Discipleship


And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

— Matthew 28:18-20

What is discipleship?

Before he ascended to right hand of the Father in heaven, the risen Jesus issued one final commandment to his followers: to make disciples of all nations. But what exactly is a disciple?
At Generations, we define discipleship as a conscious, daily apprenticeship with Jesus.
Our desire is to walk with Jesus, becoming more like him with every day that passes. All that we do as a church is aimed at this glorious goal, that we might grow to joyful maturity in Christ and help others to do the same.

To guide us in this pursuit, we have identified four critical dimensions to healthy, biblical discipleship:

Gospel  |  Spirituality  |  Community  |  Mission

Gospel
Spirituality
Community
Mission

Gospel

Theological Clarity

"For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross."
— Colossians 1:19-20

The Gospel is the Good News of Jesus Christ and how he has made a way for sinful people to enter into life with God through his life, death and resurrection. The reality of Jesus is the overwhelming emphasis of the Bible. It is in him that we see who God really is, and it is by him that can see everything else for what it is.  At Generations, we want our lives to be rightly adjusted around Jesus at the center, and constantly rearranged in light of the gospel as ultimate reality. To that end...
  • We seek to encounter Jesus through the entirety of the Bible
  • We nurture dependency upon and intimacy with Jesus through prayer
  • We respond to the gospel continually through repentance and faith
  • We pursue freedom in Christ to live in joyful submission to his Lordship
  • We explore ways we can give more sacrificially of ourselves for the sake of Jesus

Spirituality

Personal Reality

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."
— John 15:4

Christianity is not about God-theory. It’s about personal reality with God. Real aliveness to God includes encounter with God and personal fellowship with God. We nurturing a living spirituality through:
  • Prayer as a means of lived communion with God 
  • Repentance as a continual posture and ongoing practice
  • Awareness of our need for and conscious dependency upon the Holy Spirit moment by moment

Community

Relational Beauty

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
— 1 John 1:7

Personal reality with God among people creates a distinct social environment. We reject the need to be impressive in favor of being known. The gospel gives us all safety and time to take the next step with Jesus.  At Generations, we're seeking to cultivate life-giving, grace filled community, that is characterized by:
  • Gentle, fun, non-accusatory, encouraging friendships
  • Safety to confess sin and struggle and be met with respect, sympathy, and understanding
  • Patience with each other as we make progress in a daily apprenticeship with Jesus
  • Honoring the gifts of each person and leveraging them to build up Christ's church
  • Diverse sets of relationships that transcend culture and life stage
  • The shared pursuit of holiness and humility

Mission

Intentional Ministry

"All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation."
— 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

We cannot be rescued by a God who so loved the world and live indifferently to the world. We have been reconciled to God, and redeployed by God for the purpose of reconciling lost sons and daughters to Him, making disciples and multiply churches. We display and declare the gospel through:

  • Affirming the usefulness and empowering of every Christian as divinely authorized for mission
  • Intentional rootedness and strategic engagement in our community
  • Embodying the doctrines of grace toward one another
  • Kindness and gentleness toward critics and not-yet-believers
  • Giving and sending sacrificially to multiply ministry and plant churches