Discipleship VS Evangelism

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to minimize the importance of every area of ministry and service in building God's Kingdom.  However, I came across this very interesting illustration a couple of years ago, and it seems appropriate to share in light of the vision for Disciple Us.

Adapted from the figure of Keith Phillips', Making of a Disciple, this graph gives a profound picture of the impact of discipleship!

A discipler is able to gain a depth of relationship with those they are reaching, making the impact lasting and more effective.  Once that person gains the growth and maturity in Christ through the discpler's guidance and example, they can be a discipler as well.  Over time, more people will have been reached through one-on-one discipleship relationship!

As a discipleship text submits: "Not only does the number of converts multiply, through discipleship the new believers become mature, responsible members of their churches.  Instead of a nursery full of 'babies,' the church becomes the Body of Christ where mutual ministry of all the members fosters the numerical and spiritual growth of the entire church" (Venditti, INSTE Bible College Ministry Training, Discipleship One, page 40).  They refer to this concept as Divine Mathematics.

I can attest to the growth in my spiritual walk through the love and encouragement of someone who taught and prodded me gently along.  I wouldn't be where I am today otherwise!

Go and Make Disciples...

Matthew 28 speaks of what has been modernly coined "The Great Commission" - go and make disciples of all nations... not a request, a command.  Surely, we can't all travel to far off places to fulfill this call.  And we don't have to.  It can happen right where we are.

In November of 2009, I happened upon a woman named Alice.  In my spiritual walk, I had been floundering.  I was always a deeply spiritual person, but had been raised with confusing, legalistic religion.  Having walked away from it after 25 years, the following few were exploratory of all belief systems. Until Alice.  She invited me to her home and once a week for many months, she fed me, physically and spiritually. Our time together was profound in my formation of what it meant to be a follower of Christ.  I made the leap from seeker, to believer.  (You can read more about my time with Alice here.)

I knew that belief needed depth, and so I continued on in my studies.  After a two year course of theology through an extension bible college, under the facilitation of another great influence, I learned about what it meant to be a disciple. I knew that there needed to be more than just a belief and going through the motions - that I needed to help feed the sheep through the gifts that I had been given.

I wasn't sure what that would look like, and as I tend to do, I tried to figure it out for myself.  As God would have it, the picture wasn't made clear to me until I was ready and the timing was right.  Never would I have guessed that creating a resource and ministry to connect those willing to disciple with those in need of it was part of my plan.  But I'm grateful that the events in my life and the lives of those around me led naturally to this path.

I know first hand how transformational one-on-one discipleship is.  It is my hope that I can encourage and foster this kind of discipleship within the Body of Christ today.  Just as Paul nurtured Timothy, helping him grow into a great disciple for the cause of the Gospel, it is my prayer that all who need and want to can have such a Paul in their lives.