Focus on Reproduction, Student Workbook, SW12

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F O C U S O N R E P R O D U C T I O N

as believers in Christ. Others on the other side suggest that the reason why these new professors are not persevering is that they have never been adequately followed up and discipled. They claim that if we were to follow the example of Jesus and the apostles and actually equip the saints for ministry, we would not see such a fall off after profession, but many professing Christians would remain true to their profession, and followChrist in the church. What do you think of these arguments?

Whose Curriculum Do We Follow?

In all books on follow-up and discipleship you will find a broad range of suggestions on what themes to cover with the new convert, and what order to cover them. Some want to concentrate on basic Bible doctrine, while others want to concentrate on the actual Bible itself, perhaps a Gospel or an Epistle. If you were suddenly placed in a position to oversee the training and equipping of those following up and discipling new converts in your church or church plant, what would your curriculum be. Write out a list of the top five themes you would suggest for those being trained to disciple others, and be prepared to give a defense for your outline. Everywhere in the NT the Scriptures cite the importance of follow-up and discipling in church planting. The acts of follow-up and discipleship, which are essential dimensions of equipping believers in the Assemble and Nurture phases of church planting, involve welcoming new believers into the Church, i.e., incorporating new believers and equipping them in the local assembly of believers, which is God’s agent of the Kingdom in this world. Following up new believers in the local church is “incorporating new converts into the family of God for the purpose of edification and fruitfulness, to the glory of God.” Discipleship includes equipping new and growing Christians to walk with the Lord, connecting them to the body, and discovering their gifts for ministry in service to Christ. The local church is the context for both follow-up and discipleship, and both seek the edification and fruitfulness of new and growing Christians in the church. As we win the lost, assemble new believers in the body and nurture them through follow-up and discipleship, we can see growth occur which will lead to a strong, healthy, and dynamic churches being planted in the city.

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Restatement of the Lesson’s Thesis