What is Discipleship?

Jesus didn’t just call people to raise their hands… say some kind of prayer… and then consider themselves “Christians.”  Jesus called people to follow Him… to be disciples… to become more like Him today than we were yesterday.  Discipleship isn’t reserved for a select few.  It is the standard (Matthew 28:18-20).  Disciples seek to walk, talk, think, feel, and act like their master.  Our Master is Jesus, and we will follow Him by faith.  Through His death and resurrection, He is the one who has changed us, and will continue to change us.  He is our only hope, and He is everything we need!  Not only is this true for us, but it is true for every single person on the planet.  Jesus gave us a mission… a purpose… a calling… to spend our entire lives becoming more like Him and seeking to influence every person to become a disciple of Jesus.

Five Aspects of Discipleship

THE CROSS: If you look to the image on your right, you’ll notice that all four arrows point to a cross.  Everything in life points to the cross (1 Corinthians 2:1-2).  Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, discipleship has been made possible (Matthew 28:18-20).  It is ONLY by grace through faith in Jesus alone that we may obtain the benefits that have been accomplished for us through Christ’s triumph over sin (Ephesians 2:8-10).

SUNDAYS: Gathering together as a church family every week is crucial (Hebrews 10:24-25).  On Sunday, we celebrate together what God has done throughout the week.  We learn from His Word, together.  We gain powerful spiritual momentum, because we are many, yet we are united.

D-GROUPS: Jesus had many disciples, but He spent most of His time developing twelve men (Mark 3:13-19).  His most influential ministry took place in His discipleship group.  Because Jesus did it this way, we will do the same.  We offer a variety of discipleship groups that meet throughout the week.

DISCIPLINES: When properly understood, spiritual disciplines are not a duty.  They are a delight!   Because we do not live on food alone, we consider the Bible more important than our next meal (Matthew 4:4).  Because it is natural to communicate with someone you love, we pray every day (Philippians 4:6-7).  Because sacrificing low-level desires enables us to obtain higher-level desires, we invite our church to fast every Wednesday (Matthew 6:16-18).

SERVING: Jesus said He came to serve, not to be served (Matthew 20:25-28).  Jesus also said that the way we serve (or don’t serve) in this life will prove on Judgment Day what kind of person we really were (Matthew 25:31-46).  Every follower of Jesus is a servant of others.  Ekklesia offers many opportunities to serve.  What are your gifts/talents/skills?  What do you enjoy?  Whether you know your strengths or not, we can find something important for you to do!