Why Does Anyone Become a Disciple of Jesus?

That is a deeply theological and intensely personal question! I can think of many reasons not to become a follower of Jesus. Namely, as I read the scriptures, it is really hard and requires sacrifices of things in my life that I hold too dear. The benefit of living sacrificially to follow Jesus is to live in God’s abounding and eternal Grace. Again, another theological idea that is immensely deep and extremely difficult to begin to grasp.

All that being said about the challenges to following Jesus and even understanding what it means in our life, how do we as the church connect people to their discipleship journey with Jesus?

Well, you are probably not going to like this answer much either! The reality is that we have very little control over the motivating factors that will cause a person to pursue the disciple’s path. Reflect on your own life, what caused you to start following Jesus as opposed to “just going to church?”

I am guessing that in most cases, at some point in your life, you had a transformative encounter with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Transformative means having the power to cause a significant change or transformation. It can describe a person, process, or event that has the potential to alter the current state of something or someone. It can be a time of crisis in your life where you felt totally helpless until something or someone out of your control helped you navigate the situation. Or it might be a conversation, event, or a course that totally altered your perspective on Creation and your place in it.

In my life, there were two transformational encounters that shaped the rest of my adult life up to this point. In 1991 I was a 26 year old husband expecting our first child. And I was scared to death! A discipleship mentor suggested I take a new Bible study course the United Methodist Church had just rolled out called Disciple Bible Study. For the first time, I dived head first into the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation with a group of fellow disciples that would help shape my role as a follower of Jesus to this day.

During my wife’s pregnancy that year, she encountered a severe complication that caused her to be hospitalized very early in the term. One day was particularly harrowing as she fought for her life and the viability of our unborn son. In that hospital room, during that moment of paralyzing fear, I felt the presence of Jesus in that room with us. My wife and I were discussing that day a while later, and before I could confess my experience, she shared that her only memory of that moment was Jesus standing next to her bed!

You see that is why I stated earlier that these transformative encounters are predominantly out of our control. But what Jesus commanded us to do in the Great Commission is to be present with people when they experience them. Our job as the church and as disciple makers is to help people respond to these transformative encounters by living into the purpose God has set for our life and live into Jesus’ commands.

What does that preparedness look like in the church? It looks like a proactive strategy for connecting, engaging, and guiding disciples in your church and those that are to come. We have to make it obvious and accessible to take next steps. We must be prepared to engage with the person’s needs, help them find their purpose, and then discern the next steps on their discipleship pathway. And then we have to pair them with a guide that will walk with them, supporting and encouraging them along the way.

Does your church have a strategy and processes that provides this level of preparedness? Are you close or do you not know where to even start? Either way, we are here to help!

ChurchCMO offers different levels of service and support no matter your current level of readiness. Our goal is to help you be ready to connect and engage with people experiencing transformative encounters so they don’t fall through the cracks.

I shudder to think where I would be today if my church wasn’t prepared to engage and guide me along my discipleship journey! That is why I do what I do!!!

Schedule a FREE Consultation now. Let’s don’t face the worst case when all it will cost you is time to get started!