Introduction
Discipleship is largely about relationships between people who believe in God. My plan is creating a Christian ministry whereby we, the leaders begin our strategy to make disciples for Jesus by meeting and getting to know those who are seeking discipleship. After that, we ask them to join a small but collaborative community of disciples who spend a lot of time growing together. We do everything we can to help members of these groups love and know one other as soon as these groups are formed. This ministry also ensures that these individuals are connected to a local church and the campus Christian movement.
More than time allocation for ministry and discipleship is required to build a good connection among ministry participants. This ministry also entails bonding by shared experiences and dialogues. Meeting for coffee, watching a movie, eating meals together, playing games, and studying together are all examples of bonding activities. By publishing and sharing lectures, events, prayer requests, and resources on social media, particularly Facebook, the ministry is greatly aided. The responsibility and control that this ministry provides to the people we disciple are one of the best things it has to offer. To develop disciples for Jesus Christ, this ministry employs the five P’s: passages, principles, philosophy practices, and proof.
Passages
The aim of our ministry is reaching people of all ages, gender, race and ethnicity but from the religion of Christianity. The curriculum of this ministry pays more attention on how people learn and develop faith and morality. The Bible is the best resource for learning about Christian discipleship and, as a result, the first resort in this ministry. The New Testament, in particular, is replete with references to discipleship; after all, it is the mandate of the church. This ministry tries to look into what the Bible says about discipleship so that we might become better disciples ourselves. It is therefore critical to understand the context in which each portion of scripture in the Bible was written while reading it. Matthew is the first passage used in our ministry and it entails one of the final statements of Jesus to His disciples.
The great commission, or the mandate of Jesus to his disciples all across the globe, is described in the book of Mathew. Three commandments appear in this text, all of which are intended to make disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and train them to obey the directives of Jesus directives throughout His mission. These directives describe the objectives of our discipleship ministry, which include making, baptizing, and teaching disciples. The book of Mathew is essential in our ministry as it gives us the assurance that God will be with us every step of the way until the end of time. This assurance is significant because we will not be able to disciple people without the work of God in their hearts. Finally, our ministry does not ‘lure’ a person into following Jesus; that is a personal decision made in consultation with God. As a result, the presence of God in our ministry is both a blessing and a demand for discipleship.
The book of Luke is the second biblical passage that guides our ministry. This passage is a continuation of the dialogue of Jesus with his disciples, in which Peter acknowledges Jesus as the Christ and Jesus predicts His death. This is what Jesus has to say about individuals who want to be his disciples in light of the impending act of sacrifice. This text is also divided into three sections: First, he lays down the requirements for becoming a disciple, and then he explains his reasons. Finally, this passage ends with a rhetorical question that emphasizes the importance of those sacrifices. If someone wants to be a disciple, Luke says they must do three things. These things include self-denial, daily taking up one’s cross, and following Jesus. Essentially, Jesus emphasizes in this book that disciples must relinquish control of their lives to God. Therefore, our ministry is not based on what the disciples want; instead, it is about what God wants, even if it means sacrificing something.
Principles
A value, sometimes known as an ethic, is a norm or principle that governs what is significant in the life of a person. As a result, Christian values are the life principles whereby Jesus taught that a disciple or follower of Jesus Christ considers as vital. Furthermore, these principles are based on the Bible and do not alter with time. Generosity, love, courage, hope, and respect are among the main values taught in this ministry. Joshua, John, Peter, Proverbs, and Romans respectively are the passages that are relevant to the key values mentioned above.
First, the book of Proverbs says that those who are generous will be blessed because they share their food with the poor. Through this book, disciples in our ministry are encouraged to have hope for the future and that this hope will not be snuffed out. Second, Jesus commands his students to be courageous, strong, and not to be fearful or disheartened, as highlighted in Joshua. In this book, Jesus says that if people adopt these ideals, God will accompany them wherever they go. Our ministry applies these ideals by preaching the gospel with confidence and faith that God is with us every step of the way.
