Go and make disciples is Christ’s final command to the Church.
Christians face the twin challenges of making disciples of ourselves and making disciples of others. Discipleship with its twin priorities is perhaps the most pressing challenge that faces the Church.
Discipleship is vital for new Christians, turning an encounter with Christ into a walk with Christ, learning to walk alongside others in Christian communities.
Discipleship is equally important among people with a long Christian heritage or who grew up in Christian homes. Much is lost unless each new generation meets and follows Christ for itself.
Pray for all disciple-makers around the world – all those who explain and apply the Bible week by week; those who teach the children; the youth workers who lead and mentor young people.
Pray for all those who train the disciple-makers of the future. Some of this is done formally in thousands of training institutes. Some is done informally through mentoring. Pray for a training ethos to spread through the Church.
Pray for the songwriters, musicians and worship leaders who set truth to music, and who can give voice to our voiceless prayers, enabling the word to ‘dwell richly among us’ (See Colossians 3:16).
Pray the great prayers of the Bible for ourselves and the whole Church – that we would grow in our understanding of God, our grasp of his love, our unity, our perceptiveness and fruitfulness in his service.
Discipleship is the most pressing challenge that faces the Church.