‘Making Disciples’ – the Implications of the Great Commission for Youth Evangelism

by

Jo Dolby

A dissertation submitted to Trinity College and the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts by advanced study in Applied Theology in the

Faculty of Arts

Trinity College/Arts Faculty September 2011

Word Count: 15,266

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Abstract This dissertation explores the implications of the Great Commission in Matthew’s Gospel for youth evangelism, focusing particularly on making disciples. It begins by researching the history of both the word disciple and the concept of discipleship. It gives examples of discipling relationships from the Old Testament and studies the Rabbi-disciple relationship common in the first century Jewish world, drawing out unique characteristics of being a disciple of Jesus. The Great Commission in Matthew is studied exegetically, and this is briefly compared with other gospel commissions. The disciple making strategy of the early church is explored, as is the concept of ‘imitation’ in Paul’s epistles. The analysis of several case studies is then presented, critiquing the methods of four youth ministries in the UK that are seeking to make disciples. These are TLG Reading; an alternative education centre for young people, The Bank; an evangelistic event run by a Lincoln church in 2011, AV YFC and Hull YFC; two Youth for Christ centres. The implications for youth evangelism are discussed, such as meeting needs, imitation and role modeling, the role of the Holy Spirit in youth evangelism, creating disciples as opposed to converts, the role of conversion and baptism, the cost of being a disciple, and the dangers of separating evangelistic activities from the church.

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Acknowledgements Thank you to all the amazing people and organisations who have backed me financially. Thanks to my grandparents Les and Jan Dolby for their generosity and support. Thanks to the Quothquan Trust, The Foundation of St Matthias, The Sarum St Michael Educational Charity and The Friends First Day Schools Fund. Thanks to my amazing parents Christine & Brian Dolby for their overwhelming and consistent encouragement, support and love. Thank you to Lois Tverberg, Scot McKnight, Michael J Wilkins, Ben Witherington and Brad Gray for all their scholarship and help. Thanks to Rosie Hopley, Steve Arnold and Sian Brewer for their feedback. Thanks to John Corrie and all at Trinity Theological College, Bristol. Thank you to all the organisations who took the time to be a part of my research – TLG Reading (Q Gunderson and EJ Crabtree), Prodigal Son Ministries (Hilary Field), New Life Church Lincoln (Jo and Dan Hargreaves), Hull YFC (Chris and Anna Hembury), Aylesbury Vale YFC (Dave Rollins and Marco Loxley) and Bath YFC (Dave Joyce). Thank you to Sarah Jenkinson; forever part of my family, the maker of excellent chilli, and one of the cleverest people I know. I am so blessed to have some incredible friends in my life who have consistently challenged, loved, encouraged and inspired me throughout this process. Thank you. When I was twelve years old I made a decision to follow Jesus, and I knew it would be forever. My life is dedicated to making more disciples, not because I’m good at it, but because I simply cannot stop myself. I am loved by God, and he sent his only son to save me and make a way for me to live an abundant and eternal life. When I think about that, I can’t shut up about it, I can’t stop thinking about it and I feel like I’m going to explode. So instead of trying to contain it I’m going to let myself explode to everyone I meet, in everything I do, with everything I’ve got. Forever. Jesus you are breathtaking. You are all I want, all I need, and all I will ever live for. Thank you for your everlasting, unconditional, unchanging and unfailing love. May everything I do and say be in response to that.

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“Nothing is more practical than finding God, falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.” Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ (1907–1991) This dissertation is dedicated to every disciple maker in love.

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25/08/11

I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the University’s Regulations and Code of Practice for

Taught Postgraduate Programmes and that it has not been submitted for any other academic award. Except where indicated by specific reference in the text, this work is my own work. Work done in collaboration with, or with the

assistance of others, is indicated as such. I have identified all material in this dissertation that is not my own work through appropriate referencing and acknowledgement. Where I have quoted from the work of others, I have

included the source in the references/bibliography. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author.

SIGNED………………………..……… DATE……………………………………

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Table of Contents PAGE Chapter 1 - Discipleship and Jesus 7 maqhthj 7 Discipleship in the Old Testament 8 Rabbis & Disciples 10 Similarities Between Jesus and Rabbis 12 Differences Between Jesus and Rabbis 13 Summary 16 Chapter 2 - Discipleship After Jesus 18 The Great Commission in Matthew 18 Other Gospel Commissions 21 Discipleship in the Early Church 23 The Epistles 26 Summary 28 Chapter 3 – Models of Disciple Making 30 Case Study 1 – TLG Reading 30 Case Study 2 – The Bank (New Life Church Lincoln) 34 Case Study 3 – AV YFC 38 Case Study 4 – Hull YFC 41 Chapter 4 – Implications for Youth Evangelism 45 Delivering a Service or Making Disciples? 45 Imitation 46 The Holy Spirit 48 Disciples Not Converts 49 Conversion 51 Cost 52 Evangelism 53 Conclusion 54 Main Findings 55 Appendix 1 – Case Study Interview Transcripts 57 Bibliography 69

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Tables and Illustrations PAGE Gospel Commissions Comparison Table 21

Twitter Website Feed of Mike Pilavachi 50

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Chapter 1 – Discipleship and Jesus

This chapter will explore the history of both the word ‘disciple’ and the concept

of ‘discipleship’. It will give examples of its use and meaning, drawing out

comparisons with Jesus and his disciples.

maqhthj

Michael J Wilkin’s ‘Discipleship in the Ancient World and Matthew’s Gospel’,

is a comprehensive study of the history of disciples and discipleship, and will

be a key source in this chapter.

The word used 262 times in the gospels and Acts for a disciple is the Greek

word mathetes (maqhthj), first used in 5BC. Mathetes is used in classical and

Hellenistic literature, mostly to describe three types of people; a learner, an

adherent, and a pupil.1 Isocrates, Plato, Aristotle and Socrates all used the

word to describe the follower of a master, and Wilkins states that:

‘the general use of mathetes suggests a person engaged in learning from someone who already has the desired skill or knowledge, and is the use which is most transparently related to the verb manqanw’ [manthano – to learn]2

So was Jesus essentially a teacher, with excellent skills or knowledge,

passing this on to a group of learners or pupils? The early technical use of

mathetes, and what we know about other master-disciple relationships at the

time indicate that this is only part of the story.

A disciple was more than just a pupil. Students became ‘adherents’ of their

masters, becoming representatives or ambassadors of their teaching and

taking on their way of life.3 Wilkins cites Rengstorf, who in discussing

Socrates’ use of the word mathetes, says that ‘the desire is to have disciples,

                                                                                                               1 Wilkins, 995, 11 2 Wilkins, 1995, 12 3 Wilkins, 1995, 42

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not pupils’.4 It was not just about passing on ideas and knowledge in a

learning environment, but about a relationship that changed every aspect of a

disciple’s life.

This relates to what we know about Jesus and his disciples. We know that

Jesus’ disciples did not just sit and listen to his teaching. They walked with

him, travelled with him, ate with him and he called them his friends. Although

Jesus did teach his disciples and learning was part of the goal, there was

more to the relationship than this.

Discipleship in the Old Testament

The Hebrew equivalent of the word mathetes is ‘Talmidh’, which is derived

from the Hebrew verb ‘learn’. Talmidh only appears once in the Old

Testament in 1 Chronicles 25:8 when referring to a teacher and student.

There does not seem to be much evidence of words used to describe master-

disciple relationships, which has led some to believe they did not exist in the

Old Testament. Rengstorf goes as far as saying that as the terminology is

missing, the concept must be too, but Wilkins disagrees.5

There does seem to be evidence of these types of relationships in the Old

Testament, although the context and depth of the relationships are not

described in detail.

One example could be Joshua and Moses. Was Joshua a disciple of Moses?

It seems that Joshua spent a lot of time close to Moses and would have

inevitably learnt from him. Exodus 34:11 calls Joshua Moses’ ‘aide’ and

Deuteronomy 1:38 says Joshua was Moses’ ‘assistant’. He had leadership

responsibilities and was eventually commissioned by Moses to take his place.

