Jesus came and told His disciples,‘I have been given all authority in Heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’”
Matthew 28:18-20
The final words Jesus said to His followers (and to us believers today) was to go and tell others about Jesus, to show them how to walk with Him. We call this The Great Commission and our call is no different today than it was all those years ago: discipleship.
Discipleship isn’t one of the gifts of the Spirit spoken of in Scripture (1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, 1 Peter 4), rather God will utilize the spiritual gifts we have been given in order to disciple new believers. It is a non-negotiable call to every single person who calls themselves a Christian. We can’t escape this commission, but how do we do it, and what does it look like? Do we have to start a weekly small group? Do we have to create a big conference, or meet one on one with one person? The short answer is: sure, if that’s what God is calling you to. But, discipleship will look different for every person and in every season.
In September of 2022 my husband and I were called to move across the country from the west coast of California to the west coast of Florida, where I would be leading worship at a new church plant. God impressed on me that while I would be going to lead worship, my main priority would be discipleship. The previous two years before this move, I had been discipled by a group of godly women, who displayed the gifts of the Spirit in beautiful ways. He put me into a safe bubble of familiar and loving women who taught me a better way to pray, a deeper way to study God’s Word, and a more intentional way of discipleship. I learned that discipleship doesn’t always have to be a weekly Bible study or going through a discipleship book. The true call of a disciple of Jesus is to be right and to be ready to answer God’s call of discipleship at any given moment.
The Holy Spirit gives us gifts in order to build up, stir up and cheer top the body of Christ, so if we are operating in these spiritual gifts we won’t miss a moment. Isn’t that exciting! That’s not to say I don’t miss the first cue sometimes. One Sunday morning after church while we were still in California, I wasn’t really interested in mingling afterwards. My husband and I were both real estate agents at the time and we had an open house to get to. He is usually the one placing a gentle hand on my back signaling that he is ready to leave, but that day our roles were reversed. I was impatiently waiting for him to wrap up an unusually long conversation, when I was introduced to a woman I hadn’t met yet. I tried to be pleasant, but I really wasn’t interested in talking. To be honest, I listened half-heartedly as the woman told me she had recently moved away from her family and to the area on her own, where she was a doctor who focused on street medicine. I had never heard of this specific profession before, but was amazed as she told me that her team would literally walk the worst streets filled with people who were the worst off. She was feeling discouraged and my heart began to soften as I heard her speak of her discouragement of not being able to witness to people, or pray over people as it was funded but the government. As I saw the weariness in her face, my impatience melted and I was able to see the clear opportunity God had given me.
I told her she reminded me of the stories in the Gospels, where Jesus would tell His disciples to do a simple task such as prepare a room for dinner, not knowing it would be the last supper. Us modern day believers have the entire Bible and we marvel at all the disciples did, when they may have seen it as a simple task. As I listened to petite this young woman tell me of the courageous work she did walking through the roughest streets, I was in awe! I reminded her that Jesus has given her His Holy Spirit, that she could see beyond people’s physical ailments and into their souls. God is able to tell her what they need deep down inside, and that as she was caring for the person she could be lifting them up to Jesus and asking for a healing deeper than her medical training could touch. I then asked her if I could pray over her as I gently placed my hand on her shoulder.
After we finished praying she had a look of relief on her face, thanked me profusely and asked if we could be friends to which I wholeheartedly agreed! We exchanged phone numbers, and I was off to our open house in only about five minutes. After our first meeting we only managed to get in a few coffee dates in between both of our busy schedules, but the Lord taught me something. If I am willing to be used anywhere and at anytime, He will use me in to touch people’s lives. He simply asks me to have a heart for discipleship, to be open to letting Him have my time and energy for His use. God knew I had an open house to get to, and He knew this young woman was in need of encouragement. I learned that day to take every single opportunity to invest in whoever God puts in front of me.
Our time in Florida has not been all roses and rainbows. There have been a myriad of emotions in leaving our kids, family and friends back in California, moving 3 times, having to give our dog away, and navigate a new place, new friends, new ministries. But through all of it I have said “yes” to investing in whoever God put in front of me. For some friends it has been a couple coffee dates, for some it has been a weekly Bible study, or an occasional walk on the beach. I have been blown away by the blessing these new friends have been to me. God has blessed me with beautiful lifelong friends who won’t ever get rid of me, even if they want to, haha!
So, my fellow Believer, you are called to be a disciple (follow Jesus), and to make disciples (help others follow Jesus). A quote I read years ago inspired me and I will now pass it on to you. It is taken from a book called “Replicate: How to Create a Culture of Disciple-Making Right Where You Are” by Robby Gallaty and Chris Swain. Their charge was to “Fearlessly invest your time in others.” Put away the fear of how much time, energy and effort you will have to invest and just say yes, knowing God will give you all you need to encourage others. You will both reap the benefits of saying yes to the call of being and making disciples!