At the Acts 29 Denver Bootcamp, Jeff Vanderstelt exhorted church planters and pastors to cultivate a disciple-making culture in
their churches. He lists five simple, intuitive but rarely practices ways to informally make disciples:
1. Encourage a disciple-making culture.
2. Make your life visible and accessible to others.
3. Live with your leaders in community.
4. Live as servants together
5. Make sure your leaders live on Mission
Read the whole post.
Check out the helpful interview between Stetzer and Vanderstelt regarding the upcoming MissionSHIFT conference. Jeff will be leading a lab at the missionSHIFT Conference titled, “Transitioning a Church to Missional.” An excerpt from the interview gives us a glimpse into the “real time” mission going on in Jeff’s live. He’s not just a theorist; he’s on mission:
This looks like meals together with believers and unbelievers 2-4 times a week; cleaning up the yard of our widowed neighbor next store; serving at the elementary’s auctions, community events and after school programs; going through “The Story of God” 1-2 times a year with unbelievers to introduce them to the Gospel; sharing our house for others to live with us and join us on the mission; having an “open door” policy to our neighbors and friends; throwing parties regularly to meet more people who we hope will also come to faith in Jesus; etc… We focus on demonstrating the change the Gospel makes in our lives through tangible expressions of serving and declaring the reason why we live this way by sharing the Gospel.
The end of a year brings about a time of reflection. We reflect for newsletters, sermons, and donors. But most of all, we should reflect for Jesus. As I have reflected on the clear evidence of God’s grace in my life and our church, I’ve been both encouraged and discouraged.
I’m encouraged by a growing church, a repenting church, a missional church. I’m encouraged by strengthened and renewed marriages, deep community, new leaders, and sincere love. By…
Wow. What a remarkable pouring out of grace in our church. But when I compare my experience of grace with other’s experience of grace, I begin to get discouraged. There are other pastors, planters, and churches with more influence, more depth, and more mission. And the minute I do this is the minute I move from worship to idolatry, from worshipping God to worshipping influence or reputation. Because of this idolatrous tendency, I was blessed by the following words from my new church planting coach and all round godly pastor, Jeff Vanderstelt:
May you end the year in worship, not idolatry, in enjoying God’s grace not coveting other’s grace. May we not be concerned about position, power, esteem, or influence but rather rest in the abundantly sufficient grace of God in Christ, who accepts us with an incorruptible love, a Christ who is our everlasting righteousness!
Drew Goodmanson has posted the audio files from all of the plenary and breakout sessions from the Total Church Conference. This was a very good conference. Of all the sessions I attended, these talks stood out the most:
