Disciples in Action

"Disciples In Action" is our corporate mentor ministry for disciple-making. This strategy has burden my heart for our church to building meaningful relationship with a focus of drawing each closer to God and to one another. It is also our evangelistic strategy to make more disciples as Jesus instructs us to in Matthew 28:19-20.

Here is our strategy.


Discipleship starts with you!


Here are the five (5) P’s of discipleship:

· Discipleship is PERSONAL—Discipleship just doesn’t happen it’s a personal pursuit.

· Discipleship is a PROCESS— Spiritual maturity starts with knowledge that leads to change but take it one step at a time.

· Discipleship is PURPOSEFUL— Finish what you started!

· Discipleship is about PEOPLE— Effective discipleship is relationship building.

· Discipleship is POSSIBLE— Discipleship is possible to achieve, just stay in your lane.
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We cannot be disciple without discipling some one else. How will we disciple others at FGC? By becoming a MENTOR. The best biblical examples :

· Jesus and the disciples
· Paul and Timothy

All ministry teams will mentor each other they work together in ministry.


Purpose Statement:
Disciples in action making more disciples.

Scriptural references: Titus 2:1-8; Hebrews 6:1-12; 1 Timothy 5:1-2

Why is mentoring important?

· Mentoring has a lasting impact on the mentoree. Here’s another way of saying it; “What we do today will last a lifetime” (Quote by Clinton Smith).
· We want to make ready the next generation for ministry in the church.
· We want our lives to count for something more than being a member of a church.
· Mentoring brings joy to the mentor and mentoree.
· Mentoring builds meaningful lasting relationships.
· Mentoring provides accountability.
· Mentoring provides personal growth.
· Mentoring builds character.

Mentoring is important which makes for a good multiplication plan.

How do we mentor? By spending quality time with another.
“Dallas Theological Seminary professor Stan Toussaint, who was one of Richland’s first pastors, once said; ‘ Love is eternal. People are eternal. Therefore, loving people is eternal’.”

Point: Mentoring is simply spending time loving people.

Ministry opportunities at FGC will be vehicle for spending time loving people. But, make no mistake about it it’s not limited to our ministry opportunities.

Here is a listing of present and future ministry opportunities:


► Women’s Ministry
► Men’s Ministry
► Music Ministry
► Children’s (age: 5-12) Ministry
► Youth (ages: 13-18) Ministry
► Young Adult (ages: 19-35) Ministry
► Deacon’s Ministry
► Finance Ministry
► Single’s Ministry
► Food Ministry
► Couples Ministry
► Transportation Ministry
► Media Ministry
► Greeter’s Ministry
► Doorkeepers Ministry
► Pastor’s Care Ministry

To insure the effectiveness of mentoring, members of FGC cannot lead more than two (2) ministries at a time. This prevents burnout and any possible manipulation tactics during mentoring process.


Preventative Measures

Here are six (6) ways to make sure mentoring is effective at FGC:

· Set the tone. The mentor creates an environment of trust. Upon initial contact with mentoree open yourself up by sharing your struggles and victories. Sharing your struggles has a of taking the relationship to another level.

· Clarify expectations. Don’t expect too much from mentoree and the mentoree should not expect too much from the mentor. The safest way to insure clarity of expectations is with openness, hospitality, and boundaries.

· Maintain Trust. After trust is maintained, it must be established. Gossip, negativity, and judgmental attitude is out of the question. Confidentiality is the key to maintaining trust.

· Right Motives. Make sure your motives are godly and pure

· Network. Make your contacts available in areas where you’re not gifted or spiritually qualified to handle. It’s nothing wrong with saying; “I don’t know but let me refer you to some who can help you”.

· Honesty. By virtue of extra years, mentors have more life experiences than the mentoree. However, when sharing life experiences make sure you use the word of God and how it changed your life circumstances.

· Ask good questions. Remember, you as a mentor do not possess all the answers but you can discover the need(s) of the mentoree by asking the right questions. Right questions, will uncover deep spiritual issues.

Questions Mentors can ask:

· How is you ministry or job affecting your relationship with God?
· How is your sense of God’s call being clarified?
· Where are you skills being tested?
· Where is your character being tested?
· What are your hopes and dreams for your future?
· How can I help you?
· What evidence can you point to of the presence and power of God in you life?
· How are doing in your prayer life?
· How’s your devotional time with God?

This is not an exhaustive list of questions but it’s a starting point. The more time you spend with each other the better the questions. Remember, your primary goal as a mentor is to uncover deep spiritual needs and point them to God for the answers.

Personal Development

As a mentor, it is important that you are a continuous learner. Your personal development is key the success of mentoring someone. Therefore, the mentor must:

· Be Positive (Philippians 4:8). You must genuinely believe in the potential of a person. It is your goal to pull the best out of that person.

· Be Flexible (2 Corinthians 1:16-20). There will be times when the person you’re mentoring will need you at the most inconvenient of times. Be flexible enough to accommodate them to the best of your ability.

· Be Prayerful (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Never stop praying for the person(s) being mentored.

· Be a learner (2 Timothy 2:2). All leaders of our church are expected to be a mentor. Therefore, all leaders of the church are expected to be in bible study, Sunday morning worship, and complete all assigned reading. It is also the leaders responsibility to develop and maintain their own learning disciplines. If you’re not learning, you can’t mentor.


Progress Updates

How will we measure the progress and effectiveness of our mentor ministry? It’s difficult to measure based on numbers and percentages. However, quarterly meetings will take place among leadership mentoring group to assess needs, challenges, and progress. The best measurement for progress is disciples in action making disciples causing growth in the Body.

I believe this is the direction God is leading for us to fulfill the Great Commission.