Creating the Environment for Discipleship
In the Story, we watch as Jesus makes disciples, turning fishermen into fishers of men. Then before he ascends into heaven, he gives them the mission to also make disciples who obey his commands. And then over and over in Acts we see how they accomplished that mission. They did basically what Jesus did with his disciples. They proclaimed the good news about Jesus and established communities of believers to live this new life together as family.
Discipleship wasn’t merely a Sunday school class to attend or curriculum to be discussed or a smorgasbord of programs offered by a church. Those structures may teach what Jesus commanded, but alone they don’t create an environment where people learn to obey what Jesus commanded. A gospel-centered community on Jesus’ mission must be the context for discipleship.
The mission of our Missional Communities is to make disciples. But as leaders, we can no more force people to grow as disciples than a farmer can force a plant to grow. “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything,but only God, who makes things grow.” (1 Cor 3:7) Much like a farmer, we get to create an environment that supports growth.
Discipleship is the holistic care of a small group of people who are consistently experiencing Jesus’ life and teaching together in a healthy discipling environment where they are learning to submit every area of life to the Lordship of Jesus.
