Challenge
Prayerfully select one of these ideas to begin immediately. If you accept this challenge, please leave a comment letting me know what you’re going to do so I can be praying for you and help you in any way I can.
- Prayer: List out those you’re around most often or are most concerned about and start praying for their salvation and sanctification.
- Partner: If you have a friend who wants to get started making disciples, talk to them about partnering with you. Meet regularly to discuss how your efforts are going.
- Family:
- Pray and discuss what you’re learning in the Word with your spouse and kids. Meals and bedtime rituals are great for this.
- Get a good children’s Bible and read it to your kids most nights before bed.
- Early breakfasts (before work) and lunches:
- Share a meal with a fellow Christian once a week.
- Read a book together to stimulate discussion.
- Share a meal with a non-Christians friend once a week, looking for opportunities to get to know and serve them better
- Errands and chores: Bring friends along with you when possible for the purpose of asking deliberate questions about their life and nudging them toward Christ.
- Dinners: Invite individuals/couples to get to know each other and become a resource for them.
- Evenings: After dinner, invite some Christian friends over for desert or to play games for the purpose of fellowship and mutual encouragement in the faith.
- Bible Studies and Book Groups:
- Gather a group of maturing Christians or interested non-Christians together for a weekly or monthly Bible study, working through a specific book of the Bible.
- Read a good Christian book together and discuss.
- Start or join an H2H group for the purpose of being disciple and making disciples.
- Service: Gather a group of maturing Christians or interested non-Christians to perform some sort of service, such as volunteering at Crisis Assistance Ministry.
- Park visits: If you’re taking your kids to the park, call your neighbor of friend and invite them to join you in hope of getting to know them better and having fruitful conversation.
- Sermon discussions:
- Discuss the Sunday sermon over lunch with your family or folks from church.
- Start a House to House group in your home for this purpose (it can be permanent or just for a specific month or six weeks, etc.).
- Conferences/seminars: Research a conference or seminar that might be helpful and gather a group to go.
- Weekends: If you’re doing something fun, invite a non-Christian friend or growing believer.
- Work and School:
- Make the effort to talk to those around you, getting to know them, looking for ways to serve them with the gospel.
- Invite colleagues/classmates to a simple Bible study before work or class. (I Am Second is a book and website that offers a simple Bible study method that might be helpful.)
- Church: Use the church structure to your advantage:
- Become a more engaged learner and participant in Sunday school or H2H.
- Teach a Sunday school class or host a H2H group.
- Invite people to things they might be interested in. (Men’s breakfast, Young-at-Heart, youth group, House to House, weekly services, Big Gatherings, special events, etc.)
- Parties: Invite people over, establishing relationships that might lead to discipleship.
- Kids: Spend time with your children’s friends’ families. (Play dates, etc.)
- Hobbies: Use shared hobbies as an opportunity to spend time with people you hope to disciple (hunting, racing, jetpack flying, etc.).
- Read:To learn more about being and making disciples.
- Give Books: Good books that will nudge people toward Christ. (Contact Pastor Matt for recommendations)
Note:
– This list assumes that you are a disciple. Only those who are actively following Jesus can bring others along with them. So, if you’re note growing in your relationship with Christ, start there.
– If you are a growing Christian, but feel ill-equipped to do any of this, contact Pastor Matt. This is what he lives for!
– Don’t think you have to “have it all together” to get started making disciples. You’ll grow exponentially in the process of helping others grow.
