Discipleship Survey

 

The BCNet discipleship committee surveyed 107 college ministers with seven open-ended questions regarding their strategy for discipleship. From the results, which are below, four articles were written to help address several topics of discipleship.

 

 

1.   Who discipled you and what did they do?

 

·         104 out of 107 answered the question

·         29% discipled by pastor or youth pastor

·         11% by their friends/peers

·         11% by their parents

·         11% by college ministry leader or BCM leader

·         11% said no one discipled them

·         9% by Sunday school teacher

·         8% other (Jesus, work supervisor, pastor’s wives, etc.)

·         Over 90% said they were discipled in a relational environment

·         No one mentions they were discipled in order to make other disciples

 

2.   In one sentence, define successful discipleship.

 

·         107 out of 107 answered

·         36% multiplying disciples—leading students to reach and disciple their peers

·         25% building relationships—spending time with students

·         25% relationships with mentoring/teaching

·         7% by being an example

·         7% other

 

3.   Briefly describe your vision/strategy for discipleship.

 

• 103 out or 107 answered
• 29% teaching by mentoring and one-on-one relationship with teaching
• 27% building relationships—spending time with students
• 26% multiplying disciples—leading students to reach and disciple their peers
• 8% meeting in small groups
• 10% other

 

4.   How are you applying your vision/strategy?

 

• 98 out of 107 answered the question
• 82 different types of answers were given. From “To invest in the students” to “building relationships” to “meet and discuss struggles”
• Relationships and meetings are valued in the strategies but the purpose of the relationships and meetings are unclear
• 16% stated a strategy of multiplying disciples—leading students to reach and disciple their peers

 

5.   What are the 3 best resources you have used in making disciples?

 

• 100 out of 107 answered
• 42% said Scriptures
• Most popular literature books--“Personal Disciplemaking” by Chris Adsit (8 people use), “One on One with God” by Jerry Fine (9 people), LifeWay material/Threads/Serendipity (11 people), “Habitudes” by Tim Elmore (11 people)
• 80 other Christian Literature books/resources
• Other resources: phone calls, food, sports, facebook, mission trips
• 1 person said they use student leaders to make disciples

 

6.  What have you tried that didn’t work?

 

• 77 out of 107 answered
• 33% Wrong methods (Doing it all myself, not having a team, not having a plan, study too long, discipling in mass, forcing it, programming it, vision to broad)
• 20% Book studies
• 11% Not understanding the person or group
• 11% Students uncommitted  or not teachable 
• 9% Nothing—everything tried has worked
• 16% Other

 

7.   What is your greatest obstacle in discipling college students?

 

• 103 out of 107 answered question
• 50% said lack of time
• Other: Not enough materials/resources, satan, students too busy, students know but don’t do, too many other good things to do, too close to the students age, students are too transient, lack of vision, desiring the large group too much

 

4 Discipleship articles based on the results coming soon…

10 Ways to Use Collegiate Magazine

by Lindsey Bush

By now your back-to-school planning is in full swing and you’re likely putting the final touches on welcoming your students to campus. But don’t let the events take all your time. An all-important priority should be equipping your students with college-focused Bible study material that encourages them when they’re not inside the walls of your BCM or a local church.

Enter Collegiate magazine, a refreshing and affordable combination of Bible study and feature articles centered on biblical truth and issues relevant to college students. With biblical depth and practical advice for the realities of daily life, students will be challenged to study God's Word, make a difference in the world, and deepen their walk with Christ.

So how can Collegiate fit in your plan? Here are a few ideas:

1. Network with parents during welcome week. Encourage them to continue investing in their young adult’s spiritual life by ordering a Collegiate subscription and contributing to other BCM activities throughout the year.

2. Reach out to new students. While you’re helping students move in, leave copies in their dorm rooms. Or leave free copies in dorm room lobbies and campus common areas. Don’t’ forget to include a sticker or flier with your welcome events info. And later, send a copy to Bible study group newbies as a “glad you came to visit” gift.

3. Coordinate your efforts with local churches. Encourage individual families to adopt a student and send a Collegiate subscription along with occasional meals and care packages.

4. Distribute copies to other local college ministries and/or leaders. It’ll support them in their efforts to start new Bible study groups. After all, we’re all working together to reach these collegians.

5. Promote student-led Bible studies. Give them copies of Collegiate to start new groups in their dorms or apartment complexes. And don’t forget to tell them about the free online teaching plans, biblical commentary, and promotional posters at threadsmedia.com/collegiate/leaders.

6. Give out the magazine as door prizes at your events. Everyone likes a useful freebie!

And here are some perks for you, the leader:

7. Find out what other college and campus ministries across the country are doing in the ministry spotlight section in every issue.

8. Check out our playlist to beef up your iPod. (There’s a quick link available at threadsmedia.com/collegiate/leaders.)

9. Use ideas from the magazine for your upcoming speaking topics or to find new guest speakers (since several of our writers are frequent speakers at college campuses across the U.S.).

