Discipleship

"Come and Follow Me" - Jesus

Why Discipleship Matters
Simply put, disciple-making is about following Jesus and taking others with you. Study the Gospels and you will see that while Christ ministered for three years to masses of people, He primarily spent His time with twelve men into whom He poured His whole life. He took them everywhere with Him, taught them, trained them, and invested His life into them. They caught the life of Christ by spending time with Him. If you are a follower of Jesus, He has commanded you — no matter if you feel unqualified — to go and make disciples right where you are. As the book of James says, we want people not only to be hearers of the Word, but doers of the Word. Doing of the Word most often works itself out in the context of discipleship relationships.

Our goal isn't to see 1,000 new people at church -- we want to see repentant followers of Jesus living in surrender to our Lord's will. Discipleship is a way to stand ground on the true gospel of Christ and to fight against folding to worldly morality as a church. Discipleship in churches creates a unified movement with numerous disciples on mission and spurring each other on.

Matthew 28:19 “ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Acts 1:8 “ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
2 Timothy 2:2 “ And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”


Discipleship Characteristics
- Seeing yourselves as a minister of the gospel
- Living people-centered lives, rather than self-centered
- Understand the importance of engaging personally in the ministry of Christ
- Able to articulate the faith
- Knowledgeable of scripture
- Skilled enough to effectively teach others and do your part in the great commission
- Desire to grow in your personal faith
- Can be trusted (not only with church stuff, but in general)
- Be Shifters of culture at Grace Church for their sake and yours


Practicals of Discipleship
- Have dinner at each other's houses and read the bible together
- Share struggles and excitements together as you do life
- Explore topics through the lens of the bible once every week or biweekly
- Call to check up on each other
- Accountability
​- Bearing each other’s doubts and questions and exploring together

“Making disciples of Jesus is the overflow of the delight in being disciples of Jesus.” ― David Platt