Photo by Priscilla Du Preez

A Culture of Discipleship

WHO IS A DISCIPLE?

A follower of Jesus.

WHAT IS DISCIPLING?

Intentionally helping others follow Jesus.

WHAT IS A CULTURE OF DISCIPLESHIP?

When the whole church discipling the whole church is normal.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Discipling is not another thing we do. It is the way we do everything. More than a program or a curriculum, discipleship is the normal way we live together as a church. This is lived out in corporate and personal ways.

CORPORATE DISCIPLESHIP

In the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), Jesus instructed His disciples to make disciples by baptizing and teaching everything that He commanded. The command to disciple through baptism and teaching means that the main context of discipleship is the local church itself. In a broad sense, discipleship happens in the life of the church as we worship and serve together. Here are a few examples of how we, as a church, disciple one another.

  1. Attend Sunday Morning Gathering – We encourage, exhort, and edify one another when we gather to hear from God. Sing whole-heartedly and loudly. Pray fervently with the church. Come ready to hear from the Word of God read and proclaimed. Stay a while and talk to others.
  2. Attend Sunday Evening Gathering – This is a great opportunity to build deeper relationships in a context of prayer, singing, and listening. When we say we devote ourselves to prayer, this is where it happens. It is deliberate and dedicated, entrusting ourselves to God alone.
  3. Pray for One Another – Using our Membership Directory, we pray for each person in the church over the course of a month. If you don’t know the person, pray the Scripture you read that day over them. You could even send them an email or invite them over to get to know them.
  4. Initiate Hospitality – Bring others into your life. Invite a visitor, new member, or member you don’t know to your home to get to know them. Hospitality could also be initiating coffee or a lunch. Additionally, this also means accepting invitations from others, so that they can love you in the same way.
  5. Evangelism – We want to help people begin to follow Jesus when they don’t know Him. Look for ways to engage your neighborhood, coworkers, and friends with the gospel. Let others in the church know how they can pray for your evangelistic efforts.
  6. Serving in Specific Ways – Serving in ministry is not driven primarily by a desire to express our gifts, but to love and edify others. Click on the link if you want information about ministries.
PERSONAL DISCIPLESHIP

While Jesus drew large crowds in His ministry, He also focused His discipleship with a few. The relationships we build in wide discipleship should move towards deeper discipleship with a few. In a focused sense, a culture of discipleship is marked by initiating intentional relationships centered around the Word, transparency, and prayer. This won’t always be easy! But this is what gospel ministry is all about. If you are not sure who to meet with, we want to connect you with others to get the ball rolling. So, if you need help, speak to one of our pastors about some potential people you could meet with regularly to help one another follow Jesus more!

We hope the above structures will encourage you in your discipling relationships, but please don’t feel limited by them. We encourage you to initiate these relationships on your own.

To learn more about the discipling ministry of our church, check out this series of talks!