GROWING SAINTS: MAKE DISCIPLES, NOT JUST CONVERTS!

Add https://www.asbury.edu/salvationa…/growing-saints-conference

General John Gowans (1934-2012), the 16^th international leader of The Salvation Army, once said, “The Salvation Army was invented to save souls, grow saints, and serve suffering humanity.”  The same may be said for the church universal regardless of doctrine or denominational distinctives.  The fact is that these three aspects of mission are not to be separate initiatives, but a continuum of conviction and covenant for all Christians and every faith community.  When people come to faith in Christ, it is the mission and obligation of every Christian to help new believers become established in the Kingdom.  The ministry of every faith community is to come along side of new followers of Christ to help them stay on the journey with Christ, and to help them get beyond the siren songs of temptation and sin to a spiritual place of power over sin.

The challenge is to help saved souls to grow on to become mature, Spirit-filled disciples who can disciple others.  This means tossing out the self-serving idea that the only importance to becoming a Christian is to get saved and go to heaven, and maybe even save others who can go to heaven.  Getting into heaven is not the goal of the Kingdom.  Such a goal is self-serving and narrow-minded.  As someone said, "It's getting heaven into us."  The actual goal is Christ-likeness and purity of heart, filled with the Holy Spirit “to the measure of the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19).  Why?  So that then God can do immeasurably more that we could ask or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20&21). Ultimately, the goal is glory to God. In other words, the goal is to multiply Spirit guided, Spirit compelled, Spirit empowered servants whose service brings glory to God, who let their light shine in such a way, the way of holiness, that seeing the glory of God is inescapable.

So we take Jesus seriously (Matthew 28:18-20).  Faithfully, we lovingly obey Christ’s Great Commission.  We make disciples.  It is a directive, not a great suggestion take it or leave it.  It means making disciples not just converts.  It means walking along side new believers to help them make a decision of faith and repentance, and then to continue the journey with them as they become rooted and established, built-up, mature in Christ, and transformed by the Holy Spirit, restored to the image of God (Imago Dei).  This is the calling of every Christian, to spiritually reproduce and grow saints who reproduce and grow more saints.

So then, just as you received Christ as Lord, continue to live in him,

Rooted and built-up in him, strengthened in the faith as you

were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Colossians 2:6&7

Come to the Growing Saints Conference, January 29&30, 2016
https://www.asbury.edu/salvationa…/growing-saints-conference