Making Disciples At St. Andrews Church
Andrew's Shield - The Fisherman who became a "Fisher of Men" Luke 5:10
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“Making Disciples” (sometimes called “Catechesis”) is anything we do to transmit the Christian faith from one person to another, from one spiritual generation to the next! Teaching the Christian faith to others and making disciples is what Jesus told us to do in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and what Pastors and mature Christians are required to do when planting a church according to St. Paul (2 Tim. 2:2; Titus 2:3-5). As Christians and particularly as parents to both natural and spiritual children our duty is to teach the Lord’s Word wherever we are and go (Deut 6:4-7). In the words of Jesus, we are to become disciples who “fish for people” (Luke 5:10)
It is the Pastor’s duty to see that the saints of God are equipped to fulfill these commands (Eph. 4: 11-16). Here are the four ways I plan to lead St. Andrew’s Church in this task: through Worship, Structured Bible Reading, the Catechism, and through the process of helping Christians wrestle with and repent of their sins and temptations which hold us back, called Spiritual Discernment (Hebrews 12:1-3). Lastly we are called to be a community known by Daily Prayer.
A. Our Worship is structured to teach us how to live the Christian Life… To enter God’s Presence humbly and with praise, to reverently hear the Word of God, to repent of our sins, to confess the sufficiency of Jesus Christ in all our lives,to hear God’s promise of forgiveness, to pray not only for ourselves but for our Lord’s work in the world, then to offering ourselves to Christ and being fed and transformed by Him. We are then sent out into the World on mission with God’s blessing.
B. Biblical Preaching in worship means that as God’s People we will seek to systematically read and proclaim God’s Word weekly with special reference to the Good News of Jesus Christ. My preaching will aim to help us be conformed to Christ’s Image (Rom. 8: 29) and to encourage us by God’s grace to present our bodies to Him as living sacrifices in response to His Lordship (Rom. 12:1,2). At key Christian holidays we focus on the story line of the Bible. At other times we preach through books or passages of scripture – this is called “exposition”.
C. Catechism is a way to train Christians by way of question and answer. This method is slightly different than Biblical exposition or talking about the “Story Line” of the Bible. Catechism focuses on a summary of the Bible as a whole and “doctrine” instead of Bible stories. Ultimately we have to systematize the stories of the Bible into our doctrine. The catechism we will use focuses on the essentials of the Christian Life: Sin, Salvation, and Christian Living and the 10 Commandments, Apostle’s Creed, and Lord’s Prayer. People wishing to grow in their knowledge of God’s Word and demonstrate their commitment to Christ and His Church will be encouraged to obtain a “Catechism Certificate” through special study groups dedicated to this task. Some of these groups will be lead by the Pastor, others will be lead by leaders equipped by the Pastor.
D. Spiritual Discernment is a process of guided reflection and spiritual study with the aim of systematically examining our hearts to identify, renounce, and by God’s grace, overcome those sins and “weights” which so easily hinder our devotion to Jesus Christ. This is done in small group setting. Consider it a guided process to enter into a life of daily repentance and turning to Jesus Christ in reliance upon His Supremacy in all things. At the end of this time, your ability to minister to others will dramatically increase because you will have grappled with the deepest struggles of your own soul and know the sufficiency of Jesus Christ to meet your deepest needs.
E. Daily Prayer Through daily prayer we join in Heaven’s ongoing worship (Rev. 4,5) and exercise our part in the universal priesthood of believers. We will help you learn a simple pattern of prayer to allow you to enter into the heavenly service of praise and intercession. Wherever and whenever we pray, we never pray alone. We pray as people united to Jesus Christ and, through Him, with the saints on earth and in heaven. Our prayer is not an isolated time of spiritual exercise – it is our joining a worship service already in progress!
F. Mission We can do all the things outlined above, but if the net effect is that we become well educated couch potatoes, it’s all for nothing! We each are called to glorify God wherever He has placed us and love others in Jesus’ name, taking the Good News of God to the nations. That’s mission. If our lives aren’t connected to Christ’s mission, can we say they’re connected to Jesus Christ at all?
Want to know more? The emphasis we have in making disciples is The Message and Mission of Jesus Christ must be our Message and Mission
