How to make a disciple
On 28th February over 150 church and youth leaders attended the first Urban Youth Work Summit, entitled 'God, Guns and Gangs'. Tim Broadbent, Oasis Senior Youth and Community Worker, explained the critical part churches need to play...
"I grew up where discipleship was seen as a one-to one activity which it can be, but I think it can be much more than that. I see discipleship at its best as a group activity, because it gives you the chance to see how people interact with one another. Doing a task together brings out opportunities to disciple, because you can challenge or commend people's behaviour.
Discipleship in the Bible isn't a one-to-one talk about spirituality, it was Jesus getting a group together and getting them to take part in his mission, and then conversations took place. I think in our modern churches we've got it the wrong way round!
We believe that we can work better if we work together. So many young people are aware of territory - they won't go outside of an area they are known and feel comfortable in. Working across boundaries breaks down those kinds of fears.
At Southside (the summer radio station run from the Waterloo Hub), that's what we did. In the end we had so much broadcasting time to fill that we called other youth groups, inviting them to come in and help. I know we're breaking down territorial barriers in that.
I've read that around 80% of gang members are linked to a church. That means the church has a huge part to play in dealing with the problems surrounding young people. Thinking about how youcan work with other churches is so important. If church groups aren't working together, then how can we be a good example to young people? How can we try to get them to have an appreciation for one another, and a willingness to work together, unless we are doing it? It takes humility, but we need to do it.
In the Bible, there's one story where Jesus was preaching from a boat, which Simon Peter was also in. After Jesus finishes speaking, he asks Peter to sail out into deep waters and put down the nets. I love this story; it wasn't in the temple; it was in the workplace, in the busy area full of ordinary people. Jesus wasn't teaching from a distance - he was right in there.
Also, there was a strong current in that lake. If you wanted the boat to remain in one place, you had to use your oars to keep it steady. Jesus actually needed Peter's assistance to preach. If he hadn't helped, Jesus would have just sailed away! Asking people for help is so important. It's something I do a lot in youth work. I'll say, 'Chris, come with me and play basketball with those guys over there, we'll get to know them', he doesn't know what I'm doing, but I'm getting him on board. Getting young people on board takes humility, but it's so important. It's not saying 'This is my agenda, you must follow it'. It's just saying, 'Can you help?'
Jesus did it with the woman at the well too. Jesus relied upon people's help and he engaged them through that. As churches, we need to listen to young people, and work with them. And get them on board.
At the beginning of the story, Peter calls Jesus 'teacher'. He ends up, by the end of the story, calling him 'Lord'. Something must have happened during that time. There was a success story here. Yes, Peter caught fish - a huge number, which would have made him a lot of money - but something else happened too. Peter left it all, and followed Jesus, becoming a disciple. Our success isn't just about helping young people to succeed academically, say, like Peter and his fish; it's also about helping young people to realise that we want them to be in relationship with us, that we need them in our communities, and that we care about them.
You can listen to recordings of the main sessions and seminars by clicking here.