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Each congregation has a unique mission field. Several tools for developing disciples and for engaging in discipleship are available to churches; however, the resources assume that the churches using them are similar to the church that created them. With Gospel Discipleship, individuals and churches learn how to engage in self-reflection, which then defines a path that fits their context. The discipleship path for each individual disciple is assessed and determined through the Gospel Discipleship Participant Guide while this Gospel Discipleship Congregation Guide guides the implemntation of the program and assesses the discipleship path for the congregation as a whole. Therefore, the program leader(s) needs the congregation guide while individual particpants need their own participant guide.
With Gospel Discipleship, churches can identify a pathway for discipleship applied from one of the four Gospel storytellers: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Each had a distinct approach to discipleship which can be applied to a given church's identity, vision, and mission. As disciples are encouraged by the church to step beyond the door and engage the needs of people, they can be sent forth confidently with an awareness of personal, unique gifts, and insights into the actual mission field where they participate with God in changing the world.
About the author
Michelle Morris is associate pastor of First United Methodist Church, Conway, Arkansas. Previously she was Lead Equipper for the United Methodist Arkansas Conference Center for Vitality, as well as serving as pastor to United Methodist churches in West Memphis and Fort Smith. She has a B.A. in English and French and an M.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of Arkansas. She graduated with her M.Div. from Perkins School of Theology in 2009 and her Ph.D. from the Graduate Program in Religious Studies at Southern Methodist University in 2014. She also graduated with a certificate in Women's and Gender Studies. Her dissertation examined the subject of infertility in the New Testament. She was a contributor to the CEB Womens Bible, and she periodically writes for the Adult Bible Studies Curriculum for Abingdon/Cokesbury. Michelle and her husband, Travis, have a son, Soren (not named for Kierkegaard).