                                                                                                               4 Wilkins, 1995, 21 5 For this discussion in full, see Wilkins, 1995, p.44 and p.90

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Hengel suggests an influence on the calling of the disciples by Jesus

(particularly in Mark’s gospel) by the calling of Elisha by Elijah in 1 Kings

19:19-21.6 Elisha leaves his trade and family, and is almost immediately

commissioned by Elijah to prophesy. He goes on to serve Elijah and is called

his ‘attendant’. Elijah goes back to say goodbye to his family, whereas Jesus

does not allow this in a similar story in Matthew 8:18-22 with a ‘teacher of the

law’, who wanted to bury his dead father before following Jesus. The call to

become a disciple of Jesus seems more difficult, and with a higher cost. In

Luke’s telling of the story, Jesus even says “No one who puts his hand to the

plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).

Spangler and Tverberg see this as a reference to the story of Elisha’s call as

he burnt his plough in sacrifice before following Elijah, and evidence that

Jesus saw his relationship with his disciples as similar to that of Elijah and

Elisha.7

When Elijah was taken from Elisha, his spirit rested on Elisha (2 Kings 2:15),

the mantle was passed on and he began to do the things Elijah did, such as

prophesy. Collinson says that the Jewish writer Josephus comments on a

story in 2 Kings 9, and calls an individual who was sent to do a job for Elisha a

‘disciple’.8 The relationship between Elisha and his group of prophets was

seen as a discipling relationship, which could mean Elisha was discipling

others as he had been discipled by Elijah. Wilkins agrees that Josephus saw

this and other Old Testament master-disciple relationships as the same as

Jesus and his disciples, but points out there are unique characteristics of this

Old Testament form of discipleship. The disciple was being trained to continue

the work of the master once they had gone, their service was only for a

specific crisis time, and the master always pointed his disciple to God and not

to himself.9

                                                                                                               6 Hengel, 1968,16 7 Spangler and Tverberg, 2009, 57 8 Collinson, 2004, 17 9 Wilkins, 1992, 62

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We have already noted that Elisha had a group of people he was in

leadership over, a ‘company of prophets’.10 The same is found with Isaiah

(Isaiah 8:16) and Samuel (1 Samuel 10:5-10). It was common for a

master/leader to have a group of people also engaged in a mission for God,

learning from that master/leader and accompanying them.

Another ancient form of discipleship came from the Scribal tradition. Collinson

says that pre-exile, Scribes were required to ‘preserve the art of reading,

writing and transcribing the law’.11 Scribes were often looked upon to interpret

and advise on matters of the law, so they were seen as masters who could

pass on wisdom and knowledge. There is no evidence to suggest Scribes

passed on these skills to future generations through any kind of formal

‘school’, but more within their own families. This demonstrates elements of a

master-disciple relationship as a skill that was passed on in the context of a

relationship that was more than institutional or educational.

Rabbis & Disciples A master-disciple relationship that would have existed around the time of

Jesus is that of Jewish Rabbis and their disciples. After the exile, education

became a primary function of the synagogue.12 The most prominent Scribes

who taught and interpreted the law became Rabbis and schools were formed

in the synagogues where students/disciples known in Hebrew as ‘Talmidim’

would gather around the teaching Rabbis to learn and study the Torah.13

Wilkins describes several stages in the learning process for the disciples of a

Jewish Rabbi, listed in the Rabbinic Literature. They would start as a

beginner, progressing onto questioning, then being allowed to stand beside or

behind their master during prayer. Only a few disciples would make it to

become a ‘talmidh chakham’, which was a disciple who had become the

                                                                                                               10 See 2 Kings 2:5, 7, 15. 11 Collinson, 2004, 17 12 Collinson, 2004, 19 13 Collinson, 2004, 20

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intellectual equal of his teacher. A disciple who reached this stage would

eventually be ordained as a Rabbi himself.14

The idea of Jesus as a Jewish Rabbi has been brought into the spotlight

recently by Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids,

Michigan. In his bestselling book ‘Velvet Elvis’, Bell presents the idea of Jesus

as a Jewish Rabbi with disciples, like other Jewish Rabbis and their

disciples.15

Many have criticised Bell’s theories, including Ben Witherington, who argues

Jesus was not a Rabbi. He says that there is no evidence of a school in

Galilee and that Jesus had no encounters with other Rabbis because they did

not exist in Galilee.16

Confusion can easily arise when interpreting the use of the word ‘Rabbi’. Lois

Tverberg (co-author of ‘Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus’) wrote a blog article

in defense of using the term to describe Jesus.17 She explains that traditionally

‘Rabbi’ was used as a term of respect for wise teachers or sages, and it was

only after 70AD that the word was used as an official title for a Jewish

religious teacher. For example, Hillel and Shammai were well known Jewish

teachers who lived before the time of Jesus, but they are never recorded as

having being addressed as ‘Rabbi’. Jesus was a respected Sage, but not a

‘Rabbi’ in the way the word was used after 70AD. That does not mean that we

cannot use the term ‘Rabbi’ to address him, but we must be clear we do not

confuse him with the Rabbinic Period, which started after 70AD. David

Flusser also calls Jesus a Sage, and says that according to the oldest

sources, the only people who called Jesus ‘Rabbi’ were outsiders, whereas

those closest to him called him ‘Lord’.18

                                                                                                               14 Wilkins, 1995,123 15 Bell, 2005,124 16 See Witherington’s blog reviewing ‘Velvet Elvis’; http://benwitherington.blogspot.com/2007/02/velvet-elvis-and-king-has-he-left.html 17 http://ourrabbijesus.com/2009/02/10/can-we-call-jesus-Rabbi 18 Flusser, 1997, 13

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In her blog, Tverberg stresses that although we must not remove Jesus from

his context, we must not completely ignore the fact that he was part of the

world that led to the Rabbinic Period. He seems to comment on the argument

about divorce between Hillel and Shammai in Matthew 19:3-919, and does

have some similar traits and characteristics to that of Jewish Rabbis and

Sages from around the time.

Similarities Between Jesus and Rabbis

Becoming a disciple of Jesus meant paying a cost. Disciples left their families,

jobs and lives to follow Jesus.20 In the Rabbinic Literature disciples paid a

similar cost. The life of a disciple involved hard service, often doing tasks of

manual labour to assist their Rabbi as well as listening to and putting their

teaching into practice.21 They were also expected to place their relationship

with their Rabbi above that of their earthly parents22 which we see with Jesus

and his disciples in Luke 14:26; “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his

father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes even

his own life – he cannot be my disciple”.

Another major similarity is Jesus’ use of parables, a common teaching method

amongst Rabbis. There are even some parables Jesus told which seem to

have parallels in the Rabbinic Literature,23 although whether Jesus was

influenced by the Rabbis or the other way around is not clear due to debate

over the dates of origin of the parables.

Young lists six things about the disciples of Jesus that were similar

characteristics to the disciples of the Rabbis:24

                                                                                                               19 Tverberg, 2009, http://ourrabbijesus.com/2009/02/10/can-we-call-jesus-Rabbi 20 See Luke 9:57-62 and Matthew 4:18-22 21 Young, 2007, 30 22 Young, 2007, 31 23 Brad Young, in his book ‘Meet the Rabbis’, devotes a chapter to exploring the parallels between the Rabbinic Literature and the Gospels, which includes many parables. See also Bivin & Blizzard, 1983, 43 onwards 24 Young, 2007, 37

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1) Jesus chose a specific group of people to become his disciples. (Matt

4:19)

2) Jesus asked his disciples to not only learn his teachings but to put

them into practice. (Matt 7:24)

3) Jesus’ disciples learnt by watching Jesus, and imitating him. (Matt

16:24 – 28)

4) Jesus’ disciples learnt in an apprenticeship style, watching him but then

working alongside and with him (Matt 10:1-4)

5) Jesus set his disciples a task to do alone and then report back to him

(Matt 10:5-25)

6) Jesus’ disciples were accountable to him and under his supervision.