10. Enhance your ministry by using the Bible studies for your personal quiet times or by reading feature articles on issues relevant to college students. You don't have to be in college to enjoy reading the magazine!



Lindsey Bush is grateful she still gets to live out some of her college experience at Western Kentucky University as the editor of Collegiate magazine. To learn more about Collegiate and other Threads resources, go to threadsmedia.com.

First Century Discipleship Process

 

Below is a great resource on understanding the Rabbi and Talmid way of discipleship in Jesus day. The entire article can be found at

 

http://www.followtherabbi.com/Brix?pageID=2753

 

The Disciples as Talmidim

The decision to follow a rabbi as a talmid meant total commitment in the first century as it does today. Since a talmid was totally devoted to becoming like the rabbi he would have spent his entire time listening and observing the teacher to know how to understand the Scripture and how to put it into practice. Jesus describes his relationship to his disciples in exactly this way (Matt. 10:24?25; Luke 6:40) He chose them to be with him (Mark 3:13?19) so they could be like him (John 13:15).

Most students sought out the rabbis they wished to follow. This happened to Jesus on occasion (Mark 5:19; Luke 9:57). There were a few exceptional rabbis who were famous for seeking out their own students. If a student wanted to study with a rabbi he would ask if he might ?follow? the rabbi. The rabbi would consider the students potential to become like him and whether he would make the commitment necessary. It is likely most students were turned away. Some of course were invited to ?follow me?. This indicated the rabbi believed the potential talmid had the ability and commitment to become like him. It would be a remarkable affirmation of the confidence the teacher had in the student. In that light, consider whether the disciples of Jesus were talmidim as understood by the people of his time. They were to be ?with? him Mark 3:13?19; to follow him Mark 1:16?20; to live by his teaching John 8:31; were to imitate his actions John 13:13?15; were to make everything else secondary to their learning from the rabbi Luke 14:26.

This may explain Peter?s walking on water (Matt. 14:22?33). When Jesus (the rabbi) walked on water, Peter (the talmid) wanted to be like him. Certainly Peter had not walked on water before nor could he have imagined being able to do it. However, if the teacher, who chose me because he believed I could be like him, can do it so must I. And he did! It was a miracle but he was just like the rabbi! And then...he doubted. Doubted what? Traditionally we have seen he doubted Jesus? power. Maybe, but Jesus was still standing on the water. I believe Peter doubted himself, or maybe better his capacity to be empowered by Jesus. Jesus response ?why did you doubt? (14:31) then means ?why did you doubt I could empower you to be like me??

That is a crucial message for the talmid of today. We must believe that Jesus calls us to be disciples because he knows he can so instruct, empower, and fill us with his Spirit that we can be like him (at least in our actions). We must believe in ourselves! Otherwise we will doubt that he can use us and as a result we will not be like him.

Being like the rabbi is the major focus of the life of talmidim. They listen and question, they respond when questioned, they follow without knowing where the rabbi is taking them knowing that the rabbi has good reason for bringing them to the right place for his teaching to make the most sense. In the story recorded in Matthew 16, Jesus walked nearly thirty miles one way to be in Caesarea Philippi for a lesson that fit the location perfectly. Surely he talked with them along the way but the whole trip seems to have been geared for one lesson that takes less than ten minutes to give (Matt. 16:13?28).

This means that the present day talmid (disciple) must be no less focused on the rabbi. We must be with him in his Word, we must follow him even if we are not sure of the final destination, we must live by his teaching (which means we must know those teachings well), and we must imitate him whenever we can. In other words everything becomes secondary in life to being like him. When they had observed and learned for a time they were sent out to begin to practice being like the teacher (Luke 9:1?6; 10:1?24). The amazement of the talmidim in discovering they could be like their teacher is delightful (10:17). It is very understandable to anyone who has seen the deep attachment of talmidim to his or her rabbi even today. It is most affirming when a student discovers that being like the teacher is possible. The teachers joy is no less as he discovers his students have learned well and are gifted and empowered by God to act as the rabbi does (Luke 10:21; see also John 17:16, 18).

When the teacher believed that his talmidim were prepared to be like him he would commission them to become disciple makers. He was saying ?As far as is possible you are like me. Now go and seek others who will imitate you. Because you are like me, when they imitate you they will be like me. This practice certainly lies behind Jesus great commission (Matt. 28:18?20). While in one sense no one can be like Jesus in his divine nature, or in his perfect human nature, when taught by the Rabbi, empowered and blessed by the Spirit of God, imitating Jesus becomes a possibility. The mission of the disciples was to seek others who would imitate them and therefore become like Jesus. That strategy, blessed by God?s Spirit would bear amazing fruit especially in the Gentile world.

 

Let Us Know Your Thoughts On Discipleship

Please take a moment to fill out this brief survey on Discipleship with College Students and forward it to others you know in collegiate ministry:

Survey For College Ministry Leaders