Dear Friends,
It has been troubling me for some time that, while we are a fairly large and thriving congregation and have a lot going for us, are we seeing a real growth of disciples of Christ who make disciples of Christ? This is a penetrating question because this is our job! Jesus called us to be His disciples and to go into all the world and make disciples.
At the recent PCI Conference, Everyday Disciples, we were encouraged to – Think Big, Start Small, Go Deep. We were encouraged to think about small groups who meet for discipleship study, prayer and mutual encouraging, helping one another to live for Christ in the home, at work, in the world around us and in the church.
For example, imagine our Assistant Mike gathering a small group of 5-6 men for a year and meeting with them to study the Bible, pray and talk in real terms about what it means for each of them to be a disciple of Christ at home, work, play and church. Then say, even a few of those men, in turn, gathered a small group to disciple them. Disciples making disciples! This, after all, is what Jesus did with the 12. Imagine this being the direction and focus of our Home Groups? Imagine this beginning to happen throughout our congregation and organisations?
This requires a mind-shift from running programmes to building people; from filling gaps to training new workers. Kirk Session is committed to taking forward the God-given task of making disciples. It is what we are meant to be about. So, we are making a start with Kirk Session. On the last Sunday of the month we are cancelling the evening service so Kirk Session can meet for study, prayer and support in order that we may better model discipleship to others. It is a big decision, so pray for us in this and pray for the long-term outcome of making disciples who make disciples.
Yours in His service,
Bobby Liddle
