discipleship
Making Disciples

Think About It

Is leading a person to Christ an end in itself? Will the world be reached for Christ by telling as many people about Him as we possibly can? Or is it equally important to be involved in peoples' lives to the extent that we multiply our efforts many times over?

Heart of the Matter

The early church faced the need to assimilate new converts after Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost. The essential components of spiritual nurture are found in Acts 2:42-47:

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Since the Book of Acts is historical, much of what is recorded is descriptive not prescriptive. Yet four principles in this passage are confirmed by the rest of God's Word.

Steps to Take

Be a place of:

Worship

Believers devoted themselves to prayer, the sacraments and praising God. God seeks worshipers who will worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:23,24). One way we glorify God is through the exercise of corporate and private worship.

The early church entered into worship reading psalms, and singing hymns and spiritual songs. Whether by praise music or the great hymns of the faith, we can gather with other believers and lift our hearts to God.

Fellowship

God had planned for our spiritual formation to take place in the context of the family of believers--the body of Christ. Our growth will be limited if we do not "stimulate one another to love and good deeds"(Hebrews 10:24).

Life transformation often occurs in small group fellowship where we can talk openly about our struggles and victories. True fellowship encourages us to pray, rejoice and weep with one another.

Teaching

When Jesus gave His disciples the Great Commission, He commanded them to teach people to "obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20).

Many in today's culture are biblically illiterate, and this is no less true of students. Our discipleship must include consistent teaching (and discussion) of God's Word.

Mission

The Christian community described in Acts 2:42-47 was attractive to the lost. The believers had found the bread of life and freely shared this bread with others.

Our discipleship is incomplete if we do not give Christian students a vision of how they can make an impact on their campus, their community and the world.

Application

Consider your student ministry.

• In the area of worship, do the students in your group feel welcome at your services? Do they understand and apply the principles of corporate and personal worship?
  
  


• In the area of fellowship, do students feel like they have real connections to other people in the group? How can you help them really connect with one another? (Tip: retreats and conferences build unity and fellowship.)
  
  


• In the area of teaching, are the Bible studies relevant and applicable to students? Are you teaching the Bible or just talking about a few biblical principles?
  
  


• In the area of mission, is your student ministry looking outward? How can you develop a larger vision for reaching non-Christian students on campus and in the world?