Making disciples is not always the easiest, and during these uncertain times we might be asking the question, “How are we to make disciples of all nations if we have to distance ourselves?” To begin, if you haven’t already done so I want to recommend you read our post on sharing the Gospel online. Click here to view that post.
We are called to do more than just share the plan of salvation and help people start a relationship with Jesus. We also are called to disciple them. But how do we do this when we are stuck at home with little to no face-to-face time? Let us give you a new vision for discipleship while we wait for this pandemic to end.
A new vision for discipleship
It is important during these times that we don’t lose focus on what discipleship really is. Discipleship is what Jesus did with His early followers. For Jesus, discipleship was most often lived out in real life. Jesus discipled people as they walked along the road or served other people’s needs. The lessons were more caught than taught.
To truly make disciples, we must do what Jesus did: teach with our actions, not just words. Interestingly enough, Jesus discipled His followers based on the current situation. He looked for teachable moments along the way and often made lessons out of everyday items, activities or current events. What better time than now for us to demonstrate to those we hope to disciple on how Christians should respond to the current issues in the world?
Don’t miss out on a once in a lifetime opportunity to teach your disciple(s) the art of online ministry. Jesus most often discipled His followers through service. We can too! Consider taking your disciple(s) on a digital mission trip! At TBM, we believe missions is discipleship. Serving other people is the best way to fight against the spirit of narcissism and to exercise the second most important command of Jesus: love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
During this time, let’s teach our disciple(s) to look at the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to serve others online. One of the best ways to start is a digital mission trip is by reading with your disciple(s) our post on “How you can share your faith online during the coronavirus pandemic”. After reading the post you might brainstorm with your disciple(s) some ideas you might do together to serve other people online.
Set a start and end date and treat it just like a normal trip. Have fun with this! Check in with each other often and pray for God to allow your team to have several gospel conversations every day. Consider having a “Share Time” via an online group chat platform each night.
By Preston Cave, missions and discipleship coordinator for TBM. Contact Preston at Preston.Cave@TBMTX.org to learn about making disciples throughout Texas and to the ends of the earth through TBM ministries.