“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…” Matthew 28:19
A few weeks ago, I received one of the greatest compliments about Ignite.
I was chatting with one of the leaders of Kristfest – the national youth camp we will help with during our trip to Czech – and he was explaining why my team was chosen to lead the sessions we will lead.
You see, this year’s theme is partly on discipleship, and what it means to be a true disciple of Christ. Throughout the week, our team will lead all the breakout sessions related to discipleship.
The reason? Apparently even in Czech, Ignite is known as a ministry that makes disciples.
I was humbled.
When I started this ministry 12 years ago, I had no desire to make converts. I wasn’t in it to see how many people I could get to make a decision to follow Jesus. I wanted to make disciples – students who were fully committed to becoming like Christ.
It’s easy to make converts. It’s easy to stand up front, have a band playing music in the background, and urge people to slip up their hand to indicate they want to follow Christ.
Play the right music, say the right stuff, pull the right emotional heartstrings, produce the right amount of fear and you can get just about anyone to respond in that moment.
And, it makes us feel good. We can count decisions. We can chart the numbers. We can pat ourselves on the back and rejoice over how many people give their lives to Christ.
God never called us to make converts. He called us to make disciples – and that requires more than a decision. Tweet this
God isn’t after decisions. Now, making a decision to orient your life towards Christ is necessary to become a disciple.
But it’s only the start.
God is after disciples. And discipleship takes work.
It’s reaching down into the mess and helping people through. It’s walking alongside others as they wrestle with what it means to truly live for God. It’s teaching, rebuking, encouraging, and pushing people to become more like Christ.
And it’s what God called us to do.
Over the last 12 years, Ignite has made disciples – both here in America and over in the Czech Republic. We have seen:
- Party frat boys become youth pastors
- Drug addicted and alcoholic students become counselors to others
- Students graduate and head into seminary
- A handful of alumni go out on the mission field
- Students rise up to make a difference on their campus
- Two couples who should have been leaders finally rise up and lead our Ignite Czech team
- Alumni go on to lead young adult groups, children’s ministries, join worship teams, and become leaders in their church
- Broken, hurting, porn-addicted young men become men after God’s heart
And, best of all, students and alumni go on to make more disciples.
So during the second half of our trip to Czech, the team will continue showing and teaching others how to be fully committed disciples of Jesus.
And have lasting impact greater than we could ever imagine.
How have you gone on to make disciples for Christ? Leave a comment below.
Background photo credit: Violator1 via photopin cc