The congregation at HBC graciously gave their permission to pursue this project and continued their support with prayers and encouragement. This project has been a challenge and I could not have endured without the prayers of the congregation at HBC. It is my goal that this project will benefit Hillabee Baptist Church and the Kingdom of God for years to come.
I would also like to say a big thank you to two ladies who were instrumental in the completion of this project.
INTRODUCTION
The first step in assessing whether the members of the HBC are making disciples was done by administering a Discipleship Assessment Survey to the adult members of the HBC.5 The Pre-Sermon Series Discipleship Survey was distributed to all the adult Sunday School classes two weeks prior. to begin an eight-week sermon series on discipleship from the Pastoral Epistles (see goal 2). The group met with the pastor weekly.7 The discipleship relationship in a small group ran parallel to the eight-week sermon series on disciples. Administration of the discipleship survey after the sermon to the small group at the end of the twelve weeks also showed the net gain in discipleship and.
Wilkins writes, "The consensus in church history—ancient and modern—is that the concept of discipleship is evident throughout the New Testament, from Matthew to Revelation."1 This chapter will outline the biblical imperative given to all Christians: to make disciples.
The Great Commission
The phrase “go and make disciples” is central to the message of the Gospel of Matthew and amounts to the mission of the church. Verse 20b forms an inclusio with verse 18 and again indicates the authoritative presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul emphasizes to Timothy that in making disciples he will have to depend on the power of the Lord to fulfill his mission.
Paul not only exhorts Timothy to be strong in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, but also admonishes Timothy to "commit" or "entrust" Paul's teaching to others.
Following Jesus
It is in the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus exposes the disciples to his teaching. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explains both the gist of the law and the nature of true religion in God's kingdom. The following paragraphs highlight the eight distinctive features found in the Pastoral Epistle on the Life of a Disciple.
Knowing God's Word is indispensable because a disciple cannot grow "in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus" if he does not study and feast on God's Word.
Disciples Are Obedient
Here it is described as a system found in Scripture that leads to a holy lifestyle.75 All four characteristics show the profitability of Scripture in the process of making disciples. God's word makes the disciple "completely and thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim 3:17).76 Biblical commitment adequately prepares the disciple to be a leader in God's kingdom and thoroughly prepares him to be perfectly adapted to his task , so that he can meet his responsibilities properly.77 Fee adds: "By constantly nurturing his own life in the scriptures that he will use in the ministry, Timothy will be thoroughly equipped ("able to meet all the requirements") . for every good work, which here means not only Christian behavior but also gospel service.”78 The next disciple characteristic, obedience, is observed by unfolding Titus 2 to 3:10. Finally, obedience is manifested in the life of a disciple by his testimony, his walk, and his works.
These "good works" have been the concern all along, but they must be seen as the proper response to God's grace, revealed and made effective in the saving death of Jesus Christ.81.
Disciples Serve
Replication is one of the key features that must be emphasized in any disciple-making process. Replication is an important aspect of the disciple-making process because of the evangelistic implications it holds. Replication was demonstrated in the lives of Jesus and the apostle Paul and ensured multi-generational growth of the church.
One metric to look for in any discipleship process is multi-generational growth. A repeatable disciple-making process may seem like a poor approach to mass evangelism, but that is exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ did. A disciple is a believer who changes into the image of Christ and is changed by Christ.29 Paul emphasized the importance of transformation in.
Christian life as he prayed that the Colossian believers would “grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Col 1:9-10). God intends His children to grow, to move from the milk to the flesh of the Word. You cannot emphasize enough that transformation is a work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer.
The second step in the discipleship transformation process was the "I will do, but you help" phase of the process. A relational process of disciple-making fosters intimacy.61 One of the misconceptions that has plagued modernity is the notion that the distribution of. Fourth, a relational discipleship process that emphasizes disciple-making fosters accountability.68 Accountability is one of the key elements of any disciple-making process.
The purpose of the preaching series was to increase the congregation's Biblical knowledge of discipleship and disciple-making.
