Upcoming Webinar with Pastor Timothy Lee: Developing a Discipleship Track!

While relational discipleship is disciple-focused, it doesn’t mean it is disciple-led.

In building a relationship with the disciple, we earn an influence over their lives. What is the purpose of this influence? It is so that we can lead them in growing in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The need for a growth track

How do you know if your disciple is growing? Like a physical baby, there are growth markers such as weight and height that show you if the baby is healthy.

What do these growth markers look like in a spiritual baby?

At Tabernacle of Joy, we identified 4 stages of a disciple’s growth.

  • Stage 1: Learn to Trust
  • Stage 2: Discover to Honour
  • Stage 3: Serve and Mature
  • Stage 4: Impact by Investing

Stage 1: Learn to trust – The Infant

New-born babies cry and scream to make their demands known. They do not consider the Mum or care-giver, but in meeting their demands, the infant learns who to trust.

It is the same way in the spiritual. Spiritual infants only think about “me and God”. They are looking for blessings rather than the Blesser. But in these times, when God meets their needs, they learn to trust Him.

Stage 2: Discover to Honour – The Child

We teach children to say ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you.’ We teach them what is permissible and what is not.

In the spiritual sense, the young disciple discovers how he can honour God with his life. This includes the awareness of a bigger family apart from “me and God”.

The spiritual child sees the bigger church family and discovers that we honour God through the relationships around us.

Stage 3: Serve and Mature – The Young Adult

This is the stage where the focus changes from “me” to God and others.

They recognise that God has shaped them for a purpose and their priorities begin to change. They start seeking out areas in which they can use their God-given abilities and gifts. They are willing to sacrifice to serve because they understand the value of service.

Stage 4: Impact by Investing – The Parent

This is the last stage of the disciple’s growth. Like in the physical, children grow up to be adults and start families of their own. The same happens in the spiritual.

The spiritual infant grows to be a parent, matured and equipped to care for another life, mentoring and discipling them into adulthood the same way their spiritual parents did for them.

How do we lead people on this growth journey?

Organic and Systematic Approach

At Tabernacle of Joy, we use a 2-prong approach – an organic and systematic approach. Let me explain how these 2 approaches work hand in hand.

Systematic Approach

A nutrition chart tells us what foods we need in order to grow healthily. There is no substitute for protein, carbohydrates and fiber. If we want to grow, we must have it in our diet.

It is the same with our spiritual diet. In other words, there are essential things to the disciple’s growth that they must learn.

For example, the doctrine of salvation, the principles of tithing, surrendering to God’s lordship in their lives and much more. These are some examples of core Biblical principles that we must teach a disciple in order for them to grow.

This approach is disciple-maker-led. The disciple-maker leads the disciple through a systematic track of learning foundational truths.

Organic Approach

And then there are supplements and vitamins. We take them when we want to strengthen a particular area in our health or make up for the lack of it. Some are season specific, like taking calcium for older women.

In our spiritual diet, we need supplements too. Firs time parents need to know what it means to be a parent and how to build their family on God’s word. Singles don’t need to know that.

This is diet tailored to the specific need of the disciple. This organic approach can also include practical life-skills like financial planning and cooking!

The goal is the holistic growth of the disciple in all aspects of life.

This approach is disciple-led and focuses on the needs of the disciple.

Make Growth Intentional

Every Pastor, leader and minister wants to lead people to Jesus Christ. Having a growth track helps us to stay on course in this journey of leading other to Christ. It becomes focused and intentional. When that happens, the results speak for themselves.

Join us for an upcoming webinar this July 2022 with Pastor Timothy Lee on Developing A Discipleship Track!