As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
A quick survey reveals four basic approaches to the topic, most of which affirm the general teaching of the New Testament. The Generic Approach…The Business Approach…The Psychological Approach…The Pragmatic Approach” - 9 Marks
“For a man who maintained a prolific remote ministry through his letters, Paul repeatedly sounds discontent with the remote, impersonal medium.” - 9 Marks
There is nothing simple about making disciples, and yet, making disciples should be done simply. Forming local churches from new disciples does not need to be an overly complicated affair.
In unreached areas, or among unreached people groups, to make disciples is to plant local churches. This is what Jesus communicated to us in the Great Commission:
Leadership development is one of those things that churches frequently talk about but rarely plan for or actually do. According to Ephesians 4:12-16, every church is responsible to train its members for gospel-advancing, church-building ministry. But how do we do that? Below is an example of the process our church uses to develop leaders for ministry:
The Three Step Process of Ministry Leadership Development at Community of Grace
God calls every believer to teach His Word to others at a grassroots level. To motivate and equip them to do this, He provides pastors. These are responsible to “hold nothing back,” devoting themselves to ministry in two venues: public gatherings and private settings (Acts 20:20).
“This majority of Christians is less likely to say it is very important to see progress in their spiritual life (30% say progress is important vs. 54% of those who don’t consider their faith private), less likely to say their faith is very important in their life today (45% vs. 66% agree strongly) and less likely to have weekly time with God (51% vs. 66%).” - Barna
“Latest report on Christian persecution finds Nigeria has 4 in 5 martyrs, China has 3 in 5 church attacks, and Afghanistan is now worse than North Korea.” - CToday
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