One of the most wonderful things a Christian can do is walk alongside a brother or sister who has just “been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of God’s beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13). This is a privilege because we can witness God’s power. We are reminded that he is still at work. God is still in the business of saving souls despite what our circumstances may have us believe.
Discipling also allows us to dig into God’s Word with a new Christian as their eyes continue to be opened to “the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God” (Romans 11:33).
Discipling a new Christian, however, can be a daunting task for the inexperienced who do not know where to start, or it could be overwhelming to the experienced who may find themselves with too many ideas and very little direction. So, how then can we approach discipleship?
Tailoring Discipleship
I believe that a personalized discipleship experience is the most effective one. When we are allowed to disciple someone, we often think about our own discipleship experience, if we have one: the new books by our favorite authors, a sermon series we found insightful, or a podcast we have listened to for weeks on end. These options may not be bad in themselves, but they can often take the focus off of the person God has brought to us.
A personalized discipleship experience is the most effective one.
Focusing on the disciple requires us to know a bit of their story: how they came to faith, their background, personality, and the questions they are asking. This helps us know whether the book or the sermon series will meet the person where they are in their Christian walk. It will require coffee dates or conversations, helping us get to know the disciple better so that we can think through their needs with more insight in an effort for them to love and know God more.
An abuse victim’s questions and Christian walk may be different from that of a widower or a person who has been saved after years of being an atheist. Tailoring the discipleship to the person in front of you, with God’s help, will help them stand on their feet as new Christians.
Disciples of Jesus
Tailoring the discipleship is a good place to start, but the focus of our discipleship should not remain on the disciple, but should instead be on God. Our access to podcasts, books, and YouTube videos should not take away from the fact that the disciple was saved into Jesus’ Kingdom, not ours.
The disciple was saved into Jesus’ Kingdom, not ours.
Our prayer should be for the new Christian “to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that they may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:18). This cannot happen if they are not saturated in God’s Word. It does not mean that we cannot supplement with other content, but it means that we should be quicker to turn to the Bible than to other content. It means that if we decide to use extra-biblical content, we will use ones that continually take us to the Bible as the final authority. Often this will mean that the content of our discipleship is a book of the Bible, and we can be grateful for God’s Spirit that enables us to understand it and even rediscover its beauty and depth.
Walking in the fellowship of the light
“…but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
I believe that the relational aspect of discipleship is often pushed aside for a more formal and very structured experience. Don’t get me wrong, I agree that some structure and healthy boundaries between us and the disciple are needed. However, the disciple was saved into a family, they need to know that this family is real and tangible.
This can be a challenging aspect of discipleship for some as it requires more vulnerability, perhaps a more flexible time arrangement, opening up of homes, and sacrificing time and resources for the disciple. But these are things God calls us to do for those who are walking in the light just as we are.
This does not mean that our lives have to change completely for the disciple—we still need to make wise decisions. However, it means that after we have read through that epistle or listened to all the podcast episodes, we will not leave feeling like we have completed a project. Instead, we have loved, cared, and prayed for the disciple who is clothed with Christ just as we are, walking alongside them as fellow children of God.
Yasmine Erasmus works with City to City Africa and George Whitefield College in Cape Town, South Africa. She is a member of Coastal Bible Church in Muizenberg and previously worked on staff for The Bible Talks, a reformed evangelical campus ministry in Durban.
