Our Discipleship Journey: Part 2نموونە

Growth is a By-Product

Jesus sent out His disciples early on in His own ministry to them, giving them all power and authority to heal the sick and proclaim the Kingdom. Jesus hadn’t yet died and risen again, so His disciples didn’t even yet have the full gospel message. Let that encourage you when you don’t feel ready or like you know enough for ministry. You’ve been given all power and authority to share whatever truth you know about Jesus. It is a game-changer to know that you don’t need to know everything in order to disciple someone else. It takes the pressure right off when it comes to sharing your faith story with others.

In Luke 9, Jesus is speaking to twelve different men ranging from fishermen to a tax collector. They’d heard the same teaching but are now being asked to share it in their own words. You can share the gospel in your own way, too, relying on the Holy Spirit to translate the truth into someone else’s reality. And of course, one of the fastest ways to learn something is to explain it to someone else.

Jesus and His disciples modelled three stages of discipleship growth. First, there’s instruction, which should make up around 10% of our learning. The second stage of discipleship growth is immersion. This is where we get our hands dirty and go for it, developing our personal experience and embracing the highs and lows that come with that. It should make up around 70% of our learning. Jesus sent out His disciples to take turns to teach what they knew, thereby immersing them to practise what they’d been taught. The third stage (and remaining 20%) of discipleship growth is in situ training. This is the opportunity to debrief after your disciple-making experience, like when the apostles returned and reported to Jesus what they’d done.

All three stages naturally feed into one another because nothing happens in isolation. Instruction can be taking place during training, just like a debrief can include more instruction. As you move through the stages of instruction, immersion, and in situ training, the unstoppable result is growth.

Jesus’ heart is for us all to participate with Him in mission. Being observers for life is not what He had in mind. You can begin to practise what you know today, and you can encourage someone else to do the same. The good news is that we don’t have to have to try to grow spiritually on this discipleship journey. Growth is a by-product. As we learn simple principles that shift our practice, as we learn by doing and debriefing, as we make mistakes and get back up again, as we face challenges and experience breakthroughs, we slowly but steadily change and grow. May you be inspired to pray for miracles and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit as He increases your resilience and faith.