The value of love is expressed in the book of John with the passage; we love because God first loved us, which means that the value of love describes God. This book goes on to say that Christians must love their neighbors as they love themselves. As a ministry, we choose to apply the value of love through sponsoring needy children, giving food to the hungry, and showing compassion. Under the heading of respect, Peter exhorts individuals to show proper respect to everyone, to love fellow disciples, and to fear God. As a result, our ministry is based on respect for leaders, fellow disciples and also above all, respect for God.
Philosophy
The perspectives in our ministry are meant are for the sake of disciples of God, and we strive to please God rather than ourselves. Because God, not us, is the ultimate shepherd of the church, we constantly regard ourselves as under-shepherds, serving under the supervision of God. Our ministry supervisors are aware of this concept, act as role models for it, and urge their associate staff members to follow suit. Additionally, as a ministry, we believe that none of us is gifted enough, knowledgeable enough, bright enough, good enough, or skilled enough to lead the people of God or supervise in ministry works on our own.
One of the most well-known leaders of the early church, Timothy, wrote about how he obtained mercy and grace from God, which resulted to his growth in love and faith in God. This verse is significant because it encourages members of our ministry to be humble as they work together, knowing that while we all sin and fall short at times, we serve together through the mercy of God. The ministry leaders are role models for this character, and it shows in how they treat their ministry partners, who, just like them, are not flawless.
Finally, we regard ourselves as members and leaders of a family, not just members and leaders of an organization. Family is one of the most common imagery for the church in the Bible. The bride, household, and adopted children of God are all depicted in the New Testament as family relationship metaphors. We are referred to as brothers and sisters in our ministry connections. As a result, we are more than merely a volunteer organization that attracts like-minded individuals. The body is the final perspective in our ministry, which is also revealed in the Bible. The imagery of the phrase ‘body’ stresses our togetherness and mutual dependency, as well as the worth of what each of us brings to the table as we exercise our many gifts and callings. Because we are one ministry team ministering together, valuing and supporting one another, we regard ourselves as disciples who are called to work together.
There are seven main terms used in our ministry including gospel, church, pastor, saints, evangelism, discipleship and leadership. Gospel refers to the good news concerning God and entails everything taught by the Bible. Particularly, the gospel is based on the righteousness of God, His love, holiness as well as His mercy and grace towards sinners. According to the Bible, the gospel message is centred on the nature and actions of God. Additionally, the gospel centres around Jesus and it is the good news that through Jesus Christ, God took full humanity and became one of us while remaining fully God. Lastly, the gospel is the good news that Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life compared to humans but died for our sins to suffer the punishment for our sins. The work of the gospel is to address the problem of rebellion and sinful acts by humanity against God. The result of this sinful rebellion is that it causes shame and guilt before God.
In the New Testament, the church is a local and autonomous congregation of believers who are baptized and related through covenant in the fellowship and faith of the gospel. These believers are governed by the laws of God and aim at extending the gospel all around the world. Evangelism is the process of proclaiming the gospel of God the power of the Holy Spirit to persuade to believe in God and repent their sins. Evangelism always necessitates passing on the gospel to people using a language that people especially non-believers can comprehend. The term pastor refers to a minister in control of a Christian congregation or church particularly in various non-episcopal churches. Pastors provide counselling and advice to the congregation or community. Moreover, they function as shepherds through taking care of the flock (believers) which is mostly by teaching.
Religiously, saints are people recognized of possessing an exceptional level of closeness or holiness to God. However, the use of the word saint is different based on denomination and context. According to our ministry, all our faithful and deceased saints are considered to be in heaven. In addition, Saints are holy and famous for their ‘heroic sanctity’. The importance of saints is that they act as spiritual mentors and guides by helping Christians obtain satisfaction from their prayers to God. In Christianity, a disciple is a dedicated follower of Jesus. In the New Testament, the term disciple is found in the book of Acts. This book documents on many disciples of Jesus in the course of his ministry. To some of these disciples, a mission was issued by God. An example include the authorization of the seventy disciples to heal and rebuke demons in the gospel of Luke. Secondly, the conversion of Paul who later became an apostle.
