discipleship at Intercessor Church
What is Discipleship?
Discipleship: is about following Jesus. It is about learning to live like him, to love like him, and to serve like him.
Discipleship: is a lifelong journey. It is not something that we can achieve overnight. It takes time, effort, and commitment.
Discipleship: is open to everyone. It does not matter who you are or where you come from. If you are willing to follow Jesus, then you are welcome to join the journey.
What are the Five Habits of Discipleship?
Connect:We cannot be autonomous Christians, we need God and each other
Pray: Talk to God about your life, hopes, and dreams.
Serve: Help others in need. This could be volunteering your time, donating to charity, or simply being kind to someone in your community.
Give: Share your time, money, or possessions with others.
Share: Tell others about the love of God and how he has changed your life.
How to Start a Habit
- Choose a habit that is important to you. It is much easier to stick to a habit if you are passionate about it.
- Make it small. Don’t try to change your life overnight. Start with a small habit that you can easily do every day.
- Make it easy. Remove any obstacles that might make it difficult to do your habit. For example, if you want to start exercising, put your workout clothes out the night before, so you don’t have to think about it in the morning.
- Track your progress. This will help you stay motivated and see how far you have come. There are many different ways to track your progress, such as using a habit tracker app, keeping a journal, or simply checking off a box each day that you do your habit.
- Don’t give up. Everyone slips up sometimes. If you miss a day, don’t beat yourself up. Just pick up where you left off the next day.
The 5 Habits of Discipleship
Connect
“We believe that everyone is connected to God, and we want to help people connect with each other and with God. We don’t expect people to come to us, so we go to them. We have friends who are not Christians, and we love and encourage them. We also have Christian friends who build us up, and we support them. We believe that everyone is loved by God, and we want to help people experience that love.”
Pray
We cannot be Christians if we don’t pray. You cannot be in a relationship if you do not talk to the other person and if you do not depend on the other person. Prayer is not a ritual, it is a relationship.
Give
We give because Christ gave. We are generous because Christ was generous. We are good stewards because Christ was a good steward. God wants to be free from debt and generous to those in supporting the Gospel and helping those is debt, distress, and discontent.
Serve
Christianity is not a spectator sport; we cannot grow in our faith by sitting on the bench or the pew. A result of our faith is that as we are discipled, we disciple others.
Share
We tell others about the best restaurants and the best movies, and we share the good news all the time. Yet we can be nervous about sharing the real good news. Why? Often we feel inadequate, not educated enough, and not perfect enough. In fact, we are thirsty people, telling others where the cool water is. We are just making an introduction.
What is Discipleship at Intercessor?
A disciple is someone who believes in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, intentionally learns from Him, and strives to live more like Him. Discipleship is a widely-used word to describe a journey of spiritual growth. This growth happens as a person comes alongside another to witness to them, pray with them, study the Bible with them, and fellowship with them.
Why is Discipleship Important:
“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’” Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV).
What are the Five Habits of Discipleship?
Connect | to God and Each Other
Pray | We talk with God to stay in a relationship with him
Serve | We strive to Grow, then we strive to grow others.
Give | We give because he gave
Share | We introduce others to the God we met.
What is Success in Life?
You are fulfilling God’s purpose in your life. You were born with a purpose. We can miss our purpose and gifts or use them for our own purposes. Jesus did not have a home, income, spouse, kids, or anything else today we think is a success. Yet, he is considered the most successful person to have walked the earth because he fully fulfilled his purpose. It is never too late to start working out your gifts and purpose. Every step forward counts.
