The Core Task of the Church

This week we’re examining the difference between Project Church and the typical church plant.  Check out the first and second parts of this series if you’re into this sort of thing.

Difference #3 - Our goal isn’t to get butts in seats, it’s to go and make disciples who get their butts out of seats and follow Jesus.

One of the dumbest and most irrelevant church debates today is whether a church should emphasize evangelism or discipleship. Are you kidding me?  That’s like arguing about whether a bird should emphasize laying eggs or learning to fly.

Unfortunately, the typical church plant falls into the same stupid “either/or” trap. I’ve talked to some church planters and pastors who tell me to be all about reaching people while others tell me that discipleship should be our focus.

Like most dudes starting churches, I’m very concerned about people’s eternal destination.  My hope and prayer is that the population of the Heaven would boom because of what God is doing through our church. But here’s the deal: I’m also concerned about their journey to their eternal destination.

The core task of the church is to “go and make disciples.”  Jesus said so.

But what is a disciple?

A disciple is someone who is following Jesus and learning to be more like him by loving God and loving people.

The first step in being a disciple is actually becoming a follower of Jesus.  As a church, we really want people to take this crucial first step.  This, my friends, is called evangelism.  It seems silly to state- but evangelism is not in opposition to discipleship- it’s the first step in being a disciple.

But discipleship doesn’t end there. Following Jesus is a series of next steps.

The next steps are all about our journey to the destination.  Following Jesus affects every nook and cranny of our lives. It’s a day-by-day journey of following Jesus around and in the process, becoming more like him until the day we see him face-to-face.

The vision of Project Church is directly linked to our ability to go and make disciples who love God and people.  If we can’t make disciples, we can’t fulfill our mission. Period.

Tags: Add new tag, Church, Church Planting, discipleship, evangelism, Jesus, project church

2 Comments to The Core Task of the Church

Courtney
Thu, August 21, 2008

The church I grew up in had in their mission statement a phrase that I always thought was so right on. It was something to the effect of their goal being to “make more and better disciples.” I like it. It acknowledges that praying the prayer is not the end of the road, but rather the beginning. Getting more people on the roster doesn’t mean as much as making sure that those folks are growing and maturing as they walk out their sanctification with fear and trembling. I think if you can help the folks in your church catch a glimpse of God’s heart for people you won’t have to focus so much on evangelism because they’ll bursting at the seams to live the life and share their Savior in all they do and say.

Jason
Thu, August 21, 2008

@Courtney - Here, Here.

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