Discipleship
Making Jesus' invisible Kingdom visible .... through intentional, life-on-life, discipleship relationships.
The word “Christian” is used only 2 times in the New Testament to describe the followers of Jesus. However, the word “disciple” is used 269 times. Dallas Willard has written, “The disciple of Jesus is not the deluxe or heavy-duty model of the Christian- especially padded, textured, streamlined, and empowered for the fast lane on the straight and narrow way. He stands on the pages of the N.T. as the first level of basic transportation in the Kingdom of God.”
Jesus turned to the crowd that followed him during his ministry and said, “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). Jesus makes claim on every aspect of our lives. Therefore, we believe it is the church’s responsibility to purposefully disciple people to live in the kingdom of God and to put into practice all the teachings of Jesus in the unique circumstances of their lives.
The Gospel of Mark tells us that Jesus chose his 12 disciples so that they might be with him and he might send them out (Mark 3:14). Following Jesus’ example, we are convinced that discipleship occurs best in the context of discipleship groups (not Bible study groups)- older men teaching younger men, older women teaching younger women- that are purposefully:
#1- relational (life-on-life)
#2- intentional (curriculum based)
#3- missional (committed to multiplication)
To learn more about our vision for discipleship click here:
