesus will be better husbands, wives, parents, students, employers, employees, artists, whatever. Families will be stronger. Lives will have more integrity. We will have “life abundant” as Jesus put it (John 10:10). That’s what we want to be about. How about you?
Stay tuned for more pages on specific discipleship groups.
One of our in-house buzz words is the word “deliberate”. Whatever we do, whatever we call something, whatever we put our minds to, we want to be deliberate. Almost nothing is a given. This is why we have decided to use the term “discipleship” when talking about what most other churches call “ministries”. Not because we think we are better than them or anything like that, but because we think it is important for us to be deliberate.
The word “ministry” means “service”. Indeed, most men’s ministries, women’s ministries, youth ministries, etc., do provide a service for these groups. The service they should provide should be building up and equipping Christians to go into the world and make disciples. Unfortunately, many “ministries” also function like a fast food restaurant or a video store. The emphasis becomes one geared towards the consumer and getting as many consumers as possible. That isn’t discipleship. What is a disciple? What is discipleship? For more in-depth answers to those questions, head over to our Re-Think Tank where we have some PDFs on those very questions.
Many ministries function in such a way where the large-group meeting is the main event. The result is that these groups become mini-churches unto themselves. The unintended side effect is a schism in the church and discipleship doesn’t take place. Hopefully these larger ministries will have the means to put people into groups where personal discipleship and accountability can take place. Another layer would be one-on-one discipleship. However, instead of being the main goal of the ministry, discipleship is a kind of extra. We would like to reverse that trend.
How we do discipleship
As of this writing, we are still a relatively small church (under 100). But you have to start somewhere, right? So here are our goals for how we’d like to see discipleship happen.
- The large group - from middle school and up, the whole group will meet semi-regularly (once a month at most) for the purpose of a large group activity. That may be an outing, it may be to watch a movie, it may be to hear a speaker, but it won’t be the main event, the “draw” if you will.
- The small group - we believe this is where the process of discipleship actually happens. This is the way Jesus did it. This is the way Paul did it. Men, women, getting together, going through the word, learning how to apply it to their lives, sharing experiences, loving, correcting, encouraging, and investing in one another with the ultimate goal of becoming like Jesus. Jesus-like lives should be the draw.
- One-on-one - for that extra special TLC, this kind of relationship (in addition to the above) can be very beneficial. Sometimes people want to be able to work on a particular issue or learn from a particular person who has “been there”.
Discipleship isn’t an option for the believer. Jesus said to His disciples to go and make more disciples (Matthew 28:19+). Sadly, what has happened is the church has been making converts, but not disciples. Converts may have changed their minds and made a mental decision to believe in God, but it isn’t always encouraged beyond that. A disciple is one who has surrendered their life completely for the purpose of becoming like Jesus. This is what every Christian is supposed to do.
To be a disciple means to be a student to the point of being a “copy” of the One we follow; Jesus. As a result, people who are more like Jesus will be better husbands, wives, parents, students, employers, employees, artists, whatever. Families will be stronger. Lives will have more integrity. We will have “life abundant” as Jesus put it (John 10:10). That’s what we want to be about. How about you?
Stay tuned for more pages on specific discipleship groups.