Building Disciples
I read this story in a book titled Building a Youth Ministry that Builds Disciples by Duffy Robbins. I have edited the excerpt to better fit the context of Buffs for Christ.
Back during the Civil War, there was some confusion in the Union Army. It seems that President Lincoln couldn’t stop his generals from launching an attack on Richmond, Virginia. Growing in his frustration, Lincoln challenged his generals by asking why they were so set on attacking Richmond. Because the issue was that Confederate Army was not in Richmond. As the story goes, one day, in anger, Lincoln blurted out, “Men, even if you win in Richmond, all you will do is gain ground. Men, we’re not out to gain ground; our purpose is to win a war!”
The author goes on to say that is it so easy for a ministry to get hyper-focused on the wrong task. Often ministries get focused on more students, more activities, more free food, etc. in reality those things may in fact gain us some ground, but they will not in fact win the war. Our main objective in ministry is to make disciples. Buffs for Christ isn’t just about inviting friends, free food, sin management, or selling T-Shirts (but let us know if you’d like a BFC shirt for $15 or a hat $20). Buffs for Christ is about making disciples. We do that in several ways, but I think Robbins’ book has a good list, Buffs for Christ is a ministry that builds disciples by Focusing on Christ, calling students to serve, nurturing faith, and building community.
Note, much of the following comes directly from Duffy Robbins’ book. you can purchase it here. Again I have edited it slightly to fit the context of Buffs for Christ.
1. Focused on Christ
“We will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.” (Ephesians 4:15b)
The number one goal of Buffs for Christ is not tithing, church membership, voter registration, political mobilization, retreat attendance, recruiting students to invite their friends, involvement, tattoo avoidance, sin management, or sales of T-shirts. It is helping students develop a relationship with God. Our Lord said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38).
2. Calling Students to Service
“To equip [God’s] people for works of service.” (Ephesians 4:12a)
When Jesus cited love for God as the essence of the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-38), he went on to connect it with a second commandment: “The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (22:39-40). The plain fact is that God has called all Christians to service. All of us are called to do the work of ministry (Ephesians 2:8-10; Colossians 3:23-24; 1 Peter 2:9-10). That’s as true for college-aged Christians as it is for every other Christian. Any spiritual growth that doesn’t include some understanding that God calls each of us to a life of ministry in some shape or fashion, is not spiritual growth.
3. Nurturing Maturity
“So that the body of Christ may be built up until we all … become mature.” (Ephesians 4:12-13)
The two images offered in Ephesians 4:12 come from terms in classical Greek that relate to shipbuilding and construction. It’s a combination of terms that remind us that disciple-making is about building—mending that which is broken and making stronger that which has been built. In short, Paul is calling the church to outfit a human being in the way a shipbuilder might outfit a ship to assure that it’s seaworthy. (See Ephesians 4:14.) This is the work of nurturing maturity. The outcome for college students is that we put away childish notions about God. That doesn’t mean we silence eternity-sized questions. It means we help our students grip more tightly a faith that continues to sail boldly into the winds and darkness of those hard questions. College ministries that build disciples will be ministries that welcome questions, struggle, and mystery. Nurturing Maturity also means we put away childish thinking in the way we make life decisions. College students often fall into the beautiful lie: It looks like freedom; it turns out to be bondage. It looks cool; it turns out to be foolish. It looks like love; it turns out to be lust. It looks like life; it turns out to be death. College ministries that build disciples with lasting mature faith will be ministries where students are given a biblical grid through which to screen out the lies of the culture, and the tools of discernment so they can make wise choices.
4. Building One Another in Love (Community)
“From him, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:16)
Biblically, the goal of building up, or the ministry of edification term based on the word edifice or building—is both individual and corporate. We aren’t just building individual disciples; we’re building the church, the body of Christ “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God” (Ephesians 4:13). Each body part must be strong in order for the entire body to be strong, but strong individual body parts will still suffer the consequences if the body is sick. Research has shown that one of the greatest predictors of a young person’s ongoing growth in Christ is membership in, and commitment to, some sort of Christian fellowship.