It is clear there are many similarities, too many to list and explore here. Jesus

was a Jew, living in a similar era to the Rabbis and it is possible that some

likenesses can be explained by cultural reasons. I quote Hengel both to

present more similarities that we have not previously noted, and to raise the

point that these similarities are not necessarily proof that Jesus was a Rabbi;

It could be objected that Jesus was first and foremost a teacher who like the rabbis taught in parables and ingeniously contrived sayings, who spoke in the synagogue, gathered pupils around him, debated with his opponents and in doing so was able to use the Torah with amazing aptness. But the counter question can be put here just as well: By what right do we consider these features in Jesus’ day as the exclusive preserve of rabbinic legal scholars?25

Differences Between Jesus and the Rabbis

More relevant to our discussion here because it naturally identifies Jesus’ own

methods of discipleship, it is helpful to look at some of the things that make

Jesus and his disciples unique from the Rabbis and their disciples.

                                                                                                               25 Hengel, 1968, 44

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As mentioned above, Jewish disciples who excelled went on to become

Rabbis themselves. As Jesus commanded his disciples to make more

disciples in Matthew 28:19, the Rabbinic Literature gives a similar instruction

in Avot 1:1; ‘Be patient in [the administration of] justice, rear many disciples

(talmidhim), and make a fence round the Torah’.26 A disciple who became a

Rabbi would seek to ‘rear many disciples’ of their own and teach and train

their disciples with their knowledge and interpretation of the Torah.

In Matthew 23:8 Jesus forbids his disciples from calling themselves Rabbis;

“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one teacher, and you are all

brothers.” Jesus did not want his disciples to progress onto becoming Rabbis

themselves, he would still be their Rabbi. Their commission in Matthew 28:19

was not to make disciples of their own, but to make more disciples of Jesus.

They were meant to teach what Jesus had already taught them27 and make

more of what they were themselves.28 This was unique to Jesus’ form of

discipleship.

Jesus was also unique in who he called to be his disciples, and the way he

called them. In the Rabbinic world, a student would ask to become the

disciple of a Rabbi, not the other way around.29 In John 15:16 Jesus even

reminds the disciples that they did not choose him, but he chose them.

Jesus’ group of disciples consisted of, amongst others, fishermen, a tax

collector and a zealot. These were not the types of people that became the

disciples of a great Rabbi. Only the very best and most skilled students who

had proved their extensive Torah knowledge could become disciples. Instead

of selecting the best of the best, Jesus chooses tradesmen from small

villages, a criminal and a political activist. This differs greatly from the Rabbis.

Jesus differed in his teaching methods. Although formal teaching was part of

his discipleship, the disciples were very often involved in the practical                                                                                                                26 Cited by Wilkins, 1995, 119. Wilkins says this saying became a standard for all of Israel. 27 Wilkins, 1995, 125 28 Bosch, 1991, 74 29 Witherington, 1990, 130, Collinson, 2004, 20 and Hengel, 1968, 51.

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outworking of this teaching. They assisted Jesus in miracles,30 were sent out

alone on mission,31 and ministered to people. Although disciples of the Rabbis

did participate in practical tasks and manual labour, they were primarily

engaged in learning the Torah.32 There was a high value placed on theory,

whereas Jesus seems to have placed a high value on practice.33

Jesus was unique in his identity. Disciples of Rabbis would serve their

masters, often practically, but Jesus said that he had come to serve and even

washed his disciples’ feet.34

Hengel, in his extensive critique of Jesus as a Jewish Rabbi,35 points out a

significant difference in the fact that Jesus does not seem focused on the

Torah. He argues exegetically only when questioned or challenged,36 and his

motivation in using parables is not to explain the Torah, but to explain his

eschatological message of the coming of the Kingdom of God.37 He taught as

someone with authority given to him by God, rather than from another Rabbi.

Although there are similarities between Jesus and Jewish Rabbis that lived at

a similar time period, there are also many differences. Hengel concludes that

Jesus stands outside of any other definable form of Jewish teaching

tradition,38 and Wilkins quotes C.G Montefiore as he reaches a similar

conclusion;

‘Discipleship such as Jesus demanded and inspired…was apparently a new thing, at all events, something that did not fit in, or was not on all-fours, with usual Rabbinic customs or with customary Rabbinic phenomena’39

                                                                                                               30 Matthew 14:19 31 Matthew 10 32 Collinson, 2004, 48 33 Witherington, 1990, 137 34 John 13:1-12 35 Hengel, 1968, 42-56 36 Hengel, 1968, 46 37 Hengel, 1968, 48 38 Hengel, 1968, 49 39 Wilkins, 1992, 96

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Summary

Discipleship and the word disciple (maqhthj) has its origins in learning, being

linked to the greek verb ‘to learn’ (manqanw). However, this was only part of the

discipling relationship, as learners became part of their master’s life and

sought to become like them.

In Old Testament times the concept of a master-disciple relationship was

present, but the words used to describe those relationships and the specific

practice of discipleship differ. Examples of these include prophets with a

group of disciples such as Isaiah, and leaders who passed on their leadership

responsibilities to a successor they had trained, such as Elijah to Elisha.

Jesus was probably aware of these master-disciple relationships when

thinking about his own form of discipleship and speaks about Elijah and Elisha

in the context of talking about his disciples in Luke 9. Elisha was clearly a

devoted follower of Elijah, and yet Jesus suggests even this standard of

commitment is not good enough for his own disciples. In pointing out the cost

of following him to the teacher of the law in Luke’s gospel, Jesus shows he is

doing something new, not to ignore or extinguish the discipleship that Elijah

offered, but to build on it. Jesus wanted to make it clear that following him

would be different from any other type of discipleship they knew of either past

or present.

Jesus was unique in whom he chose and how he chose them. The cost of

following him was higher than the cost paid by the disciple of any other

teacher, Sage or Rabbi. His disciples were expected to place their relationship

with Jesus above all other relationships, including their families. Jesus taught

with authority and his disciples learned from him practically as well as

theoretically. They were not just to learn his teachings but also to put them

into practice. His parables and teachings were not primarily to explain the

Torah, but to help the disciples understand that the Kingdom of God was

near. Jesus’ disciples were never to graduate beyond disciple or to have

disciples of their own. They were not to be served, but to serve as Jesus had

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served them. They were sent out to the lost sheep of Israel40 to make more

disciples of Jesus.

                                                                                                               40 Matthew 10:6

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Chapter 2 – Discipleship After Jesus In this chapter we will look at relevant exegesis and commentary of The Great

Commission in Matthew 28. We will also draw out key disciple making

characteristics from the early church.

The Great Commission in Matthew

The last five verses of Matthew are described by scholars as the climax of the

gospel,41 drawing the themes in the book together42 and providing a useful

summary of what Matthew perceives discipleship to involve.43

The disciples have travelled back to Galilee from Jerusalem, where they were

expecting to meet Jesus on a mountain. Some have drawn parallels with the

giving of the Torah from Mount Sinai,44 other mentions of mountains in

Matthew45 and the commissioning of previous leaders and prophets from the

Old Testament such as Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Isaiah and

Jeremiah.46

In verse 17, the disciples saw Jesus and worshipped him, but some doubted.

The word translated ‘doubted’ in the NRSV is edistasan, only used elsewhere

in the New Testament in Matthew 14:31 to describe Peter’s doubt as he

attempted to walk on water. Hagner stresses that the translation of this rare

verb47 does not mean unbelief, and prefers hesitation, indecision or

uncertainty.48 The disciples were likely to have been overwhelmed with

everything that had happened. Matthew has always painted a realistic view of

the disciples, who very often failed and could worship and doubt at the same

time. Discussing this, Peskett and Ramachandra conclude that;                                                                                                                41 Hagner, 1995, p.881, see also Bosch, 1991, 57 42 Wilkins, 2004, 946 43 France, 1989, 261 44 Turner, 2008, 688 45 See Matthew 4:8, 5:1, 15:29, 17:1, 24:3, 26:30 46 France, 2007, 1109 47 France says that it is rare even in other Greek writings, and when used conveys the idea of ‘uncertainty, puzzlement and being at a loss’ rather than unbelief. (France, 2007, 1111) 48 Hagner, 1995, 885

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Matthew, with pastoral sensitivity, records this story so that his readers might take courage in their own struggles between worship and doubt…The Great Commission was not given to spiritual giants; it was given to an ordinary group of devoted, failure-prone learners.49

 

In verses 18 – 20 we see four significant uses of the word ‘all/always’:

1) All authority - Jesus states that all authority in heaven and on earth has

been given to him. France makes the link to Daniel 7:13-14; now the prophecy

has been fulfilled Jesus stands as the risen Son of Man in full glory, having

been given all authority and dominion by God.50 It is because of this authority

that the commission is given, and the reason why it must be undertaken by

the disciples.