Discipleship is different from disciple in that a disciple is a person who follows the life and teachings of another person until he or she qualifies to be like the master. The master offering teachings must be a Christian and have a longer experience of walking with God than the disciple. On the other hand, discipleship is the procedure of making an individual gain the attributes of Christ. There are three aspects of discipleship, which include ‘living by faith in Jesus Christ, resting in the grace of God and walking in the spirit’. The core purpose of discipleship is helping people understand the nature of God and purpose to be like him. Therefore, one cannot be a disciple without knowing God while discipleship demonstrated through service and love to others.
Leadership is the act of serving or influencing other people. This influence is based on interests of Christ to accomplish the purposes of God through and for them. Christian leadership is different from leadership of the world since compared to earthly leadership, biblical leadership is all about service and submission to people. Jesus demonstrated biblical leadership qualities when he washed the feet of his disciples. A leader, on the other hand, is someone who orders or leads a group of individuals, in this instance the people of God. In ancient times, David, Moses and Daniel were all biblical leaders. In current times, Pope is the prime leader of all catholic churches and governs the global college of bishops.
Practices
Certain methods will be implemented in our ministry which will contribute to the discipleship process. One such method or strategy is small group philosophy. Research identifies three small groups philosophies which include church ‘of’ small groups, a church which ‘is’ a small group and church ‘with’ small groups. According to this study, a church with small groups refers to a church in which the small groups do not involve a pastor and focus on the church building itself. Church that is small groups is authorized by senior pastors and finally, church of small groups whereby the staff are paid to develop programs which results to overall community development. Implementing small group philosophy in our ministry will help in meeting interpersonal, identity and instrumental needs of disciples. These groups will also help us in pooling resources and providing information access concerning discipleship.
Implementing calendars and events in this ministry will be done through technology whereby a website calendar containing church events will be used to publicize the events and activities of the ministry. Additionally, this website will enable us to connect with believers and non-believers at the comfort of their homes. The budget priorities of the ministry will include a spending plan and will not only be based on past income but also projected income. Planning the budget will enable our ministry grow as well as reach more disciples. Under curriculum, our plan is to create an annual schedule establishing ways that will match the strengths of our ministry with opportunities so that the ministry can come to mind when people are in need. The structure of our organisation will be hierarchical to assist in deciding what distinct beliefs are truly Christian and which teachings are non-Christian. This hierarchy will have a catholic foundation and will consist of deacons, priests and bishops. Finally, the communicative plans and slogans will involve spreading the gospel, inspiring engaging connecting and nurturing people using the word of God. As a result, these plans will constitute to the goal of our ministry that is creating more disciples of Jesus Christ.
Proof
After implementing the above systems in our ministry, certain factors will be used to track or measure their success. These factors include the number of new disciples, nature and number of social media responses concerning our ministry, accountability of resources because of budget planning and health of disciples. The empirical evidence that will be used to show the progress of this plan is gauging the difference between positive and negative outcomes caused by implementing this plan. A large number of new disciples means that the implemented strategies reach many people. These statistics will be used by the organisation to determine which elements of the plan should be retained and those to be eliminated. The health of disciple in the ministry will be measured through peer assessment. In this assessment, the ministry leaders will ask members to rate each other in terms of values alignment. Other factors are the number of disciples who have become leaders and if more members are moving out of the organization. Getting proper statistics on these factors will give an overall demonstration of whether the strategies were a success or not. These statistics will be used to alienate the factors associated with certain organization failure that negatively affect the ministry aim of disciple-making.
Conclusion
It is important to remember that salvation occurs when the focus of worship shifts from oneself to Christ. During this time, the ministry of the church continues to be the most important because it is the culmination of a basic activity of the Christian ministry. As they grow closer to Christ, modeling disciples via education and discipleship culminates in an extended spiritual formation. As a result, it is clear that the three Christian domains are necessary for a good Christian life. The conclusion that a Christian ministry is not meant to make a disciple to worship Jesus Christ may be drawn from the entire text. Rather, this mission cultivate and build personalities that uphold Christian principles, ethics, and virtues. Furthermore, the act of devotion does not demonstrate that one is a disciple.
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