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Discipleship
Who is a disciple of our Lord? Anyone who is deeply and personally committed to Jesus
Christ by faith, whose life displays the power and authority of our Lord, and who
continues and extends His work. The purpose of the Discipleship ministry is to
foster discipleship as a way of life; it is how we view our time, money, talents,
the environment, and our relationships. It is putting our convictions into practice.
It is truly putting God in first place in our lives.
The goals of the Discipleship ministry are to encourage the congregation to:
1 - Increase giving gradually with a goal of reaching a tithe of 10%
2 - Live life intentionally
3 - Discover God's call for your life
Jesus called His disciples into a personal relationship with Him. The concept of
discipleship requires us to submit to the authority of Jesus as our teacher, guide
and leader. To be a disciple of Jesus is a blessing, not a burden. These three goals
reflect our commitment to be disciples of Jesus.
Goal 1 - increase giving with a goal of reaching a tithe (10% of income)
Tithing is one of the best ways we can grow closer to God. Recognizing that God
is the owner of all and that we are merely stewards of His blessings puts our relationship
with Him and with "goods" into perspective. God asks for a tithe from
His faithful followers. It is hard to understand the importance this has to God.
Money is as important to God as it is to us and is mentioned continually in the
Bible. It is the way we measure value. If God has value to us, we will bring Him
our tithes gratefully. "Will a man rob God?" Yet you rob Me. "But
you ask, "How do we rob You?" In tithes and offerings." Bring the
whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. Test Me in
this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates
of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."
Malachi 3:8-10.
Goal 2 - Live life intentionally
We have been given life so that we may "worship God and enjoy Him forever".
That's it. That's the purpose of our lives. To worship God is to submit to His authority
in all things in our lives. Instead of losing the precious gift of life by letting
life happen to us or by ignoring our purpose, we want to live intentionally so that
we fulfill our purpose. By following God's advice to us, we will live in such a
way as to be able to say of our lives, "I have fought the good fight, I have
finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7.
Goal 3 - Discover God's call for your life
Just as Jesus called His disciples, God calls us to join Him in a relationship that
is based on His incredible love. This involves discovering the ministry God has
equipped us to do in the church and in the community. Our spiritual gifts give us
energy and enthusiasm and we love to do the things that we are gifted to do. Exercising
our spiritual gifts is a true blessing and we embrace the "work" with
excitement and joy. Too many times we take on ministry in the church based on our
skills and abilities and find that we become tired, frustrated, burned out. We have
confused our spiritual gifts with our abilities. We think we are doing God's work
but, in fact, work that God has not asked us to do, no matter how necessary and
valuable, is not God's work. We need to know how God has gifted us in order to deepen
our relationship with Him. A spiritual gifts survey is available to the entire congregation
so that we may all discover our true gifts. "We have different gifts, according
to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion
to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;
if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others,
let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is
showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." Romans 12:6-8