|
Written by Administrator
|
|
Saturday, 19 February 2005 18:32 |
The ministry of Jesus was primarily a ministry of discipling. He spent the majority of His time with the few, the Twelve apostles. Jesus ministered to the masses, but often used those times to teach valuable lessons to his circle of friends (such as the feeding of the five thousand). His goal, in a sense, was to pour Himself into their lives, to show them His ways, so that when He returned to heaven they would continue His ministry on earth. His disciples became His feet, hands, and mouth after He was gone. Jesus prepared His disciples to be vessels of His power and presence, but multiplied times twelve! His "great commission" was not for them to go and plant churches or build cathedrals, but to make disciples. We need only to read the Book of Acts to see how Jesus' method worked itself out in the lives of these ordinary men. Jesus not only made disciples; He made disciple-makers.
Our ministry in Jinja is rooted in the example Jesus left. Our most basic aim is to disciple men and women in Busoga. Planting a church is only the beginning of making disciples. Our desire is to see people who act and think like the Master (Matt. 10:24 ).This, of course, takes time and divine power. Trusting the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives, we try to lead people to be more like Jesus as we pray with them, openly discuss the many struggles believers face, answer questions and life problems as we search God's word, and minister to others with our brothers at our side. Following the lead of Jesus, we do more than teach. We try to model ministry and faithful living. We model prayer. We model handling church problems in a biblical way. We model preaching the good news to the lost. And we entrust our brothers with responsibilities (just as Jesus sent out the twelve and the seventy-two). Some day we will no longer be in Uganda . That won't hinder God's work here.If we faithfully follow Jesus' example of discipling others, it will only mean more growth for God's kingdom as more people become vessels of Jesus' power and presence.
|
