DISCIPLESHIP IN DISCIPLESHIP GROUPS
Have you ever noticed that whenever the Bible talks about believers, it uses metaphors that talk about Christians as a whole community, rather than as individuals?
- We need to be connected to the true Vine (John 15:1-8)
- We are one Body (Rom 12:4-5, 1 Cor 1:12-27, Eph 5:23)
- We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession (1 Pet 2:9-10)
- We are a family, a household (1 Tim 3:5, 15)
This tells us something very important – Christians are not meant to be individuals alone, but part of a community of believers. What does it mean to be part of a community of believers, and why is it important?
We gather to remind ourselves of our common identity. When we gather, we remind each other through our presence and words that Jesus is Lord, yesterday, today, and forevermore. It reminds us Who we are living for, and why we are living this way.
We gather to encourage each other in our daily discipleship. When we meet, share our struggles, encourage each other, pray for each other and keep each other accountable, it is easier for us to continue living out our discipleship and to persevere on our journey towards Christ-likeness. We celebrate each other’s wins, and help to carry each other’s burdens (both spiritually and materially), but also rebuke each other when our lives show signs of turning away from God.
Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Gal 6:1-3
In community, we are discipled and we disciple others. We move each other further along towards the right, towards Christ-likeness, keeping Jesus’ Second Coming in mind.
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Heb 10:23-25
We gather to serve one another, and to serve together. When we are in community, we have the chance to serve each other – whether through hospitality, encouragement, affirmation, rebuke, teaching, worship, prayer, or other means. As we get to know each other deeply and gain an understanding of how we each struggle and what needs we each have, we are given opportunities to serve each other with every struggle and need.
We gather to know God and to make Him known. The Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) tells us to go and make disciples of all nations. This means proclaiming Christ and making disciples of Christ, even while we follow Christ – and this needs us to know Christ deeply, and from this basis to live out our knowledge of Christ. That’s where our Christian community is important once again. We need each other to help us live lives that reflect Christ so that our lives will witness to Christ before we even see a word. And Christian community is the canvas that displays the love for each other that Christ has commanded (John 13:34-35, 15:12). As theologian Francis Schaeffer says, “Our relationship with each other is the criterion the world uses to judge whether our message is truthful—Christian community is the final apologetic.”
We gather intentionally in discipleship groups. What do we mean by “gathering”? This could be anything from two Christians meeting for spiritual conversation, to a discipleship group meeting for the purposes of Bible study, prayer, accountability, and fellowship, and even to the weekly Sunday worship service. Each of these has its place. But discipleship groups are particularly important because it is in a discipleship group context that each Christian is known deeply by not just one other person, providing a network of support for growth. We cannot grow when we are isolated – a Christian community where we are deeply known provides both the context and the stimulus for growth. Our discipleship groups are where we prepare for the week’s worship, and where we live out the implications of worship. Discipleship groups are not a “nice to have,” and not simply one more option in a myriad of church activities. Discipleship groups are integral for Christian discipleship in community and are the foundation of all our ministry.
DISCIPLES MAKE DISCIPLES
Jesus says, “if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up the cross and follow me” Matt 16:24
At ORPC, we understand Christian discipleship as learning to follow Jesus Christ. And following Jesus Christ is not easy – disciples renounce all and make Jesus Lord of their lives.
Disciple-making is important to equip and strengthen disciples as they follow Christ, so that they too can equip and strengthen others to follow Christ.
Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matt 28:18-20
Disciple-making is a process of bringing people into a right relationship with God and developing them to full maturity in Christ through intentional growth pathways, such that they might be able to reproduce the entire process in others
It involves evangelism, establishing believers in the faith, helping others to grow, and equipping leaders
A DISCIPLE-MAKING CHURCH
Jesus says, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matt 16:18-19
Jesus has promised to build his church while advancing his kingdom through the church, and the church is going to advance into the world doing Christ’s kingdom work.
Intentional
All church ministries revolve around disciple-making and are driven by it
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the main storyline of the biblical narrative and the good news to be proclaimed and shared with non-believers. Therefore, evangelism is the crucial starting point of disciple-making.
Gospel-Centred
Growth
Platforms & Pathways
Growth does not come by chance. Rather, believers need to be effectively and intentionally equipped for ministry. Focus must be placed on mobilising all believers at various levels for ministry according to his or her spiritual gifts. The church must have in place platforms or ministries for developing the entire church in authentic discipleship. All these platforms have to be well aligned, coordinated, and monitored.
In a disciple-making church, the leaders are not just talking about disciple-making. They are actually doing it and modelling it for the congregation.
Leadership Commitment
Discipleship
Groups
Discipleship Groups are simultaneously the infrastructure and the strategy for mobilising and making disciples of Jesus Christ. They exist to facilitate the core mission of disciple-making, which includes growth in God’s Word (Bible study) and care of God’s people.
Spiritual multiplication is a result of spiritual maturity. In a disciple-making church, people are investing their lives in others and seeing them grow to maturity in Christ so that they too can pass the gospel on to others.
Reproducing Disciples
A Shared Vision of Disciple-making
The vision of disciple-making must be the rallying point of the church, modelled by the leadership, carried out by the church.
Count Me in!
Here at ORPC, Discipleship Groups (DGs) are the core to disciple-making. In our DGs, we anchor each other in the Word, help each other to live out the gospel, and to mature in our faith.
Not ready to join a DG?
Go deeper into God’s Word with a brother or sister in Christ. As followers of Jesus, we are called to “speak the truth in love” to one another. One of the ways in which this happens is when two Christians read the Bible with each other. One-to-one Bible reading is an excellent way of encouraging one another to grow in Christ, as we help one another to understand and apply God’s Word.