Discipleship is all about meeting people where they are and leading them to Jesus. With each new year people find themselves ready to make changes and be better than they were last year. So how should the church respond to this moment at the beginning of each year? Here are 3 things to consider as you kick off a new year of discipleship.
1. You have to reach people before you can disciple them.
As you think through your priorities this year, double down on outreach but not big event outreach. Think through ways that your small groups can be mobilized to reach their friends and invite people into their groups. Help your people identify others in their life that they can be praying for and building gospel relationships with. Start new groups to reach new people. Each of these things are impactful in their own way, but each shows intentionality toward reaching new people.
2. You have to know a community before you can reach it.
On the mission field and in the church planting community, exegeting your community is common practice. In established churches, this practice often goes overlooked. The truth is, however, that many churches have a false sense of familiarity with their people and their communities. I’ve heard countless stories of churches who had to close their doors because they didn’t change with the community around them and I’m always left wondering why they didn’t care enough to make the right adjustments. If it’s been a while since you studied your community, carve out some time to rediscover not the people in your church, but the people in your community. What are the cultural markers of town that you live in? What are the demographics of the people in your community and what are the demographics of the people in your church? Does your church reflect your community? If not, why?
3. You have to model discipleship before you can teach it.
Discipleship is all about leading by example. When you ask your people to go reach their friends, make sure that you are doing it too. If you don’t find yourself in environments with lost people to get to know, join a gym this year. Who knows, maybe you’ll see some other benefits too! As you encourage them to invite people to their small groups, make sure you are actively inviting people to the group that you lead. And when you teach them about relational discipleship, make sure that you have recent examples from the discipleship relationships that you are pursuing in your own life. And if you aren’t doing these things now, this is the perfect time to start. Don’t let the busyness of ministry leadership get in the way of the real joys of walking with Jesus and leading others to do the same. Get into the life on life gospel work that God has called us all to and make 2025 your best year yet!