Field Number Three - Discipleship in Small Settings

An important mission distinction that is now being realised by Western Christian leaders is between making disciples rather than counting decisions. Many churches have concentrated on the latter and neglected the former. The Great Commission of Matthew 28 is very clear: Make Disciples.

As we meander fields 1 & 2 in the Four Fields model of working amongst new people, we are praying and hoping by God's grace to see people to say a 'Big Yes' to Jesus and embark on a life of discipleship. But the discipling process starts straight away in Field 2 - Gospel Sharing - as we discover who is spiritually open and willing to journey with us in some form of Discovery Bible Study. In those discovery sessions we typically look at the gospel stories of Jesus, to help the enquirer discover Jesus for themselves. As we do that we share and model good discipleship habits, chiefly asking each time: 'Based on this discovery, what do you think Jesus would have you do?'. In simple terms this means modelling obedience to Jesus.

For example an enquirer was doing these kind of sessions with me, looking through episodes in Mark's gospel. Previously we had covered the man lowered through the roof, the man with the withered hand, healings and demons commanded to be quiet in the crowds, calming the storm, and the legion demoniac. This had enabled my new friend to begin to appreciate Jesus as one who can forgive, heal, command the demons, and command the storm. For each aspect we compared what this was saying about Jesus to the gods of his own religious background, and his understanding of those god's capabilities. Through these sessions modelling discipleship included looking to Jesus for healing, accepting that He has the plain & simple authority, and being still with Jesus even in the storms. Story by story the penny started to drop - and we used prayers that I would characterise as 'Little Yes' responses to Jesus.

Then we came to the story of Jesus bringing back Jairus' daughter from her death. This proved to be a key discovery. There was no equivalent story in their own religious background - it is only Jesus who has the power over life and death! His immediate 'Big Yes' to Jesus response takes us into Field 3 - Discipleship in Small Settings. We will continue with the same tools of Discovery Bible Study, but with the shift of context from 'Is Jesus worth following?' to 'What does following Jesus mean for us today?'. The shift is a natural one because remember we were already modelling discipleship from the very first session! Sessions can be done one-to-one or in a group - either way it is a small setting, making it deeply relational and personal for those involved.

Note that we are not so concerned with 'church' yet! That will come ... if the small setting involves more than one (plus the leader), or the enquirer(s) are able to share and start sessions with their own contacts, then you have the first signs of church forming on a micro-scale anyway.