Focus on Discipleship

What Is True Discipleship?

Discipleship is the primary method God uses to grow and develop the Body of Christ. The process begins with men and women who have a strong desire to truly know God. In the Bible we see that the Apostles wanted to learn the Truth from Jesus so much they invested the time and energy to do so. As a result they grew strong in Him even though the path was not easy. At times great faith and perserverance were required to continue their journey toward God's heart. Fortunately for us they had the courage and determination to do it.

The Apostles were then able to help others find and experience God as they had. We see this in the heart of their teachings and in examples such as Paul nurturing Timothy. Generation after generation followed this example keeping the Church alive up until now.

True discipleship requires a foundation of sound Biblical teaching, but then goes beyond that. It is not necessarily a church program. It is often outside the influence of the organized church. It is orchestrated within the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. It is one-on-one meetings that occur as younger believers see the value of learning directly from those more mature in the faith.

A single mother who raised her family trusting in God's provision is often able to help someone in the same situation to grow strong in God through it. Someone who, through God's power, was able to overcome the relentless grip of an addiction is able to help another to find God's path to victory over it. Someone who has been miraculously healed is best able to help another with a condition that modern medicine cannot heal. In other words, those who have experienced a deeper reality of God can help others travel that path.

Why Is True Discipleship Not Easy to Find?

Unfortunately, discipleship has been lost in many churches today because of an unbalanced focus on evangelism. Many churches have invested the majority of their resources to get people into their church. This often leaves inadequate resources for equipping them to grow and develop. As a result, many churches are without the role models needed for true discipleship.

At Heart Song, our focus is on developing our relationships with God. This helps to create the role models needed for discipleship. We are not ignoring the Great Commission found in Matthew 28. We have learned that the best evangelists are those who have experienced a deep relationship with God and are then compelled by God's love to share it with others. This is what drove Paul, Peter, John, and the early church to spread the Gospel in a way that changed the world.

Discipleship is a continual process. We never out-grow our need to learn from one another and to help each other. The process works as long as we continue to seek a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Christ. Heart Song desires to attract those with such a heart.