Dear Friends<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Step by step disciple-making<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kingfisher approaches disciple-making from three different angles, interlinked through a common vision. Here is the story of one of these approaches. Let us call it Making Disciples the Jesus way<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Almost all churches have discipleship programs in some or other form and often it goes under the label of discipleship training, spiritual formation, membership orientation and even catechism. We discovered that despite all the programs, training and input, very few church members are really discipled up to the point that they are able to disciple someone else exactly in the same way they had been discipled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we look at Jesus and His disciples it is clear that when Jesus commissioned them as disciple-makers in their own context (Matthew 10, Luke 10) and reached out to the nations (Matthew 28, Luke 24) they were not spiritually mature yet and much spiritual growth was still to come. The book of Acts and the letters in the New Testament records that clear enough. If it was not for the grace of the Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit, none of the growth of the early church would have happened if it depended only on them. It seems as if the discipling that Jesus did was the first few steps in a much longer journey, but at the same time it was enough for a real start and a sure beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that is what we were looking for and two questions came up: How did Jesus disciple the twelve and others who were part of the bigger group? How did the early church follow in Jesus\u2019 footsteps in the way they discipled others?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The answer to these questions was exciting. Especially the gospel of Matthew<\/strong> has a strong focus on discipling, and we discovered that the material was arranged for progressive spiritual formation<\/strong>, beginning at the very start of the call to follow, going through a series of teaching and experiences until the disciples were ready to be sent to the nations in chapter 28, although there was still a growth period in store for them in the future. We discovered that it is possible to follow Jesus step by step through the gospel, hearing what He says, seeing what He does and actually being discipled by Jesus Himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So now we had a discipling process as done by Jesus himself, a manual that is included in every Bible and a very strong focus on getting to know Jesus in the way He taught and ministered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We knew that this was not the sum total of spiritual formation, but even so a vital part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is practical, Biblical, and possible to repeat with others by just using the gospel of Matthew as a tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, this is what we did the last ten years and with every disciple group we are getting excited all over and over again to see how disciples learn to follow Jesus day by day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were some traps that we learned to avoid: Making this just a Matthews Bible study group misses the point. Meeting just once a week for an hour or so misses life together as a group of disciples by a mile. Seeing this as primarily a teaching event misses the interactive dynamic when they begin to minister to each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The up-side is that we do not need any handbook but the Bible. We make notes about background or context in the margins of our Bibles and can disciple somebody else with just the Bible in hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Practical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Be a disciple by following Jesus and make disciples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your brother,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pieter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dear Friends Step by step disciple-making Kingfisher approaches disciple-making from three different angles, interlinked through a common vision. Here is the story of one of these approaches. Let us call it Making Disciples the Jesus way. Almost all churches have discipleship … Continue reading