Archive for Ministry – Page 2
The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19 was the final request by Jesus to His disciples. It indicated the completion of everything that Jesus had taught them and trained them to do. Now it was their turn to make disciples in the same fashion that Jesus did.
So as a disciple or follower of Christ, why should we make disciples? These three passages from the New Testament best describe why I should take the time to pour into other people’s lives the way that God has used others to pour into my life.
The first reason we should make disciples is because that is what Jesus did. In Matthew 4:19 – Jesus called the disciples to come and follow Him and He would make them into fishers of men. There is a long tradition in the Jewish faith of the Rabbi and his followers. The Rabbi would only select those who showed the greatest potential for being a Rabbi themselves one day. Jesus chose fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot and others. These were average, everyday people. These were people like me. Jesus didn’t choose me because of what I had to offer Him. He chose me because of what He had to offer me.
We need to make disciples because that’s what Jesus did. Someone saw the potential in me and discipled me. Therefore, I should allow God to use me to disciple others too. That goes for you to.
Secondly, we should make disciples because that is what Jesus has “commanded” us to do. In Matthew 28:19 – Jesus called His disciples to make disciples of all the nations. And they did. The call to make disciples is every believer’s responsibility. That is the only way to “make disciples of all the nations”. In every tribe, every people group, every country, every ethnicity, every Language; we are to make disciples. This is God’s plan. You are part of God’s plan—so make disciples
Lastly, we are to make disciples because that was the pattern of every disciple before us. 2 Timothy 2:2 – Paul wrote to Timothy to teach others the things that Paul had taught him, but to do so in a way that those you teach will teach others also. We are to make disciples who will make disciples, and so forth and so forth. Multiplication of the gospel into every heart and in every land.
These three verses illustrate not only the responsibility of the believer to make disciples but also the urgency of making disciples. If not me and you; then who. If not now; then when.
Making disciples is more than a responsibility of the believer—it is a privilege.
Sean Keith is the Sunday School/Discipleship Strategist for the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Sean has free resources available at www.louisianabaptists.org/churchgrowth and www.revseankeith.com. Follow me on twitter @revseankeith.
As there is a lot of discussion about disciplemaking in today’s church culture, there is probably no bigger discussion that happens than “Who is a Disciple?”. In simple terms, it is someone who is like Jesus. He walks with God, talks to God and has God’s purpose in his heart and mind. Many discipleship programs start with the fact that a person must first accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. The focus then is on baptism and the basic Christian disciplines: reading the Bible, prayer, personal worship, corporate worship, scripture memory and meditating on the Word of God. Few of them focus on finding the person’s spiritual giftedness or finding a place of ministry that correlates to that giftedness.
There was a consensus for many that if someone was a baptized Christian, walked with God in the basic spiritual disciplines and found a spiritual ministry that the person was a full disciple. I contend that many discipleship programs have been short sighted in not going back to the simple terms we discussed earlier, “Be like Jesus”. Jesus did one more thing, He shared the gospel with non-believers and He made disciples. I think that Jesus wants a disciple of His to be like Him. In fact, in one of His last instructions about making disciples, He stated, “Teaching them to observe” found in:
Matthew 28:18-20 (NASB)
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
So a “Disciple of Jesus” is someone who observes all the teachings of Jesus including the instruction in Matthew 28. A true disciple makes disciples.
The ultimate goal of a peach tree is not to just produce peaches. It is to produce peaches that fall and begin other peach trees that produce peaches that produce other peach trees. The same is true for disciples. A true disciple produces disciples that produce disciples that produce disciples.
“Who is a Disciple?” Look to see the disciples you have produced. If you have not produced any then you are not a disciple.
Dr. Mark Yoakum is the Director of Church Ministries for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and believes the Great Commission is serious about going and making disciples.
At the beginning of this series, David Francis introduced our blog to what would be 100 daily posts that provoke conversations about little things all of us can do to make our groups better. These were not game changers or radical transformations of teaching methods. These were small changes that could lead to minor course corrections in the direction of your group. Most of them were not new ideas but simply reminders of things that need to be done.
We want to reflect back to the first post in this series, David Francis’ introductory article on August 1 of this year.
Sunday School is a system. It’s a bunch of things—big and small—that make a Sunday School excellent instead of mediocre. Each relates to another and that to another and so on and so on. So what if every little thing you improved resulted in just one more person coming to Sunday School, coming back to Sunday School, enrolling in Sunday School, attending regularly in Sunday School, serving in Sunday School, and inviting another to Sunday School? Each of the 100 ideas you’ll read about in the next several weeks may seem inconsequential taken alone. But put 50 or 60 or 70 or 80 into practice and see what happens!
So, here we are. 100 articles later. You now have 100 ideas from which you can draw for solutions to little roadblocks you may face while leading your group. Come back to this site often and refer back to these posts when you seeking answers. We are here for you and will continue to be here with fresh insight and ideas to strengthen your group ministry.
The contributors of this blog will continue to add posts–only not as frequently as every day. When a good idea comes to mind, we will share it here with you, the leaders of the movement. Stay connected with us on Twitter and Facebook. Thank you for joining us on this journey of discovery. Keep making #SmallChanges that will grow your groups and help make disciples.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? The writer of Hebrews (10:24-25) reminds us that we gather to “spur one another on towards love” and to “encourage one another.” Jesus says that His disciples are recognized by their love of one another (John 13:35). If your group does not minister effectively to one another and show love one to another, then it will quickly fall apart.
WHAT DO I DO?
- Inside the Group. Each group should set up smaller groups within the group for prayer and ministry. The smaller the sub group (3-5) the better. These groups can be informal, put together on the spot, or formal, an ongoing group. They should meet for approximately 10 minutes to share prayer needs and pray. The smaller group will make this a more intimate time and curtail needless travelogue in prayer requests. If you form groups on the spot, you will be able to better include and get to know guests. As the teacher/leader you may want the guests in your group.
- Through the Group. Each Group should have a Care or Ministry Leader(s) who presents the ministry opportunities discovered through prayer groups and contacts. This should not be a lengthy recital of prayer needs, but a presentation of ministry opportunities and making assignments. It should include assigning individuals to contact a group member who is absent and organizing the group to take appropriate ministry actions for group members who are hurting (sick, unemployed, hospitalized, etc.).
- Beyond the Group. Encourage group members to become aware of ministry opportunities to unreached people in their relational networks. Organize members, as appropriate, to perform acts of kindness to spread Christ’s love beyond the group. Share stories of ministry that takes place and makes positive impact.
Many groups already have a system of Care Ministry and Prayer Ministry. This is commendable! However, many groups spend more time in prayer requests rather than in prayer and in discussing ministry needs rather than assigning ministry action. If this is the case for you, it may be time to recalibrate your groups and refocus them on ‘why’ they should minister to the group.