Biblical Engagement
The text for the first sermon was 2 Timothy 3:14-17 as Paul is exhorting Timothy to continue his study of the Scriptures. The text emphasizes the importance of the disciples staying engaged in God's Word. The scriptures are trustworthy because they are given by the inspiration of God and are inspired by God.
The Greek word theopnustos is translated as "God breathed." The Bible brings life to Christians when they study God's Word. Another conclusion from Paul's letter to Timothy about why it is important for a disciple to engage with the Bible is that the Bible is profitable. Paul lists four ways in which the Bible is useful to the student: teaching, admonishing, correcting, and training in righteousness.
These four qualities show that Scripture not only points sinners to salvation, but also points believers directly into sanctification. God does this through the work of the Holy Spirit in conjunction and cooperation with the Word of God. The last comment from 2 Timothy 3 is found in verse 17, which notes that the Scriptures are indispensable.
The word "indispensable" in this verse points to the fact that a man of God is "thoroughly equipped" as he engages and delves into God's Word. This sermon sought to challenge the disciples to engage in God's word and to be disciple-makers in an age of skeptics.
Disciples Are Obedient
Disciples Are Servants
Disciples Share Christ
Disciples Are Transparent
I made it clear that when disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ are transparent, they allow the light of Christ and His gospel to shine through their lives.
Disciples Build Relationships
For if one thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself."
Disciples Exercise Their Faith
Exercising faith means that the disciple continues to follow God and fully believe in God's promises. Finally, I used the character of the farmer to show that disciples who exercise faith are dependent on God. Paul's metaphor shows how a disciple's life of faith is compared to a farmer who tills the ground and plants the crop, but who completely relies on God for growth.
Living by faith is contained in a line found three times in the Bible: "The righteous shall live by faith" (Gal 3:11).
Disciples Seek after God
The second goal of the project was considered completed at the end of the follow-up survey. The results of the post-survey determined the effectiveness of the sermon series and is discussed in a chapter 5. The success of the third objective was determined by the results of the post-survey and is discussed in the evaluation.
The fourth goal of the project was to develop a four-year strategic plan that sought to implement an ongoing effort to build and sustain small group discipleship at HBC. The challenge action stage begins in the summer of 2019 leading up to the launch of the small group session in the fall. The first goal of the project was considered successful and revealed important information about the congregation.
The task of participating in the discipleship survey before the sermon provided additional information about the spiritual health of the congregation. The analysis of the statistical data showed disappointing figures for the congregation as a whole. The one-tailed test was used because there was a direction to the research hypothesis - the post-test score.
Wilks advised promoting small group discipleship from the perspective of the overall mission of the church. The accuracy of the statistical data depended on matching the pre-sermon series discipleship survey with the post-sermon series discipleship survey.
Would Do Differently
Many church members seemed confused about the nature and purpose of the project during the year. Indeed, the Great Commission is about going out into the lost world with the good news of the gospel, but the emphasis of the passage is not on the word "go", but on the imperative verb "make" disciples. 5. Big. First, one of the greatest blessings of this project has been the people I have met.
Strongly Disagree Please Complete: I have attended at least 6 of the 8 week sermon series on Discipleship. John Stott says "The Scriptures are the main means that God uses to be "the man of God" to maturity. ii. One of the ways in which we obey the commandments of Christ is lived out in our relationships with others.
We serve from a grateful heart and not based on the response of the people we serve. We cannot survive – the Kingdom cannot prosper without investing in others and building relationships. We rely on the gift of discernment of the RS III) Nurturing Relationships (v. 11).
He wrote, “The ultimate evidence of true conversion is holy affection, zeal for the things of God, desire for holiness, desire for purity.” What will a study of the Old Testament mean for my personal walk with the Lord? Pray that the students will have a fresh perspective on the value of the Old Testament and a new hunger for every part of God's Word.
The project development involved assessing the adult membership's knowledge in relation to discipleship.
