Becoming a Bridge Builder

Being a disciple of Jesus is simple: learn from Jesus and begin to live and love the way he did. Submit to his teaching and authority. It’s that simple. But if you have spent more than 5 minutes as a disciple of Jesus, then you know that to live this way is anything but easy. Especially when living in a fallen world. There is still sin in us, we are still tempted, we still experience pain, fear, and doubt. But praise be to God, “that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

If you are a disciple, you know what the gospel is. As James White says, the gospel is not a suggestion, it is a command. Discipleship is more than a process, it is a commitment to growing and taking your next step in faith, obedience, and commitment to Jesus. The point of being a disciple is to become a disciple-maker. “To go out and make disciples of all nations.” - Matthew 28:19-20:

We recognize this at True North Church and take it very seriously. We don't want to just talk about discipleship, we want to live it out. We exist to help people discover Jesus and develop into world changing disciples. We want to bridge the gap between the hopelessly lost and the hope of Jesus. In order to do so, we are looking to equip and train disciples to move through the three stages of discipleship in order to carry out the Gospel into their communities and bring hope for generations to come.

We break discipleship down into three stages: discover, develop, and multiply. Every disciple falls into one of these stages. Do you know what stage you are in? If not, take some time to pray and read through how we define each stage. Discipleship is a marathon, not a sprint. Be honest with yourself. We are here to partner with you in your growth and help you during every season of your discipleship journey.

• Discover: Someone who has heard the gospel and responded positively to it. Not baptized but believes in the message and wants to learn more/take next steps of faith journey

• Develop: Someone who has repented and believed, is baptized, and is now seeking to join the church/community of believers. Will begin to discover their spiritual gifts and what role they will play in the body.

• Multiply: Someone who is a member of the church and has an intimate relationship with the Lord. They are ready to seek ways to serve generously with their time/talent/treasure, whether here on one of our ministry teams or in the community. They hold the ability to and actively share their faith with confidence and walk a nonbeliever through the stages of discipleship.

Our Next Steps process at True North is to help everyone grow in their faith, obedience, and commitment to Jesus. As you take your next step we pray that you become a disciple who abides, loves, and leads, daily. There will never be a moment on this side of Heaven where we have fully arrived. Never settle, never stop moving; the gates of hell will not prevail. We all have a next step that we can take. What step can you take this week?