2) All nations – Jesus instructs his disciples to make disciples, of all nations.

This stands in stark contrast to their earlier mission of Matthew 10, when

Jesus sent them out to the lost sheep of Israel, and instructed them

specifically not to go to the Gentiles.51 There has been debate as to whether

the target of the commission is just the Gentiles, but it is clear that mission

within the early church included both Jew and Gentile alike.52 The disciples

interpreted their mission as all-inclusive, to Jew and Gentile, and it is

significant here that the commission is spoken out in the ‘Galilee of the

Gentiles’.53

3) All I have commanded you – The disciples are to teach future disciples to

obey and put into practice everything Jesus has previously taught them.

4) I am with you always – Jesus promises that he will be with his disciples

always, which is not just to comfort and reassure them, but also to enable the

mission to be completed;

In OT commissioning scenes the assurance of God’s presence was to empower his often inadequate servants to fulfill the task he had called them to. So here it is to the commissioned disciples as they set about their daunting task that the divine presence is

                                                                                                               49 Peskett & Ramachandra, 2003, 174 50 France, 2007, 1112, 1113 51 Matthew 10:5-6 52 Wilkins 2004, 953 53 Wilkins, 2004, 947

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promised without which they cannot be expected to succeed.54

Verses 19 – 20 contain four verbs; the imperative maqhteusate (make disciples)

and three participles; ‘go’, ‘baptising’ and ‘teaching’. The main command here

is to make disciples, with the other three verbs describing how this is to be

achieved.55 France is keen that the ‘going’ verb is not seen as an equal part of

the making disciples process as baptising and teaching. Although it precedes

the main verb, Matthew’s use of the participle to lead into an imperative in

other parts of the gospel indicate that we should not read too much into its

use in this instance.56 Going is just an obvious necessity in fulfilling the

command to make disciples by baptising and teaching rather than a profound

statement or command in itself.

The disciples were to baptise new believers in the name of the Father, Son

and Holy Spirit, publicly declaring and symbolising their conversion to Jesus

and the Christian community. They were then to teach the believers what

Jesus had taught them, and help them to put this teaching into practice. The

commission in Matthew is the only commission to include teaching as part of

the command, and throughout his gospel Matthew refers to teaching as

something Jesus does to his disciples rather than to unbelievers.57 In his ‘five

discourses’,58 Matthew gives the total teaching of Jesus, which the disciples

must now teach to other disciples. This was not an overnight event, but a long

process.

As they were to replicate themselves, the Great Commission would also have

been a commission not just for those eleven disciples, but for every future

disciple of Christ. Those who were made into disciples were also called to

make disciples.

                                                                                                               54 France, 2007, 1119 55 Wilkins, 2004, 951 and France, 1985, 420 56 France, 2007, 1115, see in particular footnote 34 57 Bosch, 1991, 66 58 France, 2007, viii – xiv, lists the five discourses as 1) The Discourse on Discipleship (Matt 5:1 – 7:29) 2) The Discourse on Mission (Matt 9:35 – 11:1) 3) The Parable Discourse (Matt 13:1 – 53) 4) The Discourse on Relationships (Matt 18:1 – 19:2) and 5) The Discourse on the Future (Matt 24:3 – 25:46) See also Bosch, 1991, 69

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Other Gospel Commissions

Although Matthew’s commission is unique, there are commissions in the other

three gospels. There is not space to conduct a full exegetical study of each

commission and our question focuses particularly on the commission in

Matthew. All that can be done here is to summarise the main relevant points

of interest.

Larkin and Williams have created a table59 which helpfully compares the

commissions in each gospel, and in the book of Acts;

Mark (16:14-20)

The focus of Mark’s commission seems to be more on proclamation. In verse

15 Jesus instructs the disciples to ‘go into all the world and preach the good

news to all creation’. He uses kerussw (proclaim) and didaskw (teach)

interchangeably throughout the gospel, whereas Matthew always separates

the two activities with preaching/proclaiming being for outsiders and teaching

for those who were already believers.60

                                                                                                               59 Larkin and Williams, 1998, p.46 60 Bosch, 1991, 66

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Proclamation was not only to be with words but with actions, and often in

Mark we see healings and exorcisms at the same time as proclamation (1:39,

6:12-13). The first half of Mark’s Gospel is almost entirely devoted to miracles

rather than teaching or sermons.61 The disciples were already familiar with

casting out demons and healing the sick to meet the needs of others,62 but

now they were to speak in new tongues and even be able to drink poison and

pick up snakes without being harmed. These signs and wonders would

accompany whoever believed, they were a natural part of being a disciple of

Jesus.

Luke (24:46-49)

The disciples are to be witnesses (24:48) and like Mark are also to proclaim,

but the message to be preached to all nations is one of repentance and

forgiveness (24:47).

The disciples are commanded in verse 49 to stay in the city until they can be

‘clothed with power from on high’. For Luke the empowerment of the Holy

Spirit was essential before they could leave to go and carry out their

instructions. This would give them everything they needed to complete the

task.63

John (20:21-23)

John’s commission starts with Jesus being amongst them (v.19), and sending

them out as he has been sent (v.21). The mission is not clearly defined here,

the disciples are simply sent. Their mission is incarnational rather than verbal

– as God sent Jesus to be with his people, so Jesus is sending the disciples

to be with people, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

                                                                                                               61 Arias and Johnson, 1992, 39 footnote 11 62 See Mark 3:15 and 6:13 63 Arias and Johnson, 1992, 59

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There are two things that all gospel commissions have in common. The first is

that all declare the mission as being to all nations; to anyone and everyone.

The disciples were to make disciples of all. The second is that they all occur

post resurrection. Jesus’ triumph over the cross was the precursor and

springboard to mission. Jesus’ final act of fulfilling the scriptures was both the

reason and motivation for the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations.

Discipleship in the Early Church

We now move past the commissions into the early church. How did the first

recipients of these commissions interpret and put them into practice? How

were disciples made in the early church?

Acts

The verb used in Matthew 28:19 for ‘making disciples’ (maqhteuw) is only used

four times in the New Testament. Matthew uses it three times (13:52, 27:52,

28:19) and it also appears in Acts 14:21; ‘After they had proclaimed the good

news to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, then

on to Iconium and Antioch’. Making disciples was clearly the task of the

apostles in Acts.

The role of the eleven remaining disciples had changed. Although they were

still disciples, they were now also apostles and ‘witnesses’ (Acts 1:8). The

emphasis on being witnesses is shown by the change in Luke’s language. In

Luke the disciples are described only once as witnesses, but in Acts the word

is used thirteen times. They were to tell others about what they had seen, not

just about the death and resurrection of Jesus, but about his entire life,

message and ministry.64 Being a witness was not necessarily a command

from Jesus, but a promise of what would naturally happen after the Holy Spirit

                                                                                                               64 Bosch, 1991, 116

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came.65 The Spirit would compel them to speak of what they had seen in order

to make disciples all over the world.

The coming of the Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of the promise made by the

same writer in Luke 24:49. The activities of the Holy Spirit are hugely

significant in Acts, to the point where some suggest a more fitting title for the

book could be the ‘Acts of the Holy Spirit’ rather than the ‘Acts of the

Apostles’.66 The signs, miracles and conversions Luke writes about are done

not by the apostles, but by the Holy Spirit working synergistically with them as

they proclaim their witness statements.67 It was God who ‘added daily to

those being saved’ (Acts 2:47), not any man or woman.

