Discipleship is the process of becoming more like Jesus Christ. It is the goal of every believer and producing disciples is the command Jesus gave the church. It is also the vision of Grace Community Church.
Sometimes knowing the next step to take is the hardest. At Grace we have tried to simplify the process for you. We have three-part strategy designed to encourage spiritual growth and maturity.
Gather – The goal is to become a regular attendee of the weekly Sunday gathering. It is difficult to take greater steps until a person begins a committed attendance pattern. In addition to providing a worship experience and teaching opportunity, the gathering is designed to be encouraging, engaging, and to produce interest in pursuing the next steps.
Commit – Entering the commit stage of the strategy means a person takes a next step of joining a community group and commits to weekly Bible study and fellowship with other people on the same journey of discovering more about God and faith. Individuals of all levels of spiritual maturity are welcome into group life, but it is essential if a person wants to continue to grow in their understanding and beliefs. Additionally, because of the emphasis placed on community through groups, people who attend Grace will miss out on giving and receiving ministry opportunity if they are not a part of a group.
Serve – The final stage of the strategy, and perhaps the most important, is when a person moves from soaking in grace and truth and begins to invest love into other people. This can be through volunteering at Grace or in the community, but there is something life changing about giving to others that helps a person to mature spiritually.
Ultimately the goal of the believer should be to become a disciple, a follower of Christ. When one truly sets his or her focus on being like Christ he or she will become a “self-feeder” and seek after the deeper truths of the faith, more intimacy with Christ, greater fellowship with other believers and a more intense love for others. This really occurs when a person’s heart’s desire is to follow Christ completely and that is when the best spiritual growth can occur. We believe following this strategy of Gather/Commit/Serve is the best we can offer to help a person become a disciple.
What next step do you need to take?
Twitter: joe_sewell
says:
Awesome post, especially about the "self-feeder." I now wonder if that's where I've fallen off the turnip truck (or whatever metaphor you wish to use here).
The three points are tremendously valid for an individual (I've always been partial to "Win, Disciple, Send," but that's more of a church-wide thing), as long as you keep those as a set of guidelines, not as laws to set down. There will be people who cannot gather at times. There will be people who are called to step down from serving in any traditional or visible sense from time to time. That's OK, as long as that's what God has told them to do or refrain from doing. When someone starts to "feel the heat" because they're not serving, it isn't always from God. This is true especially for those with a "sensitive conscience," or those for whom serving has been such a big thing that it has outpaced their relationship with God. (I refer you to Anne Johnson's Mad Church Disease for details.) It's also true when there is a service need and not enough people are coming out to fill it. Children's ministry seems to suffer regularly from this, but that doesn't mean just anybody has the ability to dive in there & help out. (My wife is blessed with that. I, on the other hand, tell people I help out by staying as far away as I can from it. Trust me, it's better for everybody that way.)
I have given Anne's Mad Church Disease away before. Thanks for your good comments today!