Strategic Discipleship to advance Church Planting Peter Kutschker B.Eng M.Div Missionary to German-speaking Europe .

Strategic Discipleship

to advance Church Planting

Peter Kutschker

B.Eng M.Div

Missionary to German-speaking Europewww.ifcc.tk

The Apostle Paul wrote:

“We proclaim him [Jesus Christ], admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.”

Colossians 1:28.

Question: What does it mean, to be perfect in Christ? What does this practically look like?

Question: How, exactly, do I help people to achieve this goal?

Question: Where do I start?

God said to Abraham:

“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 12:2-3.

The result of this blessing:

The result was to be Shalom.

This Shalom comes through the rule of justice and righteousness in mercy and humility. (See Micah 6:6-8)

Jesus the fulfiller of this blessing

Jesus came to fulfil this blessing through His inauguration of the Kingdom of God.(See Mark 1:15)

When we become a part of this kingdom, “abundant life” is our inheritance, to be enjoyed in foretaste now.

Question: How does one become a part of the kingdom, and what does this “abundant life” look like?

Become a disciple of Jesus!

When you repent and believe in Jesus,you are “in”.

When you become like Jesus, you have life!

Look at this ten-pin bowling illustration:

(adapted from George G. Hunter III, Church for the Unchurched)

Discovery

When we can knock down all these ten pins, we have the life that God always had in mind for us:

7 8 9 10

Experience

New Life

New Lifestyle

Discovery

1. We matter to God

7 8 9 10

Experience

New Life

New Lifestyle

We first have to discover something:

2. A new relationship with the people of God

7 8 9 10

Then we have to experience two things:

Discovery

Experience

New Life

New Lifestyle

2. A new relationship with the people of God 3. A new relationship with God

7 8 9 10

Then we have to experience two things:

Discovery

Experience

New Life

New Lifestyle

4. A love for people and creation

7 8 9 10

After that we begin to live anew:

Discovery

Experience

New Life

New Lifestyle

4. A love for people and creation 5. Freedom (from legalism, sin, the past, etc.)

7 8 9 10

Discovery

Experience

New Life

New Lifestyle

4. A love for people and creation 5. Freedom (from legalism, sin, the past, etc.) 6. Doing the will of God

7 8 9 10

Discovery

Experience

New Life

New Lifestyle

7. Life in the world, but not of the world

7 8 9 10

Finally we have a new lifestyle:

Discovery

Experience

New Life

New Lifestyle

7. Life in the world, but not of the world8. Service and Ministry

7 8 9 10

Discovery

Experience

New Life

New Lifestyle

7. Life in the world, but not of the world8. Service and Ministry9. Witness and Mission

7 8 9 10

Discovery

Experience

New Life

New Lifestyle

7. Life in the world, but not of the world8. Service and Ministry9. Witness and Mission 10. We discover our true identity and selves!

7 8 9 10

Discovery

Experience

New Life

New Lifestyle

7 8 9 10

We become a part of the kingdom when the first three pins fall over!

Discovery

Experience

New Life

New Lifestyle

7 8 9 10

1. We matter to God 2. A new relationship with the people of God 3. A new relationship with God

We become a part of the kingdom when the first three pins fall over!

Discovery

Experience

New Life

New Lifestyle

7 8 9 10

We experience abundant life as the next seven fall over!

Discovery

Experience

New Life

New Lifestyle

7 8 9 10

4. A love for people and creation 5. Freedom (from legalism, sin, the past, etc.) 6. Doing the will of God 7. Life in the world, but not of the world8. Service and Ministry9. Witness and Mission

10. We discover our true identity and selves!

Discovery

Experience

New Life

New Lifestyle

We experience abundant life as the next seven fall over!

The first three pins correspond to the first half of Jesus’ last command to us:

7 8 9 10

“Make disciples of all the nations:Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

BaptizeDiscovery

Experience

New Life

New Lifestyle

The next seven pins correspond to the second half of Jesus’ last command to us:

7 8 9 10

and teach them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”

Jesus (Matt 28: 19-20)

“Make disciples of all the nations:Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Discovery

Experience

New Life

New Lifestyle

Baptize

And how do we knock the pins over?

Discipleship is the Process!

The process is often represented as follows:

(first (?) by LeRoy Eims, 1978)

Evangelisingor

Enlightening

Committedto

Discipleship(Conversion)

Growing andWitnessing

DiscipleGrowing and

Witnessing Disciple

Exercising giftseffectively

Growing andWitnessing Disciple

ExercisingLeadership

Establishing

Equipping

Empowering

able toevangelise

able to establish

able toequip

person to person;training units

Nearly all churches in the world that are growing go through this 4-step process!

