From the beginning of his ministry Jesus had one purpose in mind; to seek and to save those who are lost . Jesus with full of wisdom, thus He realized that this noble and humongous task could not be accomplished by Him alone. Therefore it’s not by accident that from the beginning of his ministry the first disciples he called up to follow him were given a new task not of fishing fish but of fishing men. This task involved following his teachings and applying them in their lives and teaching others to do the same. Fishing of men is a laborious process rather than an instantaneous act.
It is a paradigm shift of sorts’ because it involves the process of changing a person’s mindset from one to a totally different one. Most times this is not easy bearing in mind that people are always resistant to change. Therefore at the end of his mission on earth before he ascended to heaven, Jesus reiterated the purpose of the disciples who had assembled at the mountain in Galilee. Their purpose was to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised them that he will always be with them to offer help where necessary, the Holy Spirit was to serve this purpose.
This was in view of the challenges they were to encounter while spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ The church I am going to discuss about strives to follow this teaching of Jesus to the letter. The mission of this church is to evangelize the whole world with God’s help. This church follow certain processes that are taught to every member who in turn does the same to others, becoming and an endless form of activity as Jesus intended it to be. The process can be discussed in various stages. 1. Evangelizing Evangelism is the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to help others to convert to Christianity.
Whilst most other churches use crusades where a mass of audience is preached to, this particular church advocates a one- on- one type of evangelism. They term this as sharing of faith this helps or enables each member have a personal conviction about the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus every member is encouraged to share there faith in obedience to the scriptures. At this stage depending on the conviction of the disciple involved it can be an easy or very difficult process. One is supposed to practice to become a good disciple maker.
Therefore to help everyone to have this conviction, emphasis is made regularly and whoever desires is encouraged to go out with those who are more experienced and reach out to even strangers just as Jesus did. This follows also in the teachings of Jesus that every disciple made should be taught continuously to always obey Jesus commands. Bible Study After evangelizing or sharing of faith whoever desires to commit him/herself to be a Christian does not get converted immediately. The church has well developed Bible classes that they are supposed to go through and understand. This helps them understand what following Jesus is all about.
They also need to understand that it’s a life-time decision that needs to be taken very seriously therefore he/she is encouraged to “count the cost” before making the decision . The decision should never be based on emotion but out of the realization that one is a sinner and needs his/her sins be forgiven. It is very important for the disciple who is helping the convertee to cultivate a very close relationship that leads to increase in transparency and trust. This is the only way that the convertee can open up and talk about themselves candidly without fear or shame of rejection.
The bible study also helps in both ways. The disciple understands the scriptures more and the one studying as well is helped to understand the bible and the life of Jesus and what is required of him/her. At this point the person studying can choose to continue with the classes or not. Meanwhile he/she’s encouraged to attend the services or take part in the meetings that happen on Sundays and mid-weeks. The attendance of this services enables the convertee evaluate whether the bible teachings are adhered to or not. It also enables them cultivate more friendships with the members of the congregation.
The convertee is also encouraged to start having personalized Bible studies (Quiet times) and prayers on a regular basis. This enables them start living a life of denying themselves as per the preaching’s of Jesus Christ . 2. Counting Cost At this stage the covert is allowed to think through the important decision that he/she wants to make. This is based on the premise that one needs to repent his/her old way of life. Repentance means that they are supposed to have a complete turn around from their old ways of living.
For example if they were smoking or drinking they should stop forthwith. If they were in any immoral relationship it should also cease. Thus they are required to start living as per the teachings of Jesus Christ. This stage is very important because chances of making emotional decisions are minimized. Hence the convert also assesses him/herself to see whether they will manage to live their lives as per the scriptures. If they realize they can’t they can decide as they wish, otherwise all has been done for them and the decision needs to come from them.