Discipleship
The third goal of the ministry project was to increase the understanding and practice of biblical discipleship among members of GFC through the curriculum. Seven sermons were preached to the congregation on Sunday services. It was a great blessing that by the grace of God I was able to preach each sermon twice each Sunday for seven weeks: to English-speaking members in the10:00 a.m. service and to Spanish-speaking members in the 1:00 p.m. service.
After the teaching material was implemented, 18 participants of those who completed the pre-project DUPS also completed the post-project DUPS. Unfortunately, not all the participants that completed the pre-project DUPS also completed the post- project DUPS. Some traveled for several weeks, and some were sick, among other reasons that prevented all participants from attending the seven teachings required for completion of the post-DUPS. The 18 participants that completed both pre-project and post-project DUPS were compared.
The t-test displayed a positive difference in the comparison between the two surveys (t Stat = 11.95289275).8 The two-tailed p value (2.26154E-18) was smaller than 0.05, indicating a success in the ministry project. There was a positive and successful statistical difference following the discipleship teachings in the life of those 18 GFC participants. The third goal of this ministry project was successfully met.
7 See table 8 in chap. 4 for support of this statement.
8 The absolute value of the t stat is larger than the t critical one-tail value of 1.667572281 and the t critical two-tail value of 1.995468931; thus, the teaching intervention made a positive statistical difference among the participants. See table 9 in chap. 4.
Table 10 illustrates the most significant positive changes when comparing the 18 participants pre-project and post-project DUPS. My heart was filled with joy after
comparing and evaluating in more detail the results of specific discipleship practices that showed significant improvement because of this ministry project implementation. Among the top increases were fasting, discipling other believers, Scripture memorization, prayer, Scripture reading, and meditation. Item 26 showed an increase of 84 percent, which was amazing (participants averaged 2.50 in the pre-project and increased to 4.61 in the post- project DUPS). Item 62 increased by 56 percent, which was very encouraging, indicating that participants started investing in discipling other believers. Item 15 increased by 52 percent, an indication that participants started memorizing Scripture.
Item 13 increased by 32 percent, and item 9 by 8 percent, these last two related to Scripture reading. Items related to prayer also showed significant improvements, with a 23 percent increase in item 21, a 17 percent increase in item 50, a 12 percent increase in item 55, a 12 percent increase in item 18, and a 11 percent increase in item 23. There were also items related to fellowship in discipleship that showed significant improvement, including item 59 with 19 percent increase, item 35 with 19 percent increase, item 58 with 12 percent increase, and item 57 with 8 percent increase. Table 10 shows more details.
Table 10. Most significant DUPS increases
Items
Pre-project survey (N=18)
Post-project survey
(N=18) Percent Increase 26. I have practiced the spiritual discipline of fasting
in the last month 2.50 4.61 84.44%
62. I am currently discipling another believer 2.89 4.50 55.77%
15. In the last week I have memorized at least one
verse from the Bible 2.44 3.72 52.27%
13. I am currently following a yearly Bible reading
plan 3.17 4.17 31.58%
21. Every day I have a dedicated prayer time 4.50 5.56 23.46%
67. I am growing in my knowledge of disciple-
making 4.67 5.56 19.05%
59. I know the names of most people attending
Sunday Services at GFC 4.44 5.28 18.75%
38. I regularly ask God in my prayers to help me
grow into obedience to His law 4.78 5.61 17.44%
50. I regularly attend prayer meetings 4.67 5.44 16.67%
52. I have an accountability brother or sister that I
can talk to regarding spiritual issues 4.72 5.50 16.47%
35. My love for other people (especially fellow
believers) is growing every day 5.11 5.83 14.13%
66. I use everyday activities as opportunities to help
others grow in Christlikeness 4.83 5.50 13.79%
70. I look for opportunities in my daily life to share
my faith 4.83 5.50 13.79%
55. I regularly pray with other Christians 4.94 5.56 12.36%
58. I am intentional in developing fellowship with
other Christians 5.06 5.67 12.09%
18. I believe I have a good prayer life 4.72 5.28 11.76%
14. I meditate every day in a portion of Scripture 4.78 5.33 11.63%
23. I regularly pray for God to help me obey His
commandments 4.94 5.50 11.24%
34. My love for God is growing every day 5.11 5.67 10.87%
71. I pray regularly for the unbelievers 4.94 5.39 8.99%
29. I believe fasting is a necessary spiritual
discipline 5.00 5.44 8.89%
12. I read my Bible every day 5.06 5.50 8.79%
57. I do visit those I know are sick 3.94 4.28 8.45%
In summary, the three goals of the project were successfully met: the
understanding and practice of biblical discipleship by the members of GFC was assessed through the pre-project DUPS, a seven-session curriculum was developed, and the
congregation was equipped in biblical discipleship through the teaching of the curriculum.
Strengths of the Project
Several strengths characterized this ministry project. The first strength is its Christocentric emphasis. This strength can be evidenced on how the project directly connects discipleship with Christlikeness. There is no discipleship without Christ, and everything that is practiced in discipleship should be done under the premise of resemblance of Christ. A disciple of Christ longs for growth in spiritual disciplines, in obedience, in fellowship with other believers, and in sharing the gospel, all because of his love for Christ and a sincere desire as a believer to be like the Master.
A second strength of this project was its scriptural faithfulness. Each of the teachings were rich in scriptural references supporting every point, as I tried to equip the members in biblical discipleship. The fundamental value of the authority of Scripture in every aspect of the church is something that can never be neglected.
A third strength of this project was its participants. I am blessed to be one of the elders of a theologically sound church. The majority of GFC members are long-term Christians, with a large percentage of the participants (65 percent) being believers for more than twenty years.9 The solid orthodoxy of participants made the teachings more digestible, allowing the project to be focused in encouraging orthopraxy in discipleship.
Another strength was a great enthusiasm among participants, with obvious desire to improve in their discipleship practices as the lessons were applied. This enthusiasm later expanded beyond participants, to many that did not participate in the surveys. There was a revival to be better disciples. Many members started to fast and to pray more with one another, especially many that are Spanish speaking members of the church. People who never fasted before, started doing this practice with joy. Many were
9 See table 1 in chap. 4 for support of this statement.
also encouraged and more motivated to memorize Scripture. Many started inviting unbelievers to the congregation with more consistency. This enthusiasm was a positive aspect of this ministry project.
Weaknesses of the Project
The first weakness was the number of participants completing the surveys.
Even though the whole congregation benefitted spiritually with the discipleship series preached during the implementation on Sundays, it would have been better if more members would have committed to the project by filling out the surveys. Eighteen members completed both the pre-project and post-project DUPS, which exceeded the minimum required, however, more participants would have made the ministry project stronger. Still, I am thankful that the whole church benefitted from the project
implementation through its preaching for everyone in Sunday services.
A second weakness was that the subject of discipleship is broad. I tried to include in seven weeks all the material I considered most fundamental in relation to being a disciple and making disciples. There is always more that can be taught about
discipleship, and there was a potential to include more practical issues. Even though this was a weakness, at the same time it was also a strength, as it led to the acknowledgement that the pursuit of a discipleship culture is a lifelong task that needs to be continued in the life of the church.