Women’s Discipleship
Growing up I was involved with church and church activities. However, it wasn’t until I was in college that I understood discipleship. It was through the demonstration of someone else that I learned what it meant to be a disciple and ultimately a disciple maker. She invested her time and her understanding of God’s Word in me and taught me how to do the same with others. What I was taught was that discipleship is making disciples who make disciples (2 Timothy 2:2). It’s investing in younger believers, walking through life with them and shepherding them as they grow in their faith.
What is a disciple?
A disciple is a student, a learner, a follower – one who applies what she has learned, knowing that she will eventually teach others. (Matthew 28:19-20)
Discipleship Involves:
- Teaching. Studying the Bible together and equipping others to read, study and apply God’s Word.
- Leading. We lead by example. As A.W. Tozer says,”Only a disciple can make a disciple.” Jesus spent time with large groups and sometimes a group of twelve, but He also spent time with a small group of three. He got them involved in ministering to those around them. He taught them and they taught others.
- Modeling. Demonstrating to others what it means to think, act, and speak as a follower of Christ. When these disciplines are part of your own life, you’ll find them overflowing to others as you spend time together.
- Loving God and others. Jesus says that others will know we are His disciples by our love for others. (John 15:12, John 13:34,35).
- Investing. Usually, a discipleship group consists of 2-5 women with a group leader. In addition to Bible study, they learn how to write and share their testimony, how to share their faith, and how to pray, serve and love others.
Discipleship Requires:
- Time. Discipleship does not happen overnight and it involves hands-on experience. Usually, a discipling relationship will have a woman who has been a Christian for a longer amount of time mentoring a woman who has been a Christian for a shorter time.
- Commitment. A commitment comes from the disciple maker and from the potential disciple. Being a disciple is a lifelong commitment to follow God.
- Desire. The potential disciple has a desire to grow in her relationship with the Lord as she both learns from someone and eventually teaches others how to follow Him.
The goal of discipleship, therefore, is to make disciples who make disciples, and for all believers to become more like Jesus. Discipleship involves investing in the lives of others, walking through life with them, and shepherding them to Christian maturity.
Author: Dianne Wentworth, Women’s Discipleship Director, Colonial Heights Baptist Church
