Here’s a quick little story that exemplifies what true discipleship is all about. Some think of discipleship as a church program but they couldn’t be further from the truth. Programs come and go but discipleship must become an integral part of our Christian life. Discipleship has to become a lifestyle which we view as an essential to fulfilling the Great Commission.
While visiting her cousin in another province in Mozambique Ester realized that a certain young man in the family was having much trouble in life. She offered to sit with him and teach him about God through Discovery Bible Study, and soon they began. It wasn’t long after they started that a young collage age girl in the neighborhood, named Cremilda, heard their discussion about the Bible and approached Ester to ask her if she was a Christian.
Upon their initial contact Cremilda enthusiastically asked Ester if they could do a bible study together. They set it up for a particular day but on that day no one showed up. It was a big surprise to Ester because Cremilda was very excited about it all when they set it up.
In conversation with Ester she told me about what happen and I suggested that she approach Cremilda and find out why she and her friends did not come to the DBS (Discovery Bible Study). As it turns our they were frightened away after finding out Ester had invited one of their young cousins to attend church. What Ester did not know is how Cremilda and her friends felt about church in general.
As it turns out, Cremilda and her friends had abandoned “church” because of what they experienced within it. Namely, they saw the hypocrisy of “Christians” who attended church but whose lives were still very worldly. They also did not like the emphasis on money (prosperity teaching), and the large amount of money being spent on facilities. Ester assured Cremilda and her friends that it was not her intention to get them to join any particular church but to help discover more about God.
With understanding of Ester’s intent, the girls felt encouraged to try again and agreed to meet on Thursdays and Fridays. New people are arriving to join them and all are very eager to learn more about God. Two of the girls will be soon leaving to attend college and have asked Ester to train them to lead a DBS group so they can continue while they are away in college.
Ester’s life beautifully exemplifies lifestyle discipleship. She didn’t wait for a church program. She is simply discipling others the way she has been discipled. Teaching others about God through using DBS and leading them toward obedience to Christ — a simple but powerful way to introduce others to a loving God.
