We’re doing discipleship better, says Gordon Allan

We had made a decision... not a bad thing for leaders.

The decision was to create a video library of short teaching sessions and notes for discipleship in church.

I was convinced that we needed to come out of lockdown ‘doing discipleship’ better.

Then the question was asked: “But who are we going to disciple?”

We set ourselves the task of finding someone to spend time with. That was the Tuesday night.

On the Thursday an email dropped into my inbox: “I am not sure how to pray. Can you help me?”

Within another two weeks: “I have come to faith during lock-down and I want to grow in my relationship with God. Can you help me?”

Four weeks later, you guessed it, a further email: “I have been investigating Christianity and I had a spiritual experience in my kitchen. I want to be baptised. Can you help me?”

And so I have begun a journey with my three new friends. Those journeys are around a year old now and all three, and one man’s wife, have been baptised and are growing in their relationship with God.

What does it look like in practice? I spend 60-75mins individually with these men each week.

We commit to meeting each week at a set time. We commit to coming prepared, having read whatever Bible passage, chapters of a book or study materials we agree.

We commit to ‘scratching where it is itching’, applying the truth of faith to the reality of life. And we commit to drinking coffee.

Watching people transform over time never gets old, explains Liam Husband

The first time Chris encountered the church was through a food-bank referral.

He’d had it pretty rough and wasn’t in the best place physically, mentally, or spiritually.

Chris came to a church service to pick up his referral and never left.

The church gave him a warm welcome and offered him lots of support. He jumped at the chance to volunteer in the coffee shop during the week.

Chris soon came out of his shell and showed he was a bit of a chef. Within a few weeks, he was full of confidence again.

Within a few months, his whole appearance changed. It was great to see him smiling again.

At first, he was full of anxiety at the thought of applying for work. That changed over a few months when he applied for a local job and succeeded.

Watching people transform over time never gets old. A new relationship with Jesus, solid relationships in the church and some work was all it took.

This article first appeared in the June 2022 issue of Direction, Elim’s monthly magazine. Subscribe now to get Direction delivered directly to your home.

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