This process can be delineated into the following flowchart:

Evangelising / Enlightening (Step A)

Conversion

Establishing (Steps B,C,D)

Growing and Witnessing Disciple

Equipping (Step E)

Effective use of Gifts

Empowering (Step F)

Exercising Leadership

And the 6 steps A to F explained as follows:

Step A, Alpha Conversion (Born Again, Commitment to Discipleship)

Step B, Beta Step B, Beta Wholeness and Freedom through discovery Wholeness and Freedom through discovery of one‘s true Identity in Christof one‘s true Identity in Christ

Step C, Gamma Step C, Gamma Community Life, Values, Vision, Mission Community Life, Values, Vision, Mission -> Stable Fellowship and Encouragement-> Stable Fellowship and Encouragement

Step D, Delta Daily Living in the world: Congruent Holistic Lifestyle, "Salt and Light"

Step E, Epsilon Equipping according to gifts: Effective person to person "ministry"

Step F, Zeta "Ministry" training; Leadership recognized by others

Note how the “Establishing” phase is divided into three steps!

Whilst traditional Christian discipleship has normally included one‘s new identity in Christ and

concepts of community, in abroken, hurting, and individualistic world

these 2 steps deservesignificant attention.

But it is important to note that these 6 steps are not necessarily separate and distinct as

presented above - they often run into each other.

More importantly,these 6 steps are actually a process of always (re)visiting the Gospel, so that it is more and

more applied to our lives.

Therefore it is important for us to now understand the Gospel of Jesus.

The Gospel

The Gospel or Good News which Jesus preached (similar to a military proclamation of victory) was:

„The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.“ (Mark 1:15).

The promised reign of God with the Messiah at its head had now made a beach-head in the world, and the result would be unfolding justice and righteousness on the earth, especially toward and for the poor and oppressed.

The Gospel

As Jesus said:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour" (Luke 4:18-19)

The Gospel

Thus we can see that overall, Jesus came to proclaim and ultimately establish a kingdom in which all His subjects would be TOTALLY FREE:

FREE from oppressive powers and structures,FREE from slavery to sin,FREE from sickness and poverty,FREE from the fear of death and the coming day of judgement,so that we can now live in the fullness of life that God always intended for people.

This is the Gospel!

The Gospel

This reign of God, Jesus said, will also necessarily involve judgement of those who continue to live contrary to the will of God.

Hence we read in Hebrews 6:1-2 the ‚elementary teachings‘, the foundations of the preached message of the early church:

1. Repentance from ‚dead works‘2. Faith in God3. Instruction about baptisms4. The laying-on of hands5. The resurrection of the dead6. Eternal judgement

The Gospel

Thus combining all these elements with the presuppositions into which they were preached (that there actually is a good God who is creator of all things who wants us to be in relationship with Him) leads us to what I suggest is an essential formal 10 point structure in which we may understand the Gospel:

The Gospel - a biblical meta-narrative

1. God is glorious. He is the creator and ruler of all things. He is infinite yet personal. He is holy, good, kind, loving, and generous toward all of His creation, and He loves being in relationship.

2. We as humans are made in the image of our glorious God. We have a free will and were intended to live in a way which reflects God's glory through obeying His easy commands. The result would be eternal life in harmony with God, each other, and creation.

3. But we have all fallen short of God's glory. We have listened to the devil's lies and have been selfish, covetous, proud, and unbelieving: the roots of sin. As a result our relationships with God, ourselves, each other, and the rest of creation are in a mess - subject to death. That's the result of sin. And to try and cover up our sin we choose to find our significance, sense of purpose, and wholeness, in things, beings, or pursuits other than the one true God. We try to hide from God.

4. But God's kindness, tolerance and patience are such that He leads each one of us to see the wrong we've done. He speaks to our conscience. He hopes that we will turn to Him with a desire to change our ways.

5. God's wrath is therefore deservedly towards those who consciously suppress this knowledge and His promptings and end up living a life of depravity, and there is coming a Day when He will judge the world based on truth.

6. But for those who do turn to God, there is good news! Because God in His gracious mercy and covenant faithfulness still loves us, wanting us to experience life to the full, He did for us what we could never do for ourselves - provide a means of taking the penalty due us, washing us from our guilt & shame, and bring us back into a right relationship with Him, each other, & creation.

7. This means is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, namely the Word of God incarnate on earth.

8. Thus, to all who turn to God asking for the forgiveness of their sins, believing in His means of getting right with Him - that is, ultimately trusting that Jesus died for you in your place, and that He rose again - there is the present eternal assurance of everlasting life: we shall not come into judgement; we have been washed of our sins & guilt! But to those who do not believe, there is the certainty of judgement & hell.

9. Furthermore, to all who trust in Jesus Christ there is the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit, to be able to live a new God-glorifying life now in humility, set free from the power of sin and healed of our brokenness and hurt which had so influenced many of our behaviour patterns. As we abide in Jesus through the Holy Spirit, we are able to do all that He told us and modelled for us. And to top it all off, this Holy Spirit also anoints each believer with gifts & abilities to serve the cause of Christ in the world!

10. And this new life is lived out not in isolation but together with others who also believe and are filled with the Holy Spirit. This is Christ's church, and we are the salt & light of the earth, being a microcosm, an illustration, an example, a sign of the Kingdom of God. But we are still living in the midst of an evil world whose god is the devil, and we will suffer persecution. But we live for Jesus Christ until the day He returns, after which there will be a new heaven & earth in which there is no more evil, the Kingdom of God in its fullness, and a whole new realm of living will unfold. Amen!

