Making disciples part of the fundamentals

By Phil Peters
Team Leader, Region 2

Hav­ing a 15-year-old student driver in your household brings clarity to the rules of the road. It means paying more attention than usual to the fundamentals. That’s a good thing.

Regardless of our experi­ence, attention to funda­mentals is essential in all dis­ciplines. When a college football team begins spring practice it’s an opportunity to focus on the basics. For years, I’ve seen churches full of experi­enced members who know how to do church, yet we have few maturing disci­ples.

Without question, we are always in process, always a work in progress. Just as attention to the fundamentals sharpens the veteran baseball player, attention to fundamental practices of faith sharpen and grow the Christ follower.

What is fundamental for the church? Making dis­ciples. Jesus left us with the command that as we go we should make disciples. I recently sat with church planters in a retreat setting and was en­couraged by the stories they shared of disciple making in the culture. I heard stories of transformed life as people have embraced Jesus and dramatically changed their lifestyles to conform to Christ.

As you evaluate activi­ties in your life and in your church, how do those activi­ties help you accomplish the fundamental task of making disciples?