“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works”
Discipleship – Deeper Together
Every year, we as a church choose one area of spiritual growth on which we would like to concentrate our efforts. In 2021, our emphasis was on prayer. 2022’s theme was evangelism, and last year we gave our attention to engaging in service in our church. As we embark on 2024, our prayer is that our church would grow in a culture of discipleship.
Our church mission statement says it all:
Desert Springs Church Exists to Spread God’s Glory Broader and Deeper
Of course, we spread God’s glory broadly by proclaiming the excellencies of Christ in our homes, to our neighbors, and all the way to the ends of the earth. Every member of Desert Springs Church—indeed, every Christian—is called to preach the Gospel, to make disciples, and support the work of missions around the world (Matthew 28:19, Acts 1:8, 1 Peter 2:9).
But how do we spread God’s Glory deeply? As the Lord commissioned us: when we make disciples, they are to be “taught to observe all that Christ commanded” (Matthew 28:20). It is not enough for a Christian to continue with only an elementary understanding of the teachings of Jesus (Hebrews 6:1). “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).
To put it another way, every Christian is like a tree, and as we mature in Christ, our roots go down deeper into the truth and hope of the Gospel (Psalm 1:1-3, Jeremiah 17:7-8). As we continue in our Christian walks, we should desire—and even expect—that over time we will develop a deeper trust in God, a deeper understanding of God’s word, a deeper knowledge of sound doctrine, and a deeper obedience to Christ’s teachings. Like a tree, if a Christian is not growing, then something is wrong.
More than that, maturing Christians should be growing deeper…together. Our love for Christ should translate to a love for Christ’s people and a deeper desire to be in fellowship and meaningful relationships with one another. This in turn should lead to a desire to help other Christians grow deeper themselves. This is the heart of discipleship, and the culture we want to see developing more and more in our church.
Bobby Jamieson defines “discipleship” as simply “growing as followers of Jesus and helping others do the same” (Jamieson, Growing One Another: Discipleship in the Church, p.19). Similarly, Mark Dever says that discipleship (or “discipling”) is “helping others follow Jesus by doing deliberate spiritual good in their lives. It involves taking initiative, teaching, modeling, love, and humility” (Dever, Discipling, p.45).
Discipleship is a what happens when a church is committed to growing Deeper Together. That is our rallying cry, our hope, and our prayer for this year. Specifically, we are working for and asking God that our church would grow deeper together in these three areas:
DEEPER RELATIONSHIPS
Pray for intentional and authentic relationships among the members of our church as we work to see one another grow to become more like Christ.
DEEPER KNOWLEDGE
Pray for our church’s passion for God's word to increase, causing us to pursue a greater understanding of Scripture and how to apply it to one another’s lives.
DEEPER LOVE
Pray for more affection and appreciation for Jesus that leads us to a greater love for others in our church family.
What will we be doing this year to try and make this happen?
Throughout the year, we will continue to pray and talk about what it looks like for the members of our church to be committed to going deeper themselves and with one another.
We will talk about and encourage members to take advantage of the discipleship ministries that already exist in our church: ministries like Equipping Classes, Community Groups, Men’s and Women’s Ministries, and Biblical Counseling. All of these exist to help us grow deeper together in various ways.
We will be hosting a church-wide Equipping Class on Discipleship from February 4 through February 25
Beginning in February, we will start sign-ups for a new ministry structure in our church: Growth Groups.
What are Growth Groups?
Growth Groups will be comprised of 3-5 same-sex members
Groups will meet for approximately 12 weeks (March-May)
Groups will vary in their meeting frequency, however, we encourage groups to meet weekly
How do I join a Growth Group?
You can form your own group, although we encourage you to be intentional to include people you don’t know well or who may not have many relationships in the church. If you decide to form your own group, please let Pastor Alex know so we can give you next steps. His email is alex@dscabq.com.
Or you can fill out the Growth Group Interest Form (below) and we will assign you to a group.
What does a Growth Group Meeting look like?
Groups will meet to read the Bible, pray, memorize Scripture, and accountability.
A suggested schedule for a Growth Group Meeting:
5 minutes – Catching up
10 minutes – Scripture memory
30 minutes - Sharing insights from Scripture reading each week
15 minutes – Asking for accountability
15 minutes - Prayer
What should our group do at the end of the 12 weeks?
At the conclusion of 12 weeks, we would love to see group members either continue meeting, or form new groups.
These ministries and formal structures are not the only way you might go deeper together this year. You could find a younger or older Christian you don’t know, and start meeting together to read the bible. You could strategically schedule playdates with your kids so you and some other parents can have time to pray and hold one another accountable. You could invite some members to join you for lunch after church so you can get to know them better. There are lots of ways to pursue deeper relationships, knowledge, and love within our church. The main thing is that we are all intentionally, and prayerfully committed to going deeper together. Will you join us?
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Executive Pastor