Nor Cal / Nev College Ministries

Introduction

In Lesson 7, we stated that the ideal model for discipleship is accomplished in the srnall group context, from which we then undergird with 1-to-I discipleship. Lessons 7, 8, and 9 focused upon the biblical example and practical skills of small group discipleship. Small group discipleship is primary. Secondary to it, but also essential, is time spent 1-to-1 between the discipling leader and the new disciple.

Many questions can be raised concerning 1-to-1 discipleship.

• What should occur during these times?

• What do we talk about?
• How can this time be spent in a quality manner?

Answering these questions and teaching skills of 1-to-1 discipleship are the goals of this lesson.

Practical guide for college small group Bible studies.

A couple of hundred years ago there was a view of God that maintained He was a Master Clockmaker. He made a giant blue dock and called it good, and gave it the name earth. As this view goes; the Master cloclunaker then wound up this blue clock and left for parts unknown in the universe (presumably to make more clocks). This view affirmed God as creator, but saw Him as transcendent, and distant from His creation--an absent God.

Sometimes this scenario can happen in a ministry. Student leaders can be well trained and then commissioned. They have passed all the requirements to serve as discipleship leaders. They have been pointed at a handful of students and told, "Go, make disciples". They do go, but shorily after, they begin to feel very burdened, later to feel overwhelmed. They feel responsible and abandoned. You then find them sitting in your office, giving you a rafionale for why they need to resign from their leadership role.

The campus ministry was only a few months old, but graciously it had a good beginning. The campus pastor and his wife were able to start (between them) three discipleship small groups with four to five incach small group. About a month before finals of the fall semester, a weekend retreat was held with most of the students attending. The retreat was on the discipling process.

After much prayer the campus pastor went into the next main weekly meeting ready to challenge the young group to become a committed discipling campus ministry. The night was given to reflections on the retreat and student's personal reactions. Then the pastor asked, "Do we desire to become that kind of a ministry?" After some serious contemplation the consensus was "Yes".

It is time to move from the philosophical, theological foundations for the discipling process to the implementation of that process. With us, as with Jesus, the method must be in the building up of believers into disciple-makers. What is needed is a consistent direction and process. There is no magical recipe. Remember, discipleship is a process not a program. The prindples of discipleship must be applied and tailored to your unique situation. We repeat, there is no magic formula which can be devised to work in all situations.

However, just as a farmer prepares the soil to receive the seed, then fertilizes and waters, so we can prepare the soil of our campus groups to become a discipling ministry. Just as with all other ministry, campus ministry is the Lord's work. He causes the growth. He makes people mature. He has instructed us to be part of the process. So how can we help prepare the soil? Hopefully some of the following ideas may help you on the way.

It was the middle of May and another school term was complete. He sat feeling exhausted from the year. His thoughts darted back and forth. "You would think after eight years of campus ministry; I would begin to see the fruit of my labor. All I feel now is fatigue, and frustration. What happened to me this year? I can't remember working harder, especially these past five months. I did more crisis level counseling recently than in probably the previous two to three years. But has anyone really gotten better? In fact, some seem in worse shape. And even my stable students seemed ambivalent at the end of school. Lord, what's going on? Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a campus pastor."

The process of discipling was not new to the Jewish world of Jesus. Jewish rabbis had been followed by disciples for quite some time before Jesus' arrival. But the manner by which Jesus discipled was radically different. The rabbis bound their disciples to the Torah, the Jewish Bible, and to the instruction of previous rabbis. Jesus bound his disciples to Himself. Jesus required His disciples to surrender without reservation to Him and to the Kingdom of God that he was inaugurating. The relationship between Jesus and the Twelve had no parallel in the Hebrew religion. The Twelve were not official brass following their governor. Being a disciple of Jesus meant nothing less than complete personal commitment to Jesus. And being committed to Jesus included being committed to His message of the Kingdom of God and His method of bringing in the Kingdom.

Discipleship, like evangelism, is a biblical mandate. Neither is optional in the believer's life. While many Christians are tempted at times to put on special outreaches and to "do evangelism" inan effort to ease their consciences as it pertains to spreading the good news, most know that being a witness is an around-the-clock job in which they are never off duty.

The same could be said of discipleship. For the Christian, discipling should be a way of life-an every moment adventure Discipleship cannot be approached as a new area of personal growth that one emphasizes for a season. It is not an elective or an add-on to a ministry program. Being a disciple and discipling others is at the very heart of the New Testament definition of effective Christian life. We have already seen that discipleship is at the core of Jesus' Great Commission to His church. Rather than an item on the periphery, discipleship is a central issue; a point from which Christian beliefs and lifestyle originate and develop.

WHY DISCIPLE STUDENTS?

Today's college student is in great peril. There are forces at work on
the campus that have an attractive exterior, but are actually harbingers
of destruction. These forces are not unique to the campus environment,
but they are defined and promoted on the campus. They have become the
idols of our American society, and today's student is being trained to
serve as their prophets. The idols of materialism, individualism, relativism
and secularism are worshipped without shame. The God of the Bible has
little relevance to these students who have made idols of their own choosing,
idols that fit into their own world view. It is apparent that the calling
of a campus pastor is to present to these self-indulgent students, Jesus
who is altogether beautiful both inside and out.

foundations and practics for discipleship