Discipleship and Its Impact on Church Growth
Chapter One
The Purpose of the Study
- To examine the importance of discipleship programme in the growing of churches.
- To identify the roles of church members and leaders in discipleship ministry and growth of the church.
- To seeing our church growing in quality as it was in the time of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- To recommend to the church the biblical principles of discipleship as demonstrated by biblical leaders of various era.
CHAPTER TWO
UNDERSTANDING DISCIPLESHIP
Definition of discipleship
Kittel (1965:808) defines “discipleship” as “fellowship”. “In Galatians 2:9, shaking hands is an expression of the full fellowship established by a common faith in Christ.”
In general terms discipleship is the experience of people who have an interest in each other, as they honestly open their hearts to one another (Charles 1980:6). This is generally understood to take place within the context of participation in fellowship, friendship and a spirit of community. To gain a clear understanding of the full meaning of the word, it is necessary to define it more precisely.
In his Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Kittel (1965:797) notes “discipleship is derived from the Greek word koinos, and its variants. Koinos means „common‟, in the sense of mutual or shared. The nouns „discipleship‟, „koinonos‟ and „koinoneo‟ express that which we possess in common.” (Stott 1982:85) The verbal form „koinoneo‟ denotes that which a group of people holds jointly. It thus expresses the concept of sharing things or close friendship with others (Kittel 1965:797).
MacArthur (1973:170) says that “discipleship is sharing a partnership, commonness, fellowship, and communion.”
The practical outcome of discipleship is that those who experience the grace of the salvation of God seek close fellowship with other believers, sharing the love of God and material possessions with each other. The outcome of such a lifestyle is that other people who observe it are drawn to seeking the salvation of God, and participating in the fellowship between God and other believers.
Discipleship is the transliteration of the Greek word (κοινωνία) which means communion in the sense of intimate participation. The word is used frequently in the New Testament to describe the relationship of believers to each other in the early Christian church. It is also used when referring to the act of breaking bread in the manner which Christ prescribed during the Passover meal (Matthew 26:26-28, 1 Corinthians 10:16, 1 Corinthians 11:24).
Min (1981:564) defines discipleship as follows:
“When attempting to analyze its meaning (discipleship) the words, which express its modern meaning simply are „friendship‟, „participation‟ and „communion‟.”
Jung (1979:70) says that “discipleship, which is generally used to express communion, also has the connotations of fellowship, association, participation, partnership, influence, etc.”
The word, therefore, has come to mean participation in the communion service, and denotes the idealized state of fellowship and community that should exist between Christian believers and between them and God.
The theological understanding of discipleship
Theological discipleship is the theological analysis of all discipleship events taking place in the church. Examples of discipleship recorded in the bible include discipleship of God and Moses needed for the Exodus, the meetings between Jesus and Peter after the resurrection, Jesus and Paul on the Damascus road, and Mark‟s record of the spiritual discipleship between Jesus and his disciples in the upper room. This became the platform for the events of Jesus‟ cross and Pentecost.
Theological discipleship is not an analysis of the general theological view of scripture; it strives to formulate the meaning of discipleship that is evident in several crucial events that have occurred in the history of the church (Hong 2004:166).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
The design used in this study was descriptive survey. Survey research design according to Amoor (2014) is concerned with the collection of data for the purpose of describing and interpreting existing conditions, prevailing practices, beliefs and attitudes. The design is one of the most convenient ways to obtain facts and figures needed for a study in which the results of the analyses will be used for decision- taking and generalization. The use of the survey design is based on the advice of Jubrin (2011) who stated that, when a study involves a population or a sample of respondents from whom information is obtained either verbally or through questionnaire, the ideal design method to be adopted is the survey design. This design was considered appropriate for this study because it allowed the researcher to collect data from respondents and subject it statistical analysis.
Research Population
The survey respondent base was drawn from 3 Nigerian Christ Apostolic Church. Three of which are located in Seoul. The respondent sample is comprised of
- 17 Assistant Pastors,
- 20 Evangelists,
- 17 Elders,
- 22 Exhorters,
- 85 Deacons, and
- 44 Members
Instrument for Data Collection
The instrument used for data collection was structured questionnaire adapted questionnaire from Sarki (2015), Oguntimehin and Oludele (2017). The instrument titled Shorthand Relevance in Office Operations (SROO) contains sections A and B. Section A elicits the working experience of the respondents. Section B contains 53 items used to gather data that answered the research questions.
Method of Data Collection
The instrument were distributed to respondents by the researcher assisted by 5 co-opted research assistants. On- the-spot technique was employed in the distribution of the questionnaire. In this technique, the instrument was administered to the respondents and 2 hours was given for collection. This method reduced high frequency of missing or unreturned questionnaire. The exercise lasted for five weeks.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS
The accessed data was analyzed to ascertain whether and how the results support the thesis.
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION FOR CHURCH GROWTH BASED ON DISCIPLESHIP
Recommendation
The development and nurturing of discipleship is a key element in the ministry of small groups and this is favored by the principles applicable to small groups. A small group ministry that does not apply the principles relating to small groups is not really a ministry but simply a concession to a theory. Therefore small groups must be structured in a way which enables the principles relating to small groups to be applied, and where the three essential elements (Fellowship, Bible study and evangelism or expansion) of a small group ministry are actively pursued.
On the basis of the theory relating to a small group ministry and his empirical research, the researcher has identified seven elements that lead to church growth based on discipleship developed and nourished through a small group ministry.
