One Disciple at a Time


Book Description

What if the Church radically shifted the focus of her mission to making disciples one person at a time? Everett Fritz outlines a framework for one-to-one outreach that helps us develop as mentors in faith, furthering the Kingdom of God as Jesus commanded when he told us to go and make disciples. When we learn how to focus on a ministry of one, we will multiply our efforts to create a movement that meets the spiritual needs of many. Whether you’re someone who’s actively involved in professional or volunteer ministry or an everyday Catholic who wants to share your faith, One Disciple at a Time reveals how you can live out your calling to spread the Gospel by focusing on forming disciples one at a time. Drawing on insights gleaned from his personal spiritual journey and work in Catholic parish ministry, Fritz—founder and executive director of Andrew Ministries—shares practical steps for transforming our approach to living our faith and sharing it with others. In this book, you will learn: There is great power in a personal invitation because it becomes the seed to develop a relationship. If you want to make a lifelong disciple of Jesus Christ, you have to be committed to accompany them throughout their lifetime. Lessons from Jesus’s relationship with Simon Peter can transform the way we mentor in faith. Taking someone from disciple to sainthood requires assisting that person with the crosses that they bear, as well as witnessing to the reality of the cross in your own life. Formation needs to include identifying the person's God-given gifts and working with them to use those gifts to build up the Church.




Making Disciples-One Conversation at a Time


Book Description

This book challenges Christians to examine how they use their words and presents ways to bring Christ into the conversations of one's everyday life in order to give others a better understanding of God and His love for them ...




The Lost Art of Disciple Making


Book Description

"Every believer in Jesus Christ deserves the opportunity of personal nurture and development." says LeRoy Eims. But all too often the opportunity isn't there. We neglect the young Christian in our whirl of programs, church services, and fellowship groups. And we neglect to raise up workers and leaders who can disciple young believers into mature and fruitful Christians. In simple, practical, and biblical terms, LeRoy Eims revives the lost art of disciple making. He explains: - How the early church discipled new Christians - How to meet the basic needs of a growing Christian - How to spot and train potential workers - How to develop mature, godly leaders "True growth takes time and tears and love and patience," Eims states. There is no instant maturity. This book examines the growth process in the life of a Christian and considers what nurture and guidance it takes to develop spiritually qualified workers in the church.




The Activated Disciple


Book Description

Are you ready to take your faith to the next level? If you yearn for a life that moves beyond believing and practicing your faith, if you want to radically live your faith, if you want a more profound relationship with Jesus Christ, then it is time for you to become an activated disciple. The Foundation of discipleship is imitation. True discipleship requires such a close relationship with God that every area of your life is transformed. It is about opening yourself to God and inviting him to dwell within you, becoming holy as he is holy, loving as he is loving, disciples of Christ become the instruments God employs to transform the world. - Move beyond simply believing and practicing your faith and begin radically living it! - Overcome obstacles that keep you from being the disciple you are made to be.
- Be a positive influence and an instrument of transformation in the Church.




Forming Intentional Disciples


Book Description

How can we transmit a living, personal Catholic faith to future generations? By coming to know Jesus Christ, and following him as his disciples. These are times of immense challenge and immense opportunity for the Catholic Church. Consider these statistics for the United States. Only 30 percent of Americans who were raised Catholic are still practicing. Fully 10 percent of all adults in America are ex-Catholics. The number of marriages celebrated in the Church decreased dramatically, by nearly 60 percent, between 1972 and 2010. Only 60 percent of Catholics believe in a personal God. If the Church is to reverse these trends, the evangelizers must first be evangelized-in other words, Catholics-in-the-pew must make a conscious choice to know and follow Jesus before they can draw others to him. This work of discipleship lies at the heart of Forming Intentional Disciples, a book designed to help Church leaders, parish staff and all Catholics transform parish life from within. Drawing upon her fifteen years of experience with the Catherine of Siena Institute, Sherry Weddell leads readers through steps that will help Catholics enter more deeply into a relationship with God and the river of apostolic creativity, charisms, and vocation that flow from that relationship for the sake of the Church and the world. Learn about the five thresholds of postmodern conversion, how to open a conversation about faith and belief, how to ask thought-provoking questions and establish an atmosphere of trust, when to tell the Great Story of Jesus, how to help someone respond to God's call to intentional discipleship, and much more. And be prepared for conversion because when life at the parish level changes, the life of the whole Church will change.




