I’m ready to be a disciple of Jesus…how do I do that?
Mount St. Helens, WA
There was a young man that approached me after church and asked me that very question…how do I become a disciple? My mind flooded with 1000 things and so many different Scripture verses. I wasn’t prepared. I couldn’t define it broadly in 30 seconds. For our church, I knew we had to have a very succinct answer…a plan…a personalized plan that people could follow…a discipleship pathway.
Does your church have discipleship pathway?
When Jesus said, “Go Make Disciples,” He didn’t give specific guidance on how to do that exactly. It’s up to us to “Equip the Saints to do the work of Ministry.” We must dive into Scripture, follow his 3 1/2-year example, and figure out what methods would fit best in our specific context. Today, I find people are asking, “What is a disciple of Jesus?” “What are the components of discipleship?” And “How do I do it?”
Step 1: Defining Five Key Foundations of Discipleship
Scripture tells us there are many ways of being a disciple…9 or 10 very key areas. However, I believe if you ask a new Christian to really work hard at being a disciple you have a much greater chance at success to have them focus on five key components rather than 10. You’ll find that all 9-10 are part of these Five Key Areas:
(1) The Word
Here we’re talking about frequency in the Word, understanding what Scripture says, interpretation, how to evaluate Scripture, and of course application…how does this work in my life.
(2) Serving Others
Serving is an important part of being a disciple of Jesus. It’s serving others, serving the church, having a personal ministry, stewardship, and understanding your spiritual gifts.
(3) Sharing Christ
In the command by Jesus to Go Make Disciples, an important word is “GO!” We are commanded to go out into the world and share the gospel. This means living unashamed as a Christian, talking openly about your faith, being an effective witness, and understanding the Word well enough to defend your faith.
(4) Seeking God
In Colossians 3:1-2 we are taught to seek the things that are above, where Christ is. We do this through worship, obeying God and denying self, prayer, and building our faith as we believe, trust, act, and rely on God.
(5) Building Relationships
To effectively do the first four things, we must be in relationship with others…we can’t live in a bubble. We need to know how to listen and ask good questions, do life with others through small groups, understanding how society thinks and understanding the non-Christian, and living in community and making a difference where we live.
Step 2: Providing a Pathway
Embarking on a journey to become a disciple of Jesus can be intimidating and very complex. People don’t do it because they don’t know how. It is the responsibility of the church to equip the saints for doing the work of ministry…and of being a disciple.
What’s on this discipleship pathway?
· Identification of the 4 key stages of discipleship maturity
· Description of the typical person at each stage
· Definition of the discipleship goal for each stage
· What the church does (programming/equipping) at each stage
· Provide landmarks along the way
· Provide help/accountability/guidance and encouragement
Step 3: Developing a personalized plan
A generalized pathway is good, but a personalized plan is better. Having a personalized discipleship plan equips each person to answer several key questions:
What does it mean to be a disciple?
Why do we seek spiritual maturity?
What is a disciple?
How do I grow?
What does Jesus call us to do?
How do I become a disciple maker?
Everyone wins!
Think of the benefits of your entire church being engaged with a discipleship plan:
- Able to measure if your entire church is maturing
- Able to determine weak spots in your church’s spiritual maturity
- Equipping the saints to be disciples
- Each person growing in their faith
There’s a lot that goes into launching a churchwide discipleship pan. To learn more go to DueNorthConsulting.net. Ask about our innovative pricing plan…you’ll be surprised!