Have you seen all the “Help Wanted” signs that are popping up everywhere? It seems like every restaurant in my area has one up. In one way it is a good sign. It means the economy may be bouncing, Covid’s ravages are waning.
There is a place that needs a “Help Wanted” sign and it is probably your church.
I see in churches some of the best disciplemakers. Women and men who are adamant to form Christ fully in another, who desire to see their disciples also help others. I have seen whole churches that have a beautiful system of making disciples. It is their culture; a DNA to reproduce Jesus fully in their people.
However, the issue for lots churches is that they may only have a few people actually living out 2 Timothy 2:2. The congregation as a whole has a weak disciplemaking process. Unfortunately, many believers simply go to church, throw a few bucks in the offering and are stuck spiritually.
Navigators Church Ministries (NCM) works to counter this dilemma in the church on a number of fronts. This year we wanted to take a new tact. NCM only has a 135 staff equipping pastors and churches. What if we could release more folks to model and live out disciplemaking in local congregations.
We dreamed of pulling in staff throughout The Navigators to lend a hand.
Over the years NCM has bumped into some principles and insights that have helped our staff to impact local congregations. Every church is different. They have unique ministry philosophies, skills, and theological bents. We have had to come in as learners to understand the dynamics within that body of believers. Collectively, we have gleaned wisdom to effectively develop disciples in many contexts.
Bill Mowry, Donnie Hoover and I sat down in December 2020 to begin crafting what we call the OnRamp Initiative. The goal of this initiative was to help Navstaff model disciplemaking in their own place of worship. We wanted to answer the question, “How can I disciple the person next to me in the pew?”
In April, we gathered a handful of staff from a variety of missions and different age groups. During four weekly sessions, we unpacked simple steps any Navstaff can take to become a much-needed model for disciplemaking in their local church. We learned about the challenges of a pastor’s world, took a journey through a disciplemaking workbook, were introduced to some helpful curriculum and an assessment (https://navigatorschurchministries.org/resource/church-culture-assessment/) for a church’s acumen in discipling.Bill, Donnie, and I were encouraged by the resulting outcomes of these Zoom meetings and stories the OnRamp participants have shared with us. Let me tell you one story. Marshall Drake recently joined Navstaff. His family has deep roots in The Navigators. Marshall was curious about how he could make disciples in his church now that he was on Navstaff. He lives in Reno and knows a number of pastors around town. After participating in the OnRamp sessions with us, Marshall had a conversation with a pastor that allowed him to apply what he had learned immediately. He shared the “disciplemaking assessment” tool with the pastor, a tool that he had just learned about during the last OnRamp session. The pastor was excited and very appreciative to work through the assessment with Marshall and had many questions for him. After meeting with the pastor, Marshall called me totally enthused, but desperately wanting additional help on how to move forward with the pastor. We talked through the pastor’s
questions and came up with a plan to move forward to help and equip the pastor. In addition, I assured Marshall that I would be available to him as he had need, he would not be left alone in this journey. It is so exciting to see how God had gone before Marshall, preparing him in advance to be God’s answer to that church and that pastor’s Help Wanted sign.
That is one example of a result we love to see. Disciples are being made everywhere, even in the local church, but there are far too many Help Wanted signs hanging up in church windows. Might you be the next Marshall that God desires to use to partner with your local church in making disciples who make disciples?
We will be conducting “OnRamp Initiatives” throughout the year both via Zoom and in person. Please know that we would love for your to join us in this exciting journey to serve our local churches.
Pray for me and our NCM staff as we endeavor to propel pastors, church and even more navstaff to build disciple everywhere and particularly in the church. May the Lord go before us. 