Eric T. Hill
Oklahoma Region
Greater Cleaves
Memorial CME Church
General Session 4
Thursday July 9, 2015
Working with the quadrennial theme:
The Investment Factor, From
Membership to Discipleship.
What is a Member?
A person that is a part of a group or
organization by choice and is received
by an act of acceptance of the whole
body.
Keywords…Choice and Acceptance
What is a Disciple?
A learner or follower who serves as an
student to a master teacher or leader
and whose character is transformed by
what he is taught.
This relationship in the bible is
characterized by Jesus, the master
teacher and the 12 disciples whom he
taught for almost 3 years.
Some other type of discipling
relationships we might be familiar with
are:
Business: Mentor and Protégé
Sports:
Coach and Player
Education: Professor/Teacher and
Student
In a galaxy far far away: Jedi Master
and a Padawan
Some more familiar terms
Jesus gives us the Great Commission in
St. Matthew 28:18-20
18 Then
Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven
and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching
them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I
am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
However, before we can make disciples…we
must make sure we are disciples ourselves.
6 Biblical Characteristics of a Disciple
1. You must be assured of your
Salvation by Grace alone. John 3:16-21
2. You must learn and understand the
principles of the Christian Life. Luke
14:25-35
3. You must be obedient to God’s laws
and Commands. Luke 10:25-28
6 Biblical Characteristics of a Disciple
4. You must represent God in the world.
Luke 17:14-18
5. You must serve other people.
28
Matt 20:2-
6. You must reproduce yourself in
Christ. Matt 9:35-38
Taking on these characteristics
should lead you to living a
transformed lifestyle being a
committed, knowledgeable
follower of Jesus Christ and
instilling that same passion and
capacity in others.
Becoming a Disciple is not a
“get it and quit it” experience,
it is a lifelong pursuit.
There are some behaviors we
must invest in to continue to
grow towards becoming a
better disciple.
• Worship God regularly in spirit and in
truth. Investment: Attend Corporate
Worship service and develop a
personal worship through the use of
some good gospel and praise music
to listen to.
• Pray to God daily. Investment: Have a
set prayer time daily. Increase your
accountability by having a prayer
partner.
• Read the Word of God daily.
Investment: Have a daily devotional
time to read the word of God
uninterrupted.
• Develop relationships with other
believers and disciples of Jesus
Christ. Investment: Establish
friendships with believers of other
denominations.
• Share the material blessings that God
gives you with others. Investment:
Give to your Church to support an
outreach ministry.
• Serve others inside and/or outside of
the faith. Investment: Volunteer some
time to serve others, i.e. Work with
Children or the Elderly.
• Share your faith and testimony with
non-believers. Investment: Learn the
7 Keys to the Kingdom script from
the Spring Convocation.
7 Steps to the Kingdom.
1. Greeting-Hello, May I have one minute of
your time?
2. State-Did you know that Jesus Christ is
Lord? Well He is and He loves you and
wants to be your Lord and Saviour. A lot of
people want to be saved but just don’t
know how.
3. Say-Romans 10:9 says: If you confess with
your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in
your heart that God raised Jesus from the
dead, you shall be saved.
7 Steps to the Kingdom.
4. Ask- Can you say Lord Jesus?
5. Pray- Let’s pray, repeat after me: Lord
Jesus forgive me for all my sins. I believe
that you died on the cross, were buried, and
on the third day God the Father raised you
from the dead . Right now Lord Jesus, I open
the door to my heart and I receive you, into
my heart, as my Lord and Saviour.
7 Steps to the Kingdom.
6 Question-According to the prayer you
just prayed, where is the Lord Jesus?
He’s in my heart.
7. Confirmation-1 John 4:4, Greater is
He that is in you than he that in the
world.
The best example in the bible of
personal discipleship is found in
Acts 8:26-39.
Phillip and the
Ethiopian Eunuch.
There are some
key points we
must note in this
exchange.
Philip and the Ethiopian
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the
desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started
out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian[a] eunuch, an important
official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means
“queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to
worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the
Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot
and stay near it.”
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah
the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he
invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Philip and the Ethiopian
32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”[b]
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about,
himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture
and told him the good news about Jesus.
36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said,
“Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37] [c] 38 And
he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into
the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit
of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but
went on his way rejoicing..
Building a Discipling Church.
Discipleship should not be a new program or
a ministry, it should evolve into a
commitment to teaching a lifestyle of
spiritual learning and transformed living.
Discipleship is about building people, not
creating programs. There should be a
transition in the church in order to create
transformation in the lives of the people.
Transitions of a Discipling Church
• Shift from program driven ministry to
people driven ministry.
• Change from building consensus to
building individual character.
• De-emphasize recalling Bible stories
to emphasis on applying biblical
principles.
Transitions of a Discipling Church
• Move from concern about quantity
(people, programs, sq. footage,
dollars) …to concern about quality
(relationships, commitment, wisdom,
value and lifestyle).
• Retool ministry efforts to be
intentional and strategic towards
transforming lives.
Transitions of a Discipling Church
• Alter peoples focus from feel-good
activities, to a commitment to
personal growth and authenticity in
their faith.
Methods of Effective Discipleship
• Sermons tied to the practical application of the
word to ones life.
• Sunday School Classes
• Small Group Studies – short term
• New Believers Class (Not new Members Class)
• Leadership Training Programs
• One-on-One Mentoring Sessions
• Community Service Ministry Groups
Methods of Effective Discipleship
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Mini Church Events – VBS, Family & Friends
Daily Bible Reading Programs
Prayer Conference Calls
Book Discussion Groups
Spiritual Gift Assessments and Activation
Life Plan Development
Special Emphasis Family Programs-Recovery,
Divorce Care, Financial Planning etc.
Methods of Effective Discipleship
• Youth and Children
Activities
• Special Group Movie
Night
• Sports Programs
• Tutoring and Mentorship
of Young Boys and Girls
I will be around after the
session if you have any
questions.
Thank you for your attention
and participation.
Eric T. Hill
Oklahoma Region
Greater Cleaves
Memorial CME Church
General Session 4
Thursday July 9, 2015