by David Ray DISCIPLESHIP It’s What We Help You Do
T THE 73rd International General Assembly, the Church of God Publishing House was brought under the over- sight of the Division of Discipleship. However, discipleship is not a new focus for us. For 100 years, the Pub- lishing House has provided disciple- ship materials for local churches. The writing, editing, printing, and distribution of discipleship materials has drastically changed. The advent of personal computing and the Internet has brought about a revolution of the way we commu- nicate and inter- act. Times have changed, but the mandate of Mat- thew 28:19—“Go
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therefore and make disciples” (NKJV) —transcends the scribe’s quill, the printing press, and the personal com- puter. It is eternally timeless, and we must do everything possible to see that this commandment of making disciples continues until its author, Jesus Christ, returns. The question the Publishing House must constantly ask is, How can we do a better job in supporting those who labor in the dis- cipleship ministry of the local church? While we are committed to the task of making disciples, we are cur- rently asking ourselves, “What do discipleship resources look like today, and what should they look like tomor- row?” The answers to these two ques- tions will serve as our framework as we take this process into this new millennium.
It has been said that insanity is con- tinuing to do the same thing over and over again while expecting different results. Discipleship is too important to allow it to be relegated to a ministry relic of yesterday. The men and women at Pathway Press are committed to approaching this new era not with yester- day’s stale bread, but we are asking God to help us gather the ingredients that will provide the fresh bread of resources so we can help alleviate the spiritual hunger of men, women, and children. We cannot do this alone. Some wonderful ministry partners have been aligned with us in this newly commis- sioned Division of Discipleship. The newly
of discipleship resources for the youth and children of the church. While the term “Christian education” is no longer in their name, Sunday school will con- tinue to be part of their overall disciple- ship focus. Rounding out the Division of Discipleship is the ministry of local church music. We will likewise partner with them in the development of music resources for the local church. It is apparent that we have a renewed focus on fulfilling the man- date of Christ to make disciples of all nations. While this mandate has been in existence for over 2,000 years and volumes of books and articles have been written on this subject, the task still
established Adult Discipleship emphasis will focus specifically on the develop- ment and implementation of men and women’s discipleship resources. We are excited about this new partnership and the fresh new resources forthcoming. While remaining rooted in its purpose, the former International Youth and Christian Education Department has been rebranded as “Youth and Discipleship Ministries.” We are committed to join with them in the continual development
remains and will continue to do so until the rapture of the Church.
As we forge forward into this new millennium, our methods of disciple- ship will continue to evolve, but the message and the urgency must remain. The process continues!
David W. Ray is the administrative assis- tant to the general director of Pathway Press and Resource Center.
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