LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
CHURCH DISCIPLESHIP ASSESSMENT
Submitted to Dr. Burrell,
in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 610 – B01
by
Rhonda C. Mustafaa
January 27, 2019
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Introduction
Currently, the local Church condition needs revitalization. The subject of family
discipleship within the Church setting especially from the point of view of youth or family
related ministries has over time been viewed as an underlining issue. The purpose of this paper is
to evaluate different ways in which, the Church youth and family related ministries influence
discipleship as well as the evaluation of its perceived success. Additionally, it seeks to discuss
various strategies both formal and informal, parental involvement, outcomes, communication
and training regarding family discipleship. The approach that youth and family-based ministries
have towards discipleship is highly influenced by the knowledge and understanding of this
subject. These parties must develop a biblical understanding of discipleship in order to
effectively view it as a way of life in Christ, the Savior1. These ministries will only understand
and approach discipleship from a biblical point of view if they understand its three primary
components; formation, transformation and application.
Youth and family approach to discipleship
Long before the institution of the Church, God created the family as evident from the first
chapters of Genesis where He operates from the family context. The youth are the future Church
leaders, which necessitates a holistic perspective and introduction of discipleship in the home
and/or family. Historically, Christians have considered discipleship as containing the lessons and
teaching of behaving and living in the righteous way. According to Apostle Paul, people have
been created to live for God not because they feel that they have but because they know and love
1 Renfro, Paul, Randy Stinson, Brandon Shields, and Jay Strother. Perspectives on family ministry: 3 Views. B&H
Publishing Group, 2009.
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Him. Youth and family related ministries in the Church view and approach family discipleship as
the way in which Christians are supposed to grow and live in accordance with the teachings of
Christ2. The Church in conjunction with pastoral ministries helps the youth and families grow
spiritually by aligning their objectives with the Church’s overarching common goal of fulfilling
the Great Commission. Once these two groups are inspired and on the right path, others will
easily be influenced to follow a similar approach.
Youth and family related ministries in the local Church are basically family-oriented and
are founded based on parents taking responsibility for the spiritual growth of their young ones.
The Church is committed to supporting youth and family-related ministries in achieving their
goals as Christians and on a personal level. Parents and the youth play different roles towards the
success of Christian discipleship. The issue of youth isolation which was common in the
traditional youth ministry has been eliminated through the family-oriented approach. It is the
responsibility of the youth themselves, parents, youth workers, deacons and the general
congregation to see to it that the youth grow in light with the discipleship teachings. The success
of discipleship in the ministries is not measured by the number of people present and neither is it
achieved through the piercing together of the right combination of environments and resources.
Evaluation of perceived success
Successful disciple-making is a process that involves the whole person through the
formation of habits that are spiritual and embracing of desires, needs and feelings of those
involved. Youth and family based ministries consider successful discipleship as being the catalyst
for relationships that are loving and founded on the teachings of Christ. The perceived success of
2 Wright, Steve, and Chris Graves. "Apparent privilege." Wake Forest: InQuest Ministries 2, no. 8 (2008).
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discipleship persuades followers that their work matters as opposed to having them focus on
what the leaders want or would want them to become3. The problem with most youth and family
based ministries is that they do not teach about work at all and if they make the people believe
that it is incidental and not instrumental to God’s mission. Ministries should help people
especially the youth to realize that work is vital as once they do; everything else falls in place
including their spiritual formation, emotional health and loving relationships.
The local Church evaluates the perceived success of discipleship using output goals
which include attendance, serving and giving. Input goals are not considered as such even though
they ought to be. Successful discipleship has eight major attributes which consistently show up
and could be used as a measure of success. These attributes include obedience to God and self-
denial, Bible engagement, service to God and others, sharing of Christ, exercising of faith,
building of relationships, seeking of God and transparency or being without shame in doing
good. According to the local Church youth and family-related ministries, these attributes can be
developed and grown through specific spiritual disciplines like reading the Bible and continual
repentance and confession of sins. In contrast, some key input goals that should be considered as
a measure of successful discipleship are reading the bible and praying for others.
Strategies
3 Hinton, Daniel Wayne. "The Influence of In-Home Family Discipleship and Youth Ministry on Young Adult
Disciple Making." (2016).
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Discipleship in its purest form reflects believers’ desire and hope to grow and be just like
Christ whom they desire to emulate4. The most important strategy is the formulation of a clarity
system for discipleship as the local Church cannot effectively facilitate discipleship without
having a clearly identified system in which it constitutes. This strategy is formal and basically
defines discipleship key facets including essential themes to be planned and implemented each
year. Subsequently, what follows a clarity system has been formulated is the method system
which highlights the necessary experiences, events and activities available to the Church for
discipleship facilitation. This varies from Church to Church and thus not a formal strategy.
Parental involvement is crucial for the development and upbringing of discipleship
especially in the youth. Molding and guidance starts from the family level where the parents are
the primary determinants of how one grows and what values are instilled as one grows. Training
acts to guide the youth to grow and become persons that others can emulate and be proud of. The
process of training instills the youth with important values that are necessary for discipleship and
righteous life. Lastly, communication is a key aspect for disciples as they are people who have
been mandated to spread the Gospel of Christ and thus ought to know how to communicate for
the audience to receive the intended message without any form of distortion.
Consequences of not having a plan
4 Hinton, Daniel Wayne. "The Influence of In-Home Family Discipleship and Youth Ministry on Young Adult
Disciple Making." (2016).
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The lack of a strategic plan basically leads to poor guidance on the part of the Church as
well as on the youth and family-related ministries as it means there is no path to follow and this
ends up getting the youth who are expected to become disciples, lost. Failing to plan means
planning to fail and therefore the absence of a Church plan to disciple the youth is a sure way to
miss opportunities for the introduction and growth of Christ within this community of believers.
Consequently, the lack of a solidified plan to disciple the youth simply leads them to no specific
destination or direction. If the local Church fails in having strategic efforts to lead its youth, then
it is akin to failing an entire generation as the youth are the leaders of tomorrow who will be
expected to bring and guide others in discipleship.
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Bibliography
Hinton, Daniel Wayne. "The Influence of In-Home Family Discipleship and Youth Ministry on
Young Adult Disciple Making." (2016).
Renfro, Paul, Randy Stinson, Brandon Shields, and Jay Strother. Perspectives on Family
Ministry: 3 Views. B&H Publishing Group, 2009.
Wright, Steve, and Chris Graves. "Apparent privilege." Wake Forest: InQuest Ministries 2, no. 8
(2008).
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