One of the first churches I started to work with even before I came of staff with The Navs was Providence Church in Avon. I met with Andy and Tom to talk about their groups ministry and discipleship at the Bob Evans on Rockside Rd. I was still interviewing with The Navs. It was a nice foretaste of what my ministry was going to become.
This past fall we ran a workshop called The Alongsider. It’s based off the book The Ways of the Alongsider. What I like about it is that it’s the relational and biblical principles that build disciples. It’s easy enough for those who’ve never discipled someone, yet there’s plenty of challenges for those who’ve helped mature others for years.
Here’s the rest of the story from Andy Meeker.
In Galatians 4:19 the apostle Paul appears to be very candid in his comment about the struggle of seeing “Christ formed” in believers. Christ “formation” or spiritual growth and development in a person’s life, in most cases it seems, is a long-haul marathon. It involves intentional engagement by those, who like Paul, long to see the “Christ forming”. We at Providence Church are grateful for Dane’s heart and engagement among us as we long to see Christ formed in the members of our local body. The training at a recent “Along-siders” half-day training session as well as the one-on-one informal times of encouragement and guidance have been very helpful in keeping us pressing on in the formation process.
Andy
Pray as Providence continues to work hard at making disciples. Pray for Andy, Joe as they work encourage more people to learn the art of being spiritual mentors.
More Rest of the Story, part 3