The mission of NPC is to lead all people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. In essence, that is simply a restating of Christ’s command to “go, make disciples of all nations.” But a real disciple, someone who is developing, by the Spirit, the character and capacity of Jesus, someone who looks like the members of the church in the book of Acts, is not produced by accident. A mature Christian is shaped very purposefully, and becomes who she/he is by submission to the gentle and easy yoke of Jesus Christ. At NPC, we’re putting our eggs in the basket of discipleship, beginning first with our elders, who will then train our membership, who will then be sent in a whole new way into our community of Newland and Avery County. What would such a process look like? How might you be a part of something big that God desires for our church and for you? Here, it looks something like this:
Who would be involved?
You! And 6-10 others. Learning. Growing. Caring. Praying. Serving.
When?
Each week for a year, groups will meet for 1 hour to grow as disciples of Jesus. The curriculum is taken from Mike Breen’s Building a Discipling Culture, and we’ll start at the very beginning. Topics include:
What key areas of the Christian life would we focus on?
Relationships (God, Church, World)
Hearing God Speak (What is God Saying & What Am I Doing About It?)
How to Begin Daily Devotions (Rest & Work)
How to Pray (the Lord’s Prayer)
Discovering Your Personal Calling (How Has God Gifted You?)
How to Make a Disciple (Helping Someone Grow in Christ)
Every Day on Mission (How to Love Others and Share Jesus)
How to Measure Your Spiritual Health (Can You Take Your Pulse?)
…among other topics…
Why?
The Session, with Michael, senses God’s direction in pursuing this way of being the Church. Christ’s final words to the Church in Matthew were simple. “Go, make disciples.” And in order to make a disciple, we first have to be one ourselves. We must understand how a disciple is formed. We must allow our own lives to be shaped by the life of Christ revealed in the Scriptures.
In each of the studies listed above, we will look at how Jesus engaged in these activities. In other words, what did Christ’s relationships look like? How did he pray? How and what did he teachhis disciples? How did he live each day on mission? How did he rest? How did he work? In every aspect of our lives, we are called to bear the likeness of Jesus. This study will help you do that. It will help our church do that. It will help us to live more faithfully, and reach others more capably, all in the name of Christ.