Disciple Making 201 – How we make disciples at Grace Church?
So over the past couple of blog articles, I have been unpacking 2 definitions:
- What is a disciple?
- What is discipleship?
Now I want to take some time to unpack how we will make disciples at Grace Church. Before I do, I want to make sure I am clear that all programs, systems & processes are merely manmade. There are virtually unlimited programs and processes we can employ so we hold this with an open hand. As we grow, this will likely change and shift.
The following graphic is an updated version of a graphic we use in our Foundations’ Seminar Booklet. It is helpful is seeing how we making disciples at Grace Church.
First, you need to notice the VERTICAL AXIS. On this axis is the varying “Word” based ministries of our church. The top of the vertical axis is our weekly congregational worship time. The centerpiece of that gathering is Word and Sacrament. We believe the best discipleship tool we have is the steady diet of expositional preaching and observance of the Lord’s Supper and Baptism. The bottom of that axis is balanced by the other “Word” ministries that are training based. These ministries are anything from our Sunday Morning Bible Studies for all ages to leadership development as well as pastoral care and counseling as needed.
If the Vertical Axis is Gospel-centered and Doctrinally sound, then it will give birth to the HORIZONTAL AXIS. You might say that this is the fruit of the Word & Sacrament Ministry of the church. If we are preaching and teaching the Gospel faithfully, compellingly and powerfully then it will FORM community within the church and FUEL mission beyond the church.
Where many churches get turned upside down (ours included) is we often think that the pastors are to attend to both axis’. This is not what the Bible teaches us. In Acts 6, the Apostles set a model for elders and pastors to attend to preaching & teaching and prayer. Deacons were deployed to attend to the everyday Gospel needs of the church so they could fulfill their part of the work of ministry. If members were suffering from a tangible need, they came alongside and met that need. Every member in some way is a little “d” deacon. The call to love and care for the flock is their God-given responsibility as they respond to God’s Word. Additionally, Ephesians 4 tells that he gave the church “apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers & shepherds to EQUIP the saints for the work of ministry. This means that we preach & teach, the church is called to reach out to each other and our neighbors as gospel witnesses. We are to, by faith, do the work of ministry within and outside the church. That is the call of every believer.
As we now see more clearly what the Bible teaches on how to make disciples and how we desire to deploy our disciple-making paradigm, it is our hope that everyone who calls Grace Church will take up their call and play their part in helping Grace become all that wants His church to be!
