The First Step of Discipleship
For we are co-workers in God’s service " 1 Corinthians 3:9
On a recent Sunday at church I was volunteering as a welcomer and usher to help people find a seat in the crowded auditorium. The opening welcome and announcements had been made. The songs of worship had been sung and our pastor was well into his sermon. On this particular Sunday there was an unusual amount of activity outside of the worship service. People were coming late and leaving early for a wide variety of reasons. Due to all of this activity I decided to stay outside of the service and offer assistance to anyone who may need it.
A young man came into the church and said to me:
"I have never been in a church before."
In my response to him I told him I was the right person to talk to because I have been in church all of my life and I know everything he needs to know about church.
He then said: "I don't know what to do."
I then explained to him briefly about what happened at a church service and that this one was nearing completion but nevertheless I told him to follow me. I took him in and sat him beside a man I knew who was sitting at the very back of the auditorium. I introduced them and left. After the service I waited for the young man to come out but most of the people had left before he finally came out. He was delayed because the man I had introduced him to had become friendly and invited him out to a picnic after the church service. This gave me great joy because I realized the discipleship process for our new guest had begun.
In this later conversation I asked him why he had come to church? He told me he wasn't sure but he just felt it was the right thing to do. Furthermore, just two days prior he had decided to start praying for the first time in his life.
In discipleship it is easy to miss the fact that helping someone find their place in God's great story often starts with the Holy Spirit beginning the process by working in the hearts and lives of young men like He did with my new friend. As disciple-makers our role is to be co-workers with God and be ready when he opens the door for us to engage with someone whose spirit has already become open to a relationship with Jesus. Furthermore, we can be sure the Holy Spirit is always working and is preparing situations for us to be co-workers with him in pointing people to Jesus and discipling them to become the next wave of disciple-makers themselves.
