A few weeks ago we baptised 3 people and they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. We’ve been thinking about ways to disciple them since it happened but we had all been busy since. We have baptised people in the past, and a lot of them had fallen back into the ways of the world which is always disappointing. It seems like no matter how much we try and chase them up and arrange times for discipleship, or pray for them, something always prevents it from happening. So we were pleasantly surprised when they rearranged their work shifts and invited us over for a meal so they could learn more about this new life they now had.
We went over on a Sunday night and were immediately struck by how close all people on the street were. There are 8 small houses down a small street and the 4 on one side look directly into the front door of the 4 on the other side. When we got there, there were children running around everywhere, and they just went in and out of peoples homes like they owned them. This really spoke to us because one of the things we’ve contemplated is having a big community where everyone who lives there is dedicated to become a disciple of Christ. This way, people are less likely to be distracted by the temptations that can come from living in a comfortable environment where there is no accountability. This place already had that community living thing sorted, they just needed help with the discipleship. That’s where we came in.
The 2 families there treated us to an amazing meal of fried chicken and Korean food. They went out of their way to make sure we were well taken care of. While we ate, we got to know each other better and chatted about how they were going since the baptisms. After dinner the children played in another room and we were able to sit down and read a few chapters from the gospel of John together. We read it slowly and I explained a bit more about it and answered questions like: what is a Christ? Was John the Baptist the same one who wrote the gospel of John? And, what is passover?
It was a really encouraging night and we are definitely planning to do it again soon. We will also take them on the street some time to pray for people and encourage them to teach what they have learnt other people. The best way to get growth is through empowerment and multiplication rather than through micro-management and addition.
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