Part of the task of being a witness was to actively preach or proclaim what

they had seen. The apostles were not quietly going about their ordinary lives

telling their story to anyone who asked, they were actively and boldly telling as

many people as they could. Paul was strategic in his location choices for

proclaiming his message. He focused on the major cities of the Roman

Empire, which attracted many visitors who could hear Paul’s message and

take it back to their homeland, spreading the gospel even further.68 The

method of proclamation wasn’t just preaching to large groups of people. It

also involved contextualising each message dependent on the audience,

debating, discussing and reasoning. During his time in Ephesus after

‘speaking boldly’ and ‘arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God’ (Acts

19:8) for three months in the synagogue, Paul even hired a local lecture hall in

which he held daily discussions between 11am and 4pm for two years.69 The

apostles seemed relentless in their desire to tell as many people as possible

about the gospel and the results were astonishing, as thousands became

believers (Acts 2:41).

                                                                                                               65 Peskett & Ramachandra, 2003, 214 and Bosch, 1991, 114 66 Larkin & Williams, 1998, 174 67 Larkin & Williams, 1998, 177 68 Peskett & Ramachandra, 2003, 225 69 Peskett & Ramachandra, 2003, 227

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Although the apostles seemed eager to travel to as many places as possible

to tell as many people as possible about Jesus, they took specific and

strategic action to ensure that converts were taught, cared for and welcomed

into a community of believers. The goal was to create committed disciples of

Jesus. Paul spent three years in Ephesus (Acts 20:31) and when he left he

spoke to the ‘Ephesian Elders’, asking them to keep watch over the flock that

the Holy Spirit had made them overseers of (Acts 20:28). Acts 14:23 tells us

that Elders were appointed by Paul and Barnabus in Lystra, Iconium and

Antioch. The missionary task for the apostles was not just to make believers,

but to plant churches with Elders who could oversee the people and continue

the task of teaching and strengthening them.70

Paul was not working alone. He sent out other ‘helpers’ (Acts 19:22) and was

not responsible for the churches planted in Colossae and Laodicea.71 Paul

knew that fulfilling the Great Commission meant training up and delegating to

other leaders.

Throughout Acts the singular use of disciple is rare, with the plural being

much more common. Wilkins says that ‘individual disciples are always seen in

conjunction with the community of disciples’.72 Jesus didn’t ask his disciples to

make converts, he asked them to make disciples. Conversion was merely the

beginning, leading onto becoming a part of the community of disciples, the

church. Being converted and becoming part of the church were inextricably

linked.

For the apostles, making disciples was not just about preaching and teaching

with the accompaniment of signs and wonders. They were ongoing disciples

of Jesus, and were part of the same ongoing process of appropriating his

teachings into their everyday lives as other believers. Acts 2:42 – 47

describes their fellowship with old and new believers alike as they broke

bread together, prayed, sold their possessions to give to those in need, ate                                                                                                                70 Paul often returned to a place he had visited before to ‘strengthen’ the believers and encourage them to continue (Acts 14:22, 15:41, 18:23) 71 Peskett & Ramachandra, 2003, 229 72 Wilkins, 1992, 258

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together, praised together and ‘had everything in common’. Making disciples

meant continuing to be a disciple.

The Epistles It may seem strange that the word used for disciple throughout the gospels

and Acts, maqhthj, is almost entirely absent from the epistles in the New

Testament. Wilkins discusses the reasons why this might be73 and concludes

that the reason for the lack of use of maqhthj in the epistles, is simply that

other terms became more appropriate and the word was naturally phased out.

Other words used to describe disciples like believers, Christians, brothers and

sisters, saints and those who belonged to ‘the way’, are used throughout the

New Testament. Acts (11:26) tells us that believers were first called Christians

in Antioch, so it is possible that as this word, amongst others, was introduced

maqhthj became less common and was eventually dropped completely.

Whatever the reasons for the lack of use of maqhthj, the concept of

discipleship is prevalent throughout the epistles. In a similar way to the

gospels, each letter has a different perspective on discipleship and a different

purpose and focus, depending on the issues that were most significant in that

community. The purpose of this dissertation is not to explore fully what a

disciple of Jesus looked like at that time, but more to specifically look at how

disciples were made, or how those in the early church sought to replicate

themselves and make more disciples.

A recurring theme in Paul’s letters is that of ‘imitation’. In his first letter to the

Corinthians Paul urges them to imitate him. He sends Timothy who is to serve

as a reminder of Paul’s ways in Christ (1 Corinthians 4:16). Paul encourages

the Thessalonians to imitate leaders and churches (1 Thessalonians 1:6, 2:4)

and also asks the Ephesians to be ‘imitators of God’ (Ephesians 5:1). It could

be that Paul and other leaders aimed to live their lives as Christians amongst

                                                                                                               73 For the discussion in full see Wilkins, 2004, 281 - 290

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the people, so that they would have a model to imitate (2 Thessalonians 3:9)

in what being a disciple of Jesus actually looked like in everyday life. We

know that the disciples of Jewish Rabbis aimed not just to listen to their

Rabbi’s teachings, but to actually become like the Rabbi, to see what they did

and do it too.74 With Paul’s Jewish education, this was the world he was

immersed in. But would this imitation encourage disciples of Paul rather than

Jesus?

Although the noun and verb for imitator/imitate are found only in Paul’s

writings (apart from Hebrews 6:12; 13:7 and 3 John 11), Paul never asks for

imitation in a church that he wasn’t the founder of.75 It seems that where Paul

had been able to set an example of how to live as a believer, only in those

places does he ask for people to follow this example.

Imitation was common in the ancient world, particularly amongst fathers who

were expected to model correct behavior to their children.76 This may be why

Paul uses this type of language in 1 Corinthians 4, calling the Corinthians his

‘beloved children’ (verse 14), and himself their ‘father through the gospel’

(verse 15). As Paul was the founding father of the church at Corinth, he

modeled correct behavior and expected the Corinthians to imitate him as a

son would learn from his father and imitate him. When he couldn’t be

personally present, he sent another to remind them of his ways (1 Corinthians

4:16), like Timothy. When writing to the Philippians, Paul describes his

relationship with Timothy as ‘like a son with a father’ (Philippians 2:22).

Timothy also imitated Paul, and therefore was able to be an example to the

Corinthians.

As Paul encouraged imitation of himself, this was only as he was imitating

Christ; ‘Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ’ (1 Corinthians 11:1). For Paul,

                                                                                                               74 Wilkins, 1995, 42 75 Longenecker, 1996, 121 76 Longenecker, 1996, 121

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being a disciple involved imitating himself immediately and Christ ultimately.77

Kurz points out the verbal link in Philippians between 2:6 and 3:7 – 11;

As Christ in 2:6 did not “count” it something to be seized/clung to (ouc arpagmon hghsato) to be like God and emptied himself, so Paul now “counted” (hghmai and hgoumai) what had been his gain (his Jewish prerogatives) as loss, compared to knowing Christ.78

As Christ was prepared to lose his equality with God, Paul was prepared to

lose his Jewish credentials. Unusually in Philippians 1:1 Paul does not

introduce himself as an apostle or by any other title than ‘slave’ (douloj), the

very same word he uses to describe Jesus in 2:7.79 Paul was imitating Christ,

and as he was doing this he asked others to imitate him. He did not present

himself as a perfect example or as someone who could do it on his own

(Philippians 3:12 – 13).

The act of imitation, or becoming like Christ, was not just a practical task for

Paul. Being in Christ (Philippians 3:9) and being transformed into his likeness

was not something that was achieved by correct ethical behavior or good

imitation of trustworthy leaders alone. As Paul tells the Philippians about

pressing on towards the goal, he reminds them that it is by the Lord Jesus

Christ and by his power that they can hope to be transformed into his likeness

(Philippians 3:21). For a disciple of Jesus, imitation is impossible without the

Holy Spirit working within them.

