Mike Slaughterwith Karen Perry Smith, Lead Facilitator, Passionate Churches LLC & Senior Executive Director, Ginghamsburg Church
As Mike and I partner with churches through Passionate Churches LLC, one issue we frequently encounter is the lack of a defined discipleship pathway. Church leaders want to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, but they either aren’t sure how to do it – or they can’t clearly communicate about it. And it doesn’t help that discipleship within the U.S. in the 21st century is a bit of a mystery. In an era when those who show up for worship once a month consider themselves to be regular attenders, it’s hard to know exactly how discipleship is supposed to happen. The challenge is magnified given that new worshipers are less likely than ever to have had previous church experience.
In addition to partnering with Mike at Passionate Churches, I have been on the staff leadership team at Ginghamsburg Church for 16 years. Part of my current role includes adult discipleship. Ginghamsburg has had discipleship pathways in place for years, but we annually reassess what needs to change. How do we call and equip people to pick up their crosses and follow Jesus while also competing with soccer games, football practice and bulging family calendars?
Right now, our strategy is built around three themes.
Relationships, Not Programs
Small group community, the Acts 2 church, is still essential. People are seeking relationships, not yet another program. In fact, we know that programs don’t make disciples; disciples made disciples. So, first and foremost, we focus on helping people connect with one another in life groups. As Pastor Andy Stanley likes to emphasize, something happens in circles that never happens in rows.
More is Not Better; Strategic is Better
Convincing people to drive to bricks-and-mortar events is getting tougher. We no longer believe that if we build it they will come. Offering more classes is not the answer, yet offering the most strategic classes is essential. Ginghamsburg’s adult discipleship pathway includes five core classes. Those specific offerings may change over time, but we want to ensure any iteration of the pathway teaches Christology, key disciplines and call. Because of limited adult space, we offer some core classes on weeknights, but we try to use Sunday as much as possible. We want to capitalize on the time that people are already most likely to come to church.
Being strategic means that we are also experimenting with taking the equipping to where folks are, versus expecting them to drive to our campus. Our first core class is Alpha (see alphausa.org), a globally successful curriculum for helping people explore faith in a safe environment. We currently offer it on campus, but next semester we are moving it to offsite locations. It’s hard to attract a skeptic to a safe space to talk about matters of faith when they first have to come to church to start the discussion. For elective classes, we are also experimenting with Zoom video conferencing. That will never be the way to disciple, but it can be a way.
Leadership, Leadership, Leadership
When we look around at our servant leaders, we see amazing people. Too often though, we primarily see people over the age of 50. Now we need seasoned folks to stick around. (I am one myself.) But if we are not growing up the next generation of leaders, then we are failing. My team’s next job is to build a well-defined leadership pathway and to ensure that all of our current leaders are identifying and apprenticing their under-age-40 replacements. I challenged our women’s ministry leadership team recently not to see themselves as being in the women’s ministry business, but to see themselves as being in the leadership development business. The leaders they are developing just happen to be women.
If your church has a unique take on what discipleship should look like in the 21st century, please comment here or on the Passionate Churches LLC Facebook page.
Mike Slaughter, pastor emeritus and global church ambassador for Ginghamsburg Church, served for nearly four decades as the lead pastor and chief dreamer of Ginghamsburg and the spiritual entrepreneur of ministry marketplace innovations. Mike is also the founder and chief strategist of Passionate Churches, LLC, which specializes in developing pastors, church staff and church lay leaders through coaching, training, consulting and facilitation services. Mike’s call to “afflict the comfortable” challenges Christians to wrestle with God and their God-destinies. Mike’s newest book is Made for a Miracle: from your ordinary to God’s extraordinary (Abingdon Press).