Reaffirming Our Vision for Discipleship

by Lance Finley, CGGC Executive Director

Our vision is to see thousands of spiritually charged leaders equipped and released to every man, woman and child to whom we are sent.

What does that actually mean? Some might envision thousands of individuals recognizing a call to some kind of vocational ministry, attending seminary, and launching out to pastor congregations across North America and even beyond. Others might see the need to raise up, develop and deploy thousands of men and women who are equipped as Sunday school teachers, youth workers, children’s ministry volunteers, or worship leaders to step into roles in the life and ministry of a local congregation. Still others might dream of teams of young people sent out to establish new congregations in communities, towns, and neighborhoods.

Is this what it looks like? Yes, and so much more.

In the past, we’ve often thought of leadership in fairly inward-looking or narrow ways in the local church. Developing leaders might consist of raising up pastors or elders or training church volunteers for some particular aspect of ministry in the life of the local church. What if we were to reimagine our narrow view of leadership, embrace the reality of the priesthood of all believers, and see people equipped and released to serve the Lord and others where they live, work, and play? What would that look like in the years to come?

Here’s what it could look like.

It could look like Sam, the faithful church attender who also runs a local construction company. Up to this point in his journey with Jesus, Sam thought he was supposed to stay out of trouble, faithfully come to church, and help out with some church activities every once in a while. Today Sam sees things in a whole new light. Because of what Jesus has done in his life and as a result of his discipleship to Jesus, Sam now sees his vocation with new, kingdom of God possibilities. The eight to ten young men that work for him are the mission field where he holds the most influence. Sam now sees every day as an opportunity to be about the work of making disciples, influencing the young guys that work for him, walking alongside them, mentoring them, and helping them move from unbelief to belief in Jesus. His normal work week counts just as much as his volunteer work at the church on the weekend.

It could look like Sara, who has followed Jesus her entire adult life and works as a critical care nurse in the ICU of the local hospital. Sara loves her local church and tries to be involved as much as she can, even though her demanding work schedule means she’s only able to attend church about every other Sunday. Sara recently went through a discipleship journey with her local church, and she’s discovered that God has placed her in an ideal place to do ministry every day. She’s come to understand her gifts as a shepherd and how those gifts enhance her work as a nurse who often walks with families through times of crisis and matters of life and death. She’s finding joy in being able to pray with families and care for them in their time of need, and she recently started a discovery Bible study with some of her coworkers, most of whom have never been involved in church because of their work schedules. She’s getting to walk beside her fellow nurses and sees them finding new hope in Jesus in the midst of work that can be stressful and even overwhelming.

Or it might look like Jodie and Tim. Jodie works as a third-grade teacher at a local elementary school, and Tim works at one of the local factories in the community. They are in their late twenties and don’t have children, and attend the local congregation where Jodie was raised. They live on a small street that has a diverse mix of families. As they’ve grown in their belief in Jesus, they’ve also grown in their desire to love their neighbors in practical ways. This fall, they began offering Fire Pit Fridays at their home. It’s a casual time where their whole neighborhood is invited to their backyard for hot dogs over the fire, smores, stories, and connection with each other. They pray for their neighbors daily, by name, and are trusting that their hospitality will allow them to demonstrate Christ’s love in a tangible way.

For most of my lifetime, the way we’ve counted ministries or leaders has been confined to the programming offered through the local church body. It was assumed that people would come to a local church building to take part in the life of the local church. Most of the time, these opportunities happened within specific windows of time: Sunday morning, Sunday evening, or perhaps Wednesday evening. The local church was the initiator in most of these efforts: “let’s start an XYZ ministry to reach XYZ kinds of people.”

We’re living in a different type of environment now.

The people we’re called to reach are less and less inclined to walk into our church spaces at the prescribed times every week. Some of the best ministry your local church carries out may happen around the fire pit in Jodie and Tim’s backyard, around the break room table in Sara’s hospital, or at the local diner near Sam’s building site. The future that is unfolding before our eyes will require us to equip and encourage Christ followers like Sam, Sara, Jodie, and Tim and release them to the folks they engage with as they live, work, and play.

The opportunities are limitless! Imagine, for a moment, the kind of ministry that might take place in the local schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods in your community if your local church began to disciple and deploy people for ministry. Envision the different kinds of spiritual conversations that might develop as men and women are equipped and sent to demonstrate and proclaim the Good News of Jesus. Can you visualize how your congregational worship service might change as people like Sam, Sara, Tim, and Jodie share testimonies from their Gospel work from the previous week? Can you imagine the impact of thousands of stories from the work of folks like the ones above? The local church is the place where we come to worship our God and where we give Him the praise He is rightly owed. It’s also the place where people commit themselves to God in and with a community of believers. But church isn’t the only place where disciples are made, and it isn’t the only place they are to be deployed. Jesus told the disciples that they were to be His “witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” It should not surprise us then that ‘the ends of the earth’ lies outside our church building. Then, as now, I believe this is the vision the Lord wants us to embrace and pursue.