Summary

The Great Commission in Matthew was given to the disciples as they

worshipped and doubted simultaneously, as ordinary men who failed and

would keep failing. Jesus reminded them of his authority, and with that

authority sent them to all the people of the earth to baptise and teach, in order

to make new disciples. Jesus tells them that he will be with them always, and

                                                                                                               77 Longenecker, 1996, 121 78 Segovia, 1985, 105 79 Longenecker, 1996, 172

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it is this presence that equips them for the task. As the disciples were to

replicate themselves, the commission applies to every disciple of Jesus both

then and now.

Similar commissions are to be found in the other gospels and Acts. They

remind us that incarnation, proclamation, witnessing and being empowered by

the Holy Spirit are part of the disciple making process.

In the early church the role of the disciples changed as they became apostles

and witnesses. With the power of the Holy Spirit they travelled all over

proclaiming contextually, witnessing, discussing, debating and demonstrating

through miracles and healings. Churches with elders were set up in different

areas, and Paul trained up other leaders to both start and help churches.

The goal was not to create converts, but committed disciples, and this was

always done in the context of community. Becoming a Christian was

becoming part of the community of believers, the church.

A method of disciple making used by Paul is that of ‘imitation’. Paul

encouraged believers to imitate him as he imitated Christ. Where Paul had

founded a church he saw himself as the founding father, and expected his

‘beloved children’ to follow his example, as a child would a father in society.

This imitation can only be made possible by the Holy Spirit, and becoming like

Christ is not just down to correct behavior, but by being transformed on the

inside by being ‘in Christ’.

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Chapter 3 – Models of Disciple Making We have explored how disciples were made in the early church, and we will

now move on to look at modern theory and practice. We will explore and

critique four different youth ministries80 in the UK to help us see how disciples

are being formed amongst young people today.

It may be helpful at this stage to explain what we mean by ‘youth evangelism’.

Defining and discussing the meaning of evangelism itself is not the task of this

research. Although the etymology of evangelism places its meaning as

predominantly a task of proclamation, the interpretations of the outworking of

this proclamation are wide ranging.81Abraham simplifies the matter by defining

evangelism as ‘that set of intentional activities which is governed by the goal

of initiating people into the kingdom of God for the first time’.82 To make it

more relevant to our topic, I propose a working definition of evangelism for the

purposes of this thesis as ‘intentional activities with the primary goal of

forming disciples of Jesus Christ in the context of youth ministry’. By youth,

we mean predominately those between the ages of 11 – 18.

Case Study 1 – TLG (The Lighthouse Group), Reading

TLG is a national charity set up to support young people at a crisis in their

education. They currently have seven centres around the country, with

another six opening in the next year. Young people of secondary school age

who are either at risk of exclusion from mainstream school or who have

already been excluded are referred to TLG, which has a staff team of qualified

teachers and learning mentors. They aim to educate young people and

transform lives.

                                                                                                               80 Six ministries were consulted in the research process and were asked a series of questions related to the research title. Their answers are available in full in Appendix 1, and all information is taken from these answers unless stated otherwise. 81 For a thorough discussion of the definition and meaning of evangelism see Bosch, 1991, 409 – 420 and Abraham, 1989, 40 - 41 82 Abraham, 1989, 95

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TLG offer a curriculum of foundational learning focusing on functional skills,

Maths, English and ICT (Information and Communications Technology). They

also offer a wider curriculum tailored to the needs of each individual, such as

art, music and design & technology. The young people usually come for an

initial period of twelve weeks, at the end of which there is a review with the

young person, their family and referrer. Some stay for another twelve weeks,

some even longer, and some go back into mainstream education.

Each TLG centre is set up in partnership with a local church and in Reading’s

case that church is Reading Community Church. The church provides the

building, staff and is also very involved in the interview and acceptance

process for young people. The aim is that the young people build relationships

with those in the church, are provided with an opportunity to hear about the

Christian faith and get involved with the church. The church also has a family

support volunteer who works with the families of the young people to offer

them any support or help they might need such as debt advice or marriage

counselling.

Reading TLG has been open since April 2010, and has seen two TLG

students become Christians. Both of these commitments have been through

contact with the church and both of these young people are now part of the

church. Quentin Gunderson, Centre Manager at Reading TLG believes this

was because of the Holy Spirit, but also because of the way the TLG staff and

members of the church consistently love the young people. A lot of the young

people TLG work with are quite needy and have never experienced consistent

love before, so when they do it is powerful and they respond to it.

Quentin does not see his relationship with the young people as a discipling

relationship. TLG deliver a professional service for which schools pay, so the

primary aim is to help young people with their education. They aim to see

lives transformed through helping with education, and they hope that past that

their whole lives will be transformed by becoming disciples of Jesus. The TLG

staff communicate the gospel when they can through words, but also through

their lives as ambassadors of Jesus, and other people such as church

  32

workers and members are more actively discipling the young people as they

become involved in the church. Quentin believes direct proclamation of who

Jesus is does need to happen, but this is not done during the school day.

Analysis

As a ministry whose primary focus is on education, it is easy to see the

natural strong relationships that can build between the staff and students. We

know that the very roots of discipleship itself are based in education, with

students learning from great masters. They were not just pupils, but disciples,

and they learnt more than just verbal teaching or a trade. They became

adherents, they saw how their masters lived and tried to live in this way. As

the TLG staff model being a disciple of Jesus to the students, they can see

how the gospel is lived out, and can emulate this.

The fact that each TLG centre is set up in partnership with a church has many

positive attributes for the discipleship process. The young people get to know

more people than just their teacher which gives them a fuller picture of the

church and different examples of how Christians live. This minimises the risk

of a young person becoming too dependent on their teacher, or becoming a

disciple of their teacher rather than of Jesus, something we know was

forbidden by Jesus.

We know that Jesus met the needs of the people he came into contact with

and therefore that disciples are called to meet the needs of those around

them. We have already mentioned that Mark’s gospel has many examples of

Jesus and his disciples healing the sick and casting out demons. TLG are

meeting a real need. The very fact that they have six new centres opening in

the next few months evidences this. They not only meet the need with

response to the issue, but work in prevention in primary schools and work

holistically with the families of the students to find and resolve the root cause

of that young person’s educational crisis.

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Communication needs to be clear about the intentions of the organisation

both to referring and partnering agencies and the service users. The aim

should not be to only meet the need as a chance to proclaim,83 but to meet the

need excellently and thoroughly for the need’s sake, which may have as much

power in proclamation as any words could and is a part of bringing the

kingdom of God to the world.

On the other side of the coin to fulfilling this need, there is also a challenge

here for Reading Community Church that they do not just meet the need, or

teach good values or a better way to live for young people. Entering into the

worlds of these young people and helping them to make positive choices and

changes is important, but to make disciples, they must also be presented with

the person of Jesus and the challenge of Christian discipleship.84 Through the

contact with the church, this is happening and young people are finding faith

and being integrated into the church.

It is interesting that the centre manager at Reading does not perceive his

relationships with the young people as discipling relationships, but making

disciples still seems very important to him. He recognises that TLG are paid to

provide a professional service, but disciples can still be made through the

partnership and contact of the church. His method in making disciples is not

necessarily to do the discipling himself, but to enable this discipling to be done

by others who are in a better position to do it. Fulfilling the need of helping

young people at a crisis in their education seems to be the way in, or the

platform from which making disciples can begin. We have seen Paul’s method

in Acts was not necessarily to always do everything in the process of making

disciples himself. There was not ‘one teacher’ but many, who all differed in

their knowledge and experience.85 Paul worked with other leaders, trained

people up and sent others to go where he could not go. Recognising that he

couldn’t do everything and that others needed to be trained and empowered

                                                                                                               83 Hollinghurst, 2010, 215 and Abraham, 1989, 183 84 Youth Apart, 1996, 36 85 Collinson, 2004, 163

  34

was important, and seems to be the view of TLG as they work in partnership

and delegate to others.

