Discipleship: An unchanging call to community

Discipleship

AN UNCHANGING CALL TO COMMUNITY

The nature of our world is changing around us, with political instability, economic downturn, personhood being redefined, climate change and wars affecting crop and food supply. Yet the unchanging nature of the world remains constant. Jesus is the answer to the big questions of life and the Gospel is still the transformational agent of change for our communities. There is no place that carries more hope and potential for life transformation in our communities than the Church.

The Church from its beginnings has been called to move out beyond its buildings; to leave its nets and go fishing. God’s people in every generation are held together and sustained with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. It is this unchanging power

By Beverley Bedford

Beverley Bedford has worked as a nurse and part time Counties evangelist but has recently been appointed as Counties training officer and manages the training programmes. Beverley leads Counties’ Neighbourhood Chaplains Scheme. She has a passion to see churches equipped to be the hands and feet of Jesus in their own communities making Him known though servanthearted outreach.

that enables and equips each of us to witness to an unstoppable redemption story. In the book of Acts we read how the early church was birthed in Jerusalem, the centre of the religious world, and then pushed out beyond her boundaries and comfort zone in mission and evangelism to make disciples of all nations.

The people of God bring hope to the world and historically Christianity has brought significant, deep, permanent societal change. The Church was engaged in healthcare long before the National Health Service and provided education before the introduction of the universal education system. The Church was behind prison reform and at the cutting edge of the abolition of slavery. Presently, it is the Church that is most effective in supporting addictions, providing food through food banks, offering shelter with emergency housing to the homeless and facilitating daily encouragement for mental health in café settings and wellbeing hubs. God is at work and there are many opportunities for the local church to express love and compassion to their neighbours, but how does that relate to evangelism?

The Great Commission calls the whole Church to take the whole Gospel to the whole world. It has been stated by the evangelist Billy Graham that “faith and good works are handmaids of the Gospel which cannot be divorced”. A life of discipleship will reshape our views of society, culture and the community around us. To be a disciple of Jesus brings challenge and opportunities for every moment of our lives, as we live out the things we believe. Both evangelism and social action are expressions of Christian compassion that make the Gospel visible. It has been suggested the heart of discipleship is following the example of Jesus, who demonstrated a servant-hearted posture, which readily, eagerly offered the towel of service.

The Counties’ initiative Neighbourhood Chaplains has been an example of how impactful both evangelism and social action can be. There have been so many remarkable stories of spiritual transformation through the church volunteer chaplains, who have been trained to befriend, connect and serve their communities. The encouragements for the local church have been increased trust and significant relationships built, seeing people on the margins integrate into church, and people encountering Jesus and accessing discipleship resources. These inspiring stories stand as a testimony of how a simple act of kindness has resulted in an individual taking a positive step closer to God in their spiritual

journey. God never writes us off, but can write us into His story, and it is by sharing this good news to the least, lost and lonely that lives and communities can change one by one.

Discipleship can be so practical, as it is out worked in the context of our communities. The scope and reach of the Church are tremendous, as God’s people are released into every sphere of society, schools and education, hospitals and healthcare, business and commerce, government and politics, media, arts and science, not forgetting our leisure places and spaces. The unchanging call to our communities is to carry the Spirit’s presence, to speak blessing and be God’s vehicles of transformation, bringing life-giving, politics-changing, communityimpacting, family-redeeming, individualsaving, body-healing change. Yes, we can spearhead evangelism and mission right where we find ourselves and advance God’s Kingdom purposes in our generation and nation. The Church serves an unhindered God, who has called His people and entrusted each one with an unchanging message. It is this Gospel hope that is needed more than anything else in our communities. The Gospel is the ground we stand on, where we pitch our Kingdom flag. The good news that Christ died, was buried, rose again, ascended and is coming again is a fundamental reality and everything we do and say flows from this. This Gospel is the DNA that is bonded to the soles of our feet and determines our direction of travel. God calls His people to eagerly proclaim and demonstrate this Gospel in word, deed, voice and action where we set our feet every day. Is your community what God intended it to be and, if not, what would have to be different; what would have to change?

Evangelism through discipleship must be at the heart of the local church, for there is nothing more reviving for God’s people than to see the transformational Gospel at work. There is no greater or more urgent priority for the Church than this unchanging call to reach our communities. Let us pray we never become numbed to the real and unchanging need of people who without Christ are lost and without hope. The Church is not called to maintenance but mission, and to rise to the challenge to make disciples who go on to make disciples.