One-to-One Discipleship
If there’s a concept that’s central to our ministry in ICA, it would be the concept of one-on-one discipleship: That God has called us to make disciples and grow their faith so that they would be able to make disciples in turn.
Spiritual Reproduction
How did you get here on earth? The answer is quite simple: You were born from a mother and a father, both of whom were born themselves from your grandparents, who were also birthed by a set of parents. The origins of our spiritual lives are much the same. Every Christian became a Christian as the result of a person who preached the Gospel to them and helped them grow, and that person was himself descended from another Christian. This concept of spiritual reproduction is one of the major components of discipleship, and its origins are age-old. In fact, God’s call for reproduction, both physical and spiritual, was made after creating the world and everything in it: “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28).
Spiritual Generations
Then, a new disciple needs to grow to spiritual maturity. Although our spiritual walk is one of continual growth over our entire lives, one bench mark for spiritual maturity in the context of discipleship is the ability to spiritually reproduce and make a new generation of disciples. Just as one can trace their family’s generations, one can also trace their own spiritual generations of disciples who were faithful to Jesus’ Great Commission to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…and teaching them to obey everything that [Christ] commanded” (Matthew 28:19). The concept of spiritual generations is vital to the idea of discipleship, because it provides a goal and focus for a person’s spiritual maturation.
More than Mentorship
Based on these Biblical imperatives, one opportunity for growth in ICA is through one-on-one discipleship, where an older brother or sister is committed to maturing a younger brother or sister to be able to disciple others themselves. This goes far beyond a mentorship during your four-year college career: It’s a lifelong friendship and an active training that persists through spiritual maturity.
3E Ministry
One-to-one discipleship goes through three stages, also known as the Three Es: Evangelism, Establishing, and Equipping. Sharing the good news of Jesus through evangelism is essential because we were fundamentally made for a relationship with God. Next, a discipler helps to establish the disciple in their faith by building their devotion to Christ, helping him or her to make Christ Lord of their lives, and by building their character. Finally, the disciple must be equipped to make new disciples themselves by teaching them how to evangelize and establish others.
“God used the gentle guidance and faithfulness of my discipler to ultimately reveal His everlasting love. The vulnerable sharing, truthful counsel, and sweet fellowship of life-on-life discipleship deepened my understanding and desire for God and His kingdom!”
“God used the gentle guidance and faithfulness of my discipler to ultimately reveal His everlasting love. The vulnerable sharing, truthful counsel, and sweet fellowship of life-on-life discipleship deepened my understanding and desire for God and His kingdom!”