This meta-narrative can be transformed into an evangelistic flowchart, across which we can map

the 6 steps A to F:

The Gospel - an evangelistic flowchart

Do you believe that God exists?Character of GodGod‘s plan for humanityNature of humanityWay of salvation

Enlightening (A)

Way of lifeEstablishing (B,C,D) Phase 1

Equipping (E)

Empowering (F)

Establishing (B,C,D) Phase 2

Discovery and use of gifts

Faithful in oppositionFuture glory

Big Picture; Servant leadership

The Gospel - an evangelistic flowchart

Enlightening (A)

Equipping (E)

Empowering (F)

It is important to note that we now have 5 levels in

discipleship:

The „Establishing Phase“ is visited twice.

These 5 levels match perfectly with the structure of the New Testament and with the

five planes of life

(spiritual, intellectual, social, emotional, physical):

Enlightening

Establishing (Phase 1)

Equipping

Empowering

Spiritual plane

New birth

Christian lifestyle

Discovery and use of gifts

Faithful in opposition

Servant leadership

Biblical plane

Matthew to Romans

Corinthians to Thessalonians

Timothy, Titus, Philemon

Hebrews to Revelation

Timothy, Titus, Philemon

Intellectual plane

Given the “tools” (eg. reading, writing, etc.)

Overview of the realms

Training in specific realms

Integration with the realms

Vocations

Enlightening

Equipping

Empowering

Social plane

Acquaintances

Casual friendship

Close friendship

Casual / Close mix

Intimate

Relationships

Friendship

Courtship / Dating

Engagement

Marriage

Enlightening

Equipping

Empowering

Emotional plane

Unconscious development

Conscious development

“Rush”

Analysis and Integration

Maturity

Enlightening

Equipping

Empowering

Physical plane

Birth (neutral) [0-4]

Gender [5-11] - first conceptions about boys and girls

Puberty [12-14]

Gender II [15-17] - new thoughts about men and women!!

Adult [18+]

Enlightening

Equipping

Empowering

And from these 5 levels we can put together a comprehensive discipleship plan which corresponds to every age-bracket, and which forms the basis for a Christian community structure.

Let’s have a look:

Enlightening

Equipping

Empowering

Enlightening

Equipping

Empowering

Born Again

Equipping

Empowering

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

Equipping

Empowering

Gift discovery and use

Empowering

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

Empowering

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Ideal development path

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Playgroup

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Primary School Groups

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Primary School Groups

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Youth Groups

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Youth Groups

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Senior Youth Groups

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Senior Youth Groups

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Community Chaplains / Evangelists

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Community Chaplains / Evangelists

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Recovery Ministries

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Recovery Ministries

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Leadership School

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Leadership School

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Evangelistic Events

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Evangelistic Events

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Weekly Worship

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Weekly Worship

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Male / Female Homegroups

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Male / Female Homegroups

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Family, Community, and Worldwide Ministry

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

Family, Community, and Worldwide Ministry

[0-4] [5-11] [12-14] [15-17] [18+]

The comprehensive Discipleship Plan!

Servant Leadership

Born Again

Christian lifestyle

Finally, it is very interesting to note that the6 steps form a wonderful jigsaw puzzle cross,

that also corresponds to all phases of life:

(Birth, Family, Identity, Daily life, Talents, Leadership )

Leadership

Daily Life

FamilyIdentity

Talents

in Christ of God God’s way

Spiritual gifts &

Servant

Enlightening

Establishing I & II

Equipping

Empowering

LifeAbundant

Actually these 6 steps apply to all „teams“ that we would like to join! - whether a football team, a marriage, a workgroup, etc:You have to become part of the group first (Alpha)You begin to discover and adopt your new ‚identity‘ as part of that group (Beta)You have to learn how things are done around here or as part of this movement (Gamma)You then have to adjust your daily lifestyle to suit, hopefully being congruent with your new identity and team ‚spirit‘ (Delta)You then develop your talents so that you contribute well as part of your team (Epsilon) ;And finally,as you become proficient, the mantel of leadership gets placed on you, so that you can lead and set an example for others (Zeta).

And what does the cross represent?

DEATH to SELF

That is, death to covetousness, pride, anything that is an expression of selfishness and rebellion. If we take up our

cross and follow Jesus, we then become free to be in relationship with others. God‘s ultimate aim for us is to

realise:“I AM ... in relationship“.

It is not good for us to be alone (Genesis 2:18).

But the cross represents still more:

DEATH to the WORLD

CRUCIFIED by the WORLD

But the GATEWAY to eternal LIFE!

As Jesus said:

“Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”

(Matt 10:38)

Are you willing to follow Jesus?

That is discipleship!

For detailed, simple further explanationson each of the 6 steps, visit:

www.lifepuzzle.tk

and for an outflowing “Blueprint Christian Community Structure”

with further comments:

www.ifcc.tk

Yes! I wantto be a disciple of

Jesus!

Strategic Discipleship to advance Church Planting Peter Kutschker B.Eng M.Div Missionary to German-speaking Europe .

new relationship

abundant life

unchurched slide

people of god

kingdom of god

blessing jesus

jesus christ

half of jesus

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