There is a tension that must be held between providing a professional paid

service as a teacher, and building relationships with young people to disciple

them. What are the boundaries of a professional teacher/pupil relationship

that do not fit with that of a master/disciple? Jesus’ disciples were always with

him, but there are boundaries that prevent this as the school day ends and the

teacher goes home. Can genuine community be built when the contact is in

the classroom only?

In the example of TLG Reading, both of the young people who became

Christians did so because of their involvement with the church. It is this

integration into the church that underpins the disciple making strategy of TLG.

If this breaks down or does not work, it would be unlikely disciples would be

made. Is twelve weeks enough time for integration and deep relationships to

be built?

Reading Community Church and TLG must think about integration as they

practice an ‘outside-in’ approach,86 where they are working in partnership to

break down barriers, reach young people outside of the church and bring

them in. In doing this, if what they are bringing them into is completely

irrelevant or full of people from totally different backgrounds and worldviews, it

may be difficult for them to integrate long term.

Case Study 2 – The Bank (New Life Church Lincoln)

The Bank was an event that ran in May 2011 in Lincoln City Football Stadium,

organised by New Life Church in partnership with many different

organisations. The aim of the event was to ‘showcase the talent of young

people in Lincoln and to make the name of Jesus famous and relevant’.

                                                                                                               86 This idea is explained fully in Ward, 1997, 1 - 24

  35

Different bands and groups performed, a gospel presentation was given and

209 young people made Christian commitments at the event. Running up to

the event over 10,000 young people were contacted through schools work,

with Christians bands performing to invite young people to the event. Around

30 other churches partnered with New Life and put on events to promote The

Bank in the run up to it. Another aim of The Bank was that every partnering

church would grow and thrive as new young people met through it would feed

into their existing youth work and be discipled by them.

The Bank was underpinned by a structure of discipleship, mentoring and

follow up work, with every partnering church signing a contract agreeing to run

three events before The Bank and three events afterwards. Suggestions were

made that Youth Alpha courses were run as a follow up, and training was

given on mentoring and discipleship. New Life itself ran a Youth Alpha course

as a follow up, and also fed young people into its existing youth programme.

This programme consists of many different levels on which young people can

connect with the church – mentoring, Friday night events, monthly youth

services and house groups.

The Bank organisers are passionate about discipleship and are critical of

event-based evangelism that creates converts rather than long-term disciples.

They seek not to create ‘hype’ for a one off decision, but to lead people into a

relationship with Jesus, which they see as an ongoing process.

Analysis A large amount of work has gone into The Bank. This is not a one-off event

organised by a few people in a short space of time. This is part of an ongoing

strategy of a church passionate about reaching young people in their city with

the help and partnership of lots of other churches. As the event is very recent,

evaluating its success is not possible in full. Time will tell as to whether those

209 young people are still following Jesus in a few months or in a few years.

Disciples are not just asked to produce fruit, but fruit that will last (John 15:6).

  36

Success is not to be determined by numbers of those who were converted,

but on the numbers of those whose conversion has lead to their lives being

transformed long term.87

An altar call or conversion experience has its weaknesses, but it does offer

young people a clear decision to make. They know where they stand, they

can choose to leave one life and enter another. The idea of conversion as a

journey can be muddled and unclear, but at an event like this they have the

opportunity to make a definite decision, and become a disciple of Jesus.

It is the hope of The Bank organisers that this decision or conversion is not a

one off, but part of the process in a long-term journey of discipleship. Many of

these young people had already built relationships with The Bank organisers

and partners through schools work and existing youth work and had already

begun to explore faith for themselves. They were then integrated into the local

church, the community of believers. The pre-event and post-event contact

allows The Bank not to be seen as a one-off event, but one step in the

process of disciple making. We have seen that in the early church being

converted was synonymous with joining the fellowship of believers. For young

people who make decisions of commitment to Jesus at The Bank, they are

encouraged to become a part of the community of believers, because they

cannot sustain their belief without doing so.88

The gospels suggest Jesus was rarely with his disciples on a one-to-one

basis. The disciples were often called in pairs, split into sub groups, sent out

together and were always together.89 The Bank allows young people to

explore Jesus in their friendship groups, whether it is during a partner church

event, in a school or at the event itself.

A final strength of The Bank is its relevance to young people. Using

contemporary music and activities shows knowledge of youth culture and a

                                                                                                               87 Hollinghurst, 2010, 108 88 Youth A Part, 1996, 38 89 Collinson, 2004, 49

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genuine desire to contextualise the gospel in a relevant way. When many

young people think Christians are irrelevant, changing these views are

important, as they can often be barriers to young people exploring faith for

themselves. Perhaps some young people who attended The Bank may not

have been ready to become a disciple of Jesus, but they may now consider

exploring it as barriers and stereotypes have been broken down.

If the time scale involved in the pre-event contact is a few weeks or even

months, is this type of one-off contact such as assemblies and events enough

to build genuine, long lasting relationships with young people? Also, are these

relationships genuine or are they just to encourage young people to attend

The Bank? We would hope the strategy of pre-events was genuinely about

building strong relationships and not just to increase attendance numbers on

the day. Part of the discipleship process is seeing how a disciple lives, having

this modeled in someone. A model gives integrity to the gospel and shows

that it works.90 This type of event-based approach, even if the events are

regular, does not allow a young person to see how the Christian faith is lived

out in everyday life. They cannot imitate or emulate the gospel into their own

lives without seeing it in someone else’s. It may also not allow a sense of

community as contact is restricted to organised events and could be quite

fragmented.

The Bank presented bands and activities that are relevant to youth culture,

but is this the reality of church? For example, a young person may see all the

breakdancing, rapping and DJing and be pleasantly surprised at the relevance

of the church. If they decided to attend on a Sunday, would they have the

same experience? Part of The Bank training for partnering churches needs to

encourage thought and reflection on how young people will integrate into a

church that could remain irrelevant to them. If a partnering church wants more

young people to attend on a Sunday they must be prepared to make changes

to accommodate them. Do churches understand what they are committing to

by taking on young people who have just become Christians? Are they

                                                                                                               90 Youth A Part, 1996, 37

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prepared to invest their time, energy and money into effectively caring for

them?

What distinguished Jesus from other Rabbis was the high cost involved in

becoming his disciples. Disciples left their families, jobs and followed Jesus

wherever he went. This cost was like no other. In The Bank’s multi media,

culturally relevant presentation of the gospel, is this cost communicated? Do

young people who become Christians know they are dying to themselves? Do

they know it is a life long commitment that may cost them everything?

Case Study 3 – Aylesbury Vale Youth for Christ

AV YFC is a Youth for Christ centre with four staff members and a large

amount of volunteers. They aim to relevantly meet the needs of young people

in the local area as well as offering support and positive transformation to the

community. This is primarily done through building relationships with young

people and encouraging them to be more loving, truthful, creative and

responsible.

AV YFC run several different types of project but their main project is their

youth cafes, which have been set up as drop-in centres in many different

areas of the community, both urban and rural. The cafes are always set up in

partnership with a church and once AV YFC have helped with the initial set up

of the cafe, training volunteers and giving vision and direction, the idea is that

the remaining church and team take responsibility for the long term

maintenance and development of the youth cafe. Fifteen of these cafes have

been set up in Aylesbury, and AV YFC is currently still involved with nine.

Another key project is the Junior Volunteering System. AV YFC currently have

over 60 young people who volunteer in their local communities, receiving

training and support from AV YFC.

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AV YFC seek to build meaningful and significant relationships with young

people, which allow them to be positively discipled through role modeling and

sustainable contact. This sustainable contact may allow AV YFC staff to invite

young people to an event that is going on within that particular church such as

a youth worship night.

Analysis

AV YFC is succeeding in resourcing, enabling, empowering and equipping the

church. Churches all over the area are now working with young people

through projects that are owned by them. It is a positive example of how the

church and parachurch can work together in partnership. Although Paul was

not ‘parachurch’, he did work as an itinerant preacher traveling around and

working with different churches. Much of his letters are to equip, advise and

encourage the church, even though Paul had his frustrations with it. Although

Paul’s mission was to evangelise, he understood that part of this was to equip

and train the church to hold his new converts. By training and equipping the

church, AV YFC are ensuring that young people interested in faith who do

come into contact with them, or a church in their area, can be discipled

relevantly and consistently.

