Leadership Connexion Summer 2022 Q2
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Elly on<br />
Discipleship<br />
Discipleship is not a program; it is<br />
the core of the church – it is our<br />
mission! it’s not a multi-week series<br />
on following Jesus. Rather, it’s a<br />
journey that starts when you begin<br />
opening up your heart and mind to<br />
Jesus, and it’s a journey that lasts<br />
a lifetime.<br />
#5<br />
Embody the Word by walking with people through<br />
their messiness.<br />
People come from all sorts of backgrounds. The church needs to be a place where<br />
people from any background can come and have others surround them and introduce<br />
them to Jesus so they can be restored. This is not a program; this is a nurturing<br />
environment. We do not see any examples in the Word where Jesus rejected people<br />
because of their messiness; neither should we.<br />
#6<br />
Evaluate whether your church is growing or stagnating<br />
in discipleship.<br />
What measurements do you have in place? If people are only attending on Sunday<br />
but not investing in small groups or midweek service, there’s a high chance they’re<br />
not engaged in everyday growth. Discipleship requires growth. Be patient. Remember<br />
discipleship is a process. Not everyone grows at the same rate, but must be growing<br />
nonetheless. Is your church facilitating and measuring growth? This is why Disciple<br />
Well, a resource of the Christian Education and Discipleship ministry office, exists: your<br />
church may be discipling, but is it discipling well? Learn more at discipleship.ag.org.<br />
#7 Never stop growing.<br />
You can’t take your congregation where you’ve never been. You can’t teach the book<br />
of Daniel unless you’ve studied it for yourself. If you’re not growing, you can’t bring<br />
people alongside you and be pouring into them: what would you be pouring?<br />
The mandate for discipleship<br />
(Matthew 28:18-20) is ultimately<br />
about making disciples. It is twofold<br />
encompassing transformation<br />
and multiplication. Transformation<br />
is the work of the Holy Spirit. We<br />
are incapable of achieving true<br />
lasting transformation without Him.<br />
As we engage God’s Word, our<br />
relationship with Jesus deepens.<br />
Moreover, genuine, meaningful<br />
relationships with committed<br />
believers helps us grow. The<br />
other component, multiplication<br />
is essential in a disciple making<br />
culture. Sheep multiply! Thus,<br />
disciples are called to teach others<br />
and make other disciples.<br />
A disciple, by definition, is a learner.<br />
In our context, this is someone<br />
who learns to discern God’s voice<br />
and distinguish truth from lies.<br />
This is critical among a culture that<br />
doesn’t believe that truth is found<br />
in God’s Word. A disciple yearns<br />
for Christlikeness and manifests<br />
the Fruit of the Spirit. A disciple is<br />
committed to learning God’s will<br />
and living it out regardless of the<br />
cost. We all have different callings,<br />
and there are so many giftings<br />
among the body of Christ: we have<br />
to be okay with following as part of<br />
discipleship, with being the pinkie<br />
finger, so to speak, rather than the<br />
whole hand or foot. A disciple is<br />
the best at what he or she is called<br />
to be, whatever that is. However,<br />
in whatever we do, our primary<br />
assignment is to make disciples of<br />
others for Jesus.<br />
LEADERSHIPconnexion | <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 9
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