in Australia, told me, “Meet the needs of people within your community in the digital space. Encourage your church members to engage in conversations on their social media accounts. . . . Provide support for people on your social media accounts, in forums, or on your church website. Consider having a section about parenting, health, or prayer. Host an online Bible study or prayer meeting. Livestream a cooking class. Always seek to meet people’s needs, whatever they may be.”
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ommunity outreach. Every second Sabbath of the month our church has an abbreviated service, then goes into the community. Musicians, singers, and other volunteers go to a nursing home. Visitation teams go visit those who are sick and housebound. Other members serve at interfaith food shelters. We assist in neighborhood revitalization and in giving individualized support to move families from poverty to economic self-sufficiency. It’s about service, not serve-us.
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ntimacy integration. When you got baptized you not only joined Christ, you joined His family. It’s not always easy to become close to people you don’t know. So
make an intentional effort. Host a Welcome to the Family program involving your entire church, including new members, learning together about health, spiritual, family, and church dynamics, and improving relationships.2
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roject Participation. Participate in a mission project, at home or overseas. I did a student missionary year in Ghana, West Afria, when I was in college. The e is nothing like it.
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egacy building. Take somebody with you, perhaps a young person. Let them catch the fi e of discipleship. At the University of Arusha in Tanzania, a freshman theology student was assigned as my translator. Victor performed his task well. I realized that this was more than a ministry assignment—this was a mentoring window. He later wrote: “Know that there is a millennial in Tanzania who is following your footsteps.” Who are you bringing with you?
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veryday deposits. Pray for those you want to reach, and for opportunities to perform daily acts of kindness. Deposits for Jesus: Every Member, Everyday Witnessing has more than 400 practical ways to make witnessing deposits, includ-
What is your counsel to those who want to take the next step in discipleship? First to leaders: Everything else will crowd out what’s most important. But being a disciple and making disciples is worth blocking out the time for. In every area of our ministry we can ask, “How are we growing disciples here?” We were designed to grow in relationship. So whether you’re going through the book of Romans or the book of John, reading another book by another author, read a chapter a week and gather together to read and pray. Something happens when we make intentional space to grow with other believers, nurturing those relationships.
ing social media deposits for young people.3 George Webber states, “Our job is to discover those who have been forgotten and do what we can to be a sign of love and hope. . . . [Our signs] will not be for the sake of getting new members or winning converts. Simply, we live in the style of our Lord . . . , offering our love without any ulterior motive.”4 A little boy was found crying because he had lost the note his mother had given him for his schoolteacher, explaining why he didn’t have a birth certifi ate. The boy cried, “I have lost my excuse for being born.” When we live out what it means to be disciples, we will find our purpose. What’s yours? www.wivb.com/news/man-sues-parents-for-giving-birth-to-himwithout-his-consent1/1766482167 www.adventsource.org/store/adult-ministries/family-ministries/ welcome-to-the-family-38153 3 Ashton O’Neil, Deposits for Jesus: Every Member, Everyday Witnessing (Port of Spain, Trinidad: Caribbean Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 2018). 4 George W. Webber, Today’s Church: A Community of Exiles and Pilgrims (Nashville: Abingdon, 1979), p. 96. 1
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Jeff ey O. Brown is associate secretary of the General Conference Ministerial Association and associate editor of Ministry. He also serves as pastor for discipleship at Emmanuel-Brinklow Seventhday Adventist Church, Ashton, Maryland, United States.
I have seen transformation happen. A person in the first g oup came to me when we were going to read Scripture. He said, “They can do it, but I can’t. I know it works for other people, but I can’t. I can’t hear God.” I talked him through it, this whole idea that we come to God exactly as we are and that it is the acceptance and love of God that leads us to experience the Spirit, this growth, this transformation. As we had that conversation, I prayed with him, and he reengaged with Scripture and with God. His eyes lit up with joy at experiencing God. That’s what I want people to know: that God wants to meet with them.
AdventistWorld.org May 2019
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