Training the lay leaders
The responsibility of the church as a whole and the pastors in particular, is to identify and train small group leaders. This work requires much time and prayer and the diligent pastor will make this activity part of his regular routine. This work never ceases. Pastors who desire to develop a successful small group ministry must exert themselves in setting up mechanisms which will enable them to identify spiritual men and women who are capable of teaching and make appropriate arrangements for them to be trained as leaders. The pastors of the three churches participating in the empirical research all put the training of lay leaders into practice, knowing that this training was important in ensuring good relationships between believers. (see section 2.3.3 chapter 3; pages 71, 76, 79 and table 4.17 chapter 4).
It is of key importance that this identification and development of potential spiritual leaders is given a high priority by the pastor working in consultation with the various small group leaders. The development of leaders is essential for the spiritual power and growth of the church. A responsible small group leader will assist the pastor by making every effort to identify, develop and train potential leaders within his or her own small group
In order to correctly identify potential future leaders, there has to be an ongoing personal evaluation of the spiritual development of every small group member, coupled with prayer for guidance in this difficult but essential task.
The way in which the evaluation of the spiritual development of members of a small group is done should be based on Titus 1:6 – 9.
- Theymust be believers who are spiritually qualified to lead (Titus 1:6 – 9).
- Theymust be believers who regularly attend more than one Sunday
- Theymust be attending a small group on a regular basis
- Theymust be believers who understand and agree with the pastoral philosophy of the senior
- Theymust support the church‟s vision and the objectives of its small group
- Theymust be believers who have identified appropriate spiritual gifts for this
- Designand implement a course directed towards developing leaders who are able to conduct small groups.
- Trainlay leaders as assistants to the
- Trainwhole man healing counselors – these leaders must complete a suitable education program which includes the study of theology.
One of the reasons why many pastors fail in the task of cultivating effective small group leaders is that they often initiate a discipling or training program without taking heed of Paul‟s advice to Timothy, to first identify „reliable men‟, and then to put time and effort into developing these men.
Discipling
Discipling is essential for the church‟s spiritual and numerical growth. One of the elements of the church‟s commission is to make disciples (Matthew 28:19).
The ultimate principle of discipling is to nurture new believers and lead them on to becoming strong mature Christians capable of standing firm in the faith. Therefore the church has to ensure that new believers are carefully nurtured and discipled. (see section 5 chapter 3; table 4.18, 4.22 chapter 4).
An active discipling program results in the following positive developments:
- Disciplingleads lay believers to actively participate in the ministry of the church (1 Peter 2:9).
- Disciplingresults in both individual qualitative growth and corporate ate numerical growth (see each Q6 pages 74, 77, 81 chapter 4)
- Disciplingprovides an opportunity for personal instruction in the way to spiritual awakening and revival within the (see each Q6 Ibid).
- Disciplingcreates the need for the church to develop a variety of educational
Therefore the Nigerian church needs to identify what type of discipling programs are currently needed to best meet these objectives and so realize their desire for qualitative and numerical growth, always bearing in mind the requirement that they should strengthen the oikos and discipleship needs of the trainees.
The researcher proposes that the discipling program be based on the nurturing aspects of the training courses mentioned in chapter 4 pages 72, 73, 76, 79, table 4.18;
The practice of discipling takes place in 4 steps as follows:
The first step is a five week course. This step follows a “New Believer‟s Course” and is intended to lay a solid foundation of faith in Jesus Christ. Christians learn to trust Jesus Christ for their salvation and the basics of a life of faith in Jesus that leads to discipleship. The timing and content of the course will vary and be dependent on the current situation in the church.
The second step is an eight week course in relationship training. In this step Christians are taught about prayer, healing, spiritual warfare, nurturing and the kingdom of God, etc. in greater depth. A feature of this relationship training program away from the usual venue is an all day meeting in which participants experience discipleship they will be seeking to foster in their discipling groups.
The third step is a five week course in which the trainee is taught to value each individual highly and to practice nurturing with two other people. The course includes a period of three nights and four days in which the participants are trained to serve one another. This aspect of the course is intended to lead the trainee to decide to adopt a true spiritual servant attitude and to resolve to be a servant minister to the people in his group and in his church.
The fourth step is a twelve week course in which the trainee is taught the theory and practice of evangelism. At the end of this course there is a three week period in which the trainees practice what they have been taught. Here they make use of either the Evangelism Explosion method or the simple Four Spiritual laws booklet.
Conclusion
Some time ago several churches rediscovered that a small group ministry is one of the lasting ways God has been pleased to use for reinvigorating the spiritual life of a church. The use of small groups became the subject of great interest to the Christian community since the beginning of the twentieth century. In the twenty-first century, however, the ministry of small groups has moved forward from being of interest to Christians, and has become a necessity.
Many churches today have a deep interest in church growth. Provided that the benefits of a small group ministry are considered and assessed apart from the emotions often evoked in response to the designation “small group” the value of the contribution of a small group ministry will be evident. Further, where the small group ministry is directed to mission and the church provides scope for this activity, the growth and renewal of the church will be greatly facilitated.
In particular, a ministry configured on small groups suitable for the churches in Nigeria would benefit from the freedom of fellowship amongst the church‟s membership. The small group ministry envisaged may be uncommon or even new to some of the Nigerian communities for which they are intended but as shown, this type of ministry is well suited to their needs and the need for church growth. In addition, taking the approach to another level, the participation of small group leaders in the affairs of the church will relieve the current over emphasis of a single dominant pastor in church affairs.
Following the suggested approach of using the seven different kinds of small group ministries mentioned will lead to church members developing mature spiritual relationships in Christ, the emergence of well trained lay leaders and, through the sharing and caring stimulated within the small groups, a healthy, vigorous church life and growth.
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