September 2018 Branches

Staying on Mission
Discipleship and Connect Communities
by Ron Clegg
Part
3 of 3
The process of making disciples is multi-faceted. There
is not just one form of ministry that will accomplish the
whole task. Making disciples starts long before one even
comes to faith. It begins with Contact, a first introduction
that an individual makes with a believer. That moves into
Connecting, when a relationship is established where
the Gospel can be demonstrated. Hopefully, that will
eventually move to the stage of Confronting this person
with the claims of Jesus and a call to repentance and
faith. This is all before actual conversion takes place.
Once this person becomes a believer, she then needs to
be Included within the church community, knowing that
it is vital for her faith to be with other believers. Within
this community, the Building of her faith takes place that
she might grow in the knowledge of her Savior. She
then is to be Equipped to be the Ambassador for the
Kingdom that she is called to be. Once equipped, she is
then Sent out to start the process all over again. So, you
can see that disciple making is not a simplistic process.
Churches often make the mistake of focusing their efforts
and resources on only one or two facets of the disciplemaking
process, such as Including and Building. Every
gathering is basically a teaching session. Those might
be effective for certain things, but not for everything.
You need different approaches to equip folks properly
for the work of ministry or for building community. If we
hope to be a healthy church, we must engage in every
aspect of disciple making. We are called to engage the
world outside the church in relationship. We are also
commissioned to equip our people to be effective in
that engagement. If we miss any of these vital aspects
of making disciples, we will not achieve vital health as a
church, nor will our people become strong and healthy
ambassadors. All aspects of discipleship are critical.
So where do our new Connect Communities fit in?
Connect Communities are specifically designed to
address the needs of Including and Building. Primarily
they are geared to allow people, those who are new as
well as those who have been around Southwood a long
time, the opportunity to make and build relationships
around the Gospel. Everything we do in these
communities is designed to “Connect,” as the name says.
From introductions at the door to social engagements
to Gospel-centered teaching, everything is designed to
engage members of the church family with one another.
Because Connect Communities are particularly targeting
Including and Building in the disciple-making process,
they will not offer in-depth studies. They will not be
our most intensive training grounds for evangelism or
theological education. Although we certainly welcome
them here, these communities are not specifically
targeting non-believers. We need other ministry options
to address those areas, and we have them, including
men’s and women’s discipleship groups, community
outreach efforts, Leadership Training classes, and various
seminars throughout the year. Connect Communities are
not the end all of discipleship. They play one particularly
critical role in the much broader process.
We long for every member of the Southwood church
family to be a part of one of these Connect Communities
(for many, that means beyond Sundays). It is not
because we want big numbers. It is because we are
so committed to effective discipleship. We know from
Scripture that our great joy is totally rooted in finding
Jesus all-satisfying and beautiful, and we know from
Scripture that health and growth in Jesus cannot be
found outside of relationships. Therefore, we want to
be relentless in working with and for you in that pursuit.
This is why we designed these communities. This is
even why we changed the Sunday morning schedule.
We want to remove all of the barriers we can that might
inhibit your participation, because we are committed to
working for your growth, your health, and your joy.
So, come and join us beginning September 9 in our
Connect Communities. Come and connect with others
like you and different from you. Come and find support
and encouragement in your pursuit of faith. Come and
find greater joy in Jesus in the midst of His people.