Transforming Discipleship


Book Description

Greg Ogden recovers Jesus' method of accomplishing life change by investing in just a few people at a time. In this revised and updated edition Ogden sets forth his vision for transforming both the individual disciple and discipleship itself, showing how discipleship can become a self-replicating process with ongoing impact from generation to generation.




Family Discipleship


Book Description

The most important disciple a parent will make is within their own home, and yet this is the most difficult disciple to make. Family Discipleship by Matt Chandler and Adam Griffin helps readers develop a sustainable rhythm of gospel-centered discipleship through a guided framework focusing on moments of discipleship in 3 key areas: time (intentional time gathering your family around gospel activities or conversations), moments (leveraging opportunities throughout the day), and milestones (celebrating significant life events). Each section provides parents with Scriptures to consider, questions to answer, structures to implement, and ideas to try out as they seek to see Christ formed in their children. Here is a book that begins with the end in mind, offering ideas and examples of what gospel-centered family discipleship looks like, helping parents design their own discipleship plan as they seek to raise children in the love and fear of the Lord.




Becoming a Parish of Intentional Disciples


Book Description

"It is not the same thing to have known Jesus as not to have known him, not the same thing to walk with him as to walk blindly, not the same thing to hear his word as not to know it.... We know that with Jesus life becomes richer."-Pope Francis, The Joy of the Gospel In her first book, Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus, Sherry Weddell, cofounder of the Catherine of Siena Institute, captured the attention of Catholics across the globe as she uncovered the life-changing power that accompanies the conscious decision to follow Jesus as his disciple. Now, in the groundbreaking Becoming a Parish of Intentional Disciples, she has gathered together experienced leaders and collaborators whose exceptional field-tested wisdom and enthusiasm for transforming Catholic parishes into centers of discipleship and apostolic outreach is both inspiring and practical. The authors consider: The role of intercessory prayer in parish transformation How "fireside chats" can help a pastor connect with his parishioners and call them to personal discipleship and mission The co-responsibility of lay people andpastors in the work of making disciples The revolutionary impact of a discipleship approach to youth ministry How one parish successfully fostered a culture of intentional discipleship, and much more As Sherry asks in her own chapter, "Are we willing to answer the call and pay the price necessary to become a new generation of saints through which God can do extraordinary things in our time?"




Into His Likeness


Book Description

In the ancient disciple-rabbi relationship, the disciple would follow the rabbi so closely that he would be covered in the dust kicked up from his rabbi's feet. Thousands of years later, though we walk on roads of pavement and not dust, we are still called to be disciples—to follow our Rabbi, Jesus Christ, so closely that we are covered with his life, changed, and made new. Into His Likeness provides an approachable but in-depth exploration of how to live as a disciple and experience the transformation Jesus wants to work in our lives. We might desire to live more like Christ, but we know we fall short. This book simply helps us follow those initial promptings of the Holy Spirit, so that we may more intentionally encounter Jesus anew each day and be more disposed to his grace changing us ever more into his likeness.




DiscipleShift


Book Description

Question: What is the God-given purpose of the local church? Answer: Relational discipleship. DiscipleShift walks you through five key "shifts" that churches must make to refocus on the fundamental biblical mission of discipleship. These intentional changes will attract the world and empower your church members to be salt and light in their communities. Over the last thirty years, many influential church leaders and church planters in America have adopted various models for reaching unchurched people. While many of these approaches have merit, something is still missing, something even more fundamental to the mission of the church: discipleship. Making disciples—helping people to trust and follow Jesus—is the church's God-given mandate. Devoted disciples attract people outside the church because of the change others see in their Christ-like lives. And discipleship empowers Christians to be more like Christ as they intentionally develop relationships with non-believers. Through biblical and professional insights, Jim Putman and Bobby Harrington discuss the transformational effectiveness of making disciples and just how to do so, in practical terms. You’ll learn: The specific roles of a disciple-making pastor. The components of person-to-person discipleship. How each ministry in your church leads to discipleship. How to implement discipleship in your church. Disciple-making leaders will not produce perfect churches, but they will create effective churches.