All YFC centres have a mission statement of ‘taking the good news relevantly

to every young person in [area they are located in]’. AV YFC have changed

this to ‘being good news relevantly…’. They aim to positively disciple through

role modeling and sustainable contact. Through building meaningful

relationships with AV YFC and partner church staff and volunteers, young

people see how the gospel is lived out and can emulate this in their own lives.

Youth for Christ works to a ‘4D’ evangelism strategy. This is Demonstrate,

Declare, Decision and Disciple.91 Their aim is that every young person who

comes into contact with YFC should have the gospel demonstrated and

                                                                                                               91 www.yfc.co.uk/about

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declared to them, leading to them making a decision to follow Jesus and then

being discipled in that decision. AV YFC are demonstrating through

relationships, declaring through youth events and conversations, giving young

people opportunities to make decisions to follow Jesus, and ensuring they are

discipled through their ongoing contact with the church and regular multi-

church events.

AV YFC’s Junior Volunteering System means that those who have become

disciples are enabled to become disciple makers. The mission given to the

disciples was to make more of what they were themselves, to replicate

themselves and make more disciples of Jesus. Young people who become

disciples through the work of AV YFC are encouraged to become Junior

Volunteers, helping to make more disciples. AV YFC do not just place

importance on the ‘deliverance’ and ‘development’ of young people, but also

on their ‘deployment’,92 to reach other young people in their peer group.

Although the model of the youth cafes has worked well in Aylesbury Vale, this

model must be able to be adapted to be contextually relevant to the area it is

in and the church that runs it. Paul contextualised the gospel for each people

group he spoke to. In Athens he used an inscription on an altar as part of his

message (Acts 17:23), he didn’t just preach but sometimes he debated,

discussed and taught. As different groups of young people come into contact

with AV YFC, the youth café model may not always be suitable, and this

model should stay flexible to contextualise the gospel as appropriate.

In partnering with churches there may be clashes of opinions and theology.

For example, if one church believes that all young people should be taught to

speak in tongues but AV YFC do not agree with this, would they continue in a

partnership to set up a ministry? What are the essentials for AV YFC that a

church must believe, or have in place, in order to effectively integrate and

disciple young people within that particular church?

                                                                                                               92 Bill Hull splits disciple making into three ‘dimensions’; Deliverance, Development and Deployment. See Hull, 2006, 34

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Case Study 4 – Hull Youth for Christ

Hull YFC is a Youth for Christ centre, run by Anna and Chris Hembury. As

part of Youth for Christ their mission statement is to ‘take the good news

relevantly to every young person in Hull’, which they apply by living in the

community and ‘doing with rather than to others’. They run a breakfast club

every morning for primary aged children and their parents, after-school clubs,

youth clubs, a weekly meal for young people exploring faith, parenting

courses and offer one-to-one support. They also take assemblies and do

classroom assistance as well as supporting their local churches.

They are critical of event-type gospel presentations with altar calls, believing

that many of the decisions made at such events do not last. In their view the

best context for event-based evangelism is a supportive faith community to

return to when the event is over. That way their experiences can be

discussed, explored and made sense of. They are keen young people know

what it really means to be a disciple of Jesus, and are not manipulated into

making a quick response that they don’t really understand.

They place importance on the quality of the long-term relationships they build

within the community. They seek to live out an incarnational model; they

believe that God came and dwelt among us, so we should do the same, and

become a part of the community living alongside and journeying with people.

Their approach is long term and they aim to bring change from within, so they

are seen as caring neighbours rather than outsiders who interfere and do

things without consulting or involving local people.

This approach has seen young people and adults come to faith, as well as

transformation in the lives of individuals and the wider community. These

stories are few, but they are deep rooted, long lasting and genuine.

Anna and Chris see discipling as the starting point for their work, before any

faith commitment is made. They aim to disciple by actions as well as activities

and have many opportunities for those who want to explore faith such as

weekly meals, Bible study groups and mission trips. They find that many of

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the young people want to be a part of a church community and help them find

one that meets their needs.

In their ministry, conversion is something that happens in the context of

discipleship, so the two terms ‘convert’ and ‘disciple’ would be inextricably

linked. However, they do see that conversion is a change of heart that leads

to a change in life and living with Jesus as Lord of your life. In their context,

this takes a long time to happen in someone and it’s more of a slow process

with moments of clarity along the way rather than a quick event or decision.

Key to this process is that person having experienced the love and care of

God. They describe this process as belonging, believing and then changing

behavior or lifestyle.

Analysis

Hull YFC work to a very incarnational model, in keeping with John’s

commission to go to people as Jesus sends us. People can see how the

gospel is lived out in daily life and emulate this in their own lives. As we have

seen, this sense of community and living with people was the way Jesus

discipled people, and that is what Hull YFC are doing. They are not motivated

by numbers and do not define their success by how many people they are

reaching, which means transformation that happens in individuals is genuine

and long term.

Although they are critical of event based evangelism where young people are

pressurised into making a decision they may not understand, they do not

reject it completely. They believe it can be useful in the context of a faith

based community so young people can unpack and make sense of their

experiences. For them conversion is a part of the discipleship process and

they don’t compartmentalise this into different technical terms or stages. This

means conversion itself never becomes the end goal, but it is not rejected as

a possibility either. As a YFC centre working to the previously mentioned ‘4D’

strategy, they do not see conversion as a separate ‘decision’ stage in a linear

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process, but part of the journey of discipleship that may be different for each

individual. Young people are given a safe place to walk the journey as they

see fit rather than told what is necessarily right or wrong. This values each

one as an individual with a unique personality and set of responses, rather

than products of a disciple making conveyor belt, or people jumping through

the right hoops93 expected to give the same responses each time.

The cost of being a disciple is communicated as people can see how Chris

and Anna have moved into the area and have devoted their lives to other

people. They live lives of costly grace rather than cheap grace,94 and as this is

modeled, it is reproduced in others. The type of Christian that is modeled is a

serving one, focused on the needs of others and on building relationships.

Anna and Chris are in it for the long term, and this also may have an impact

on what a Christian is perceived to be by the young people they come into

contact with. A commitment is more likely to be long lasting as there is no

pressure to make one, and being a Christian is modeled as something that is

a long-term way of life.

As Anna and Chris seek to embed themselves in the community, modeling a

Jesus way of life and encouraging others to join them, there is also the

consideration that they are professional youth workers, expected to show

good practice and work within the guidelines set by professional youth work

agencies. Child protection policies and health and safety guidelines may be

harder to follow in a closer community type environment. There is a balance

to be struck between the ethical considerations of regulated youth work, and

the unconditional love and acceptance of being a disciple of Jesus.

There is a danger that community can become an idol. As Chris and Anna

create a loving, consistent community, people will obviously become drawn to

this and want to be a part of it. But is it this love and community they are

drawn to rather than Jesus? Is there a risk that Chris and Anna could make

                                                                                                               93 Finney, 2004, 27 94 Terms famously written by Dietrich Bonheoffer in his ‘The Cost of Discipleship’, cited by Hull, 2006, 108

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disciples of themselves rather than Jesus, people who are dependent on their

love and support rather than that of Jesus?

This incarnational model can miss opportunities for verbal proclamation, as

the emphasis is more on relationships and community. Verbal proclamation

was something the apostles did lots of, although it may be something that

happens at Hull YFC on a one-to-one level rather than to large groups of

people, and something that is done but in a contextualised way.

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Chapter Four – Implications for Youth Evangelism In this final chapter we will discuss some of the major implications this

research has raised for youth evangelism.

Delivering a Service or Making Disciples?

We have discussed that meeting needs is what Jesus did, and therefore what

his disciples are called to do. Organisations such as TLG are meeting a real

need, but meeting this need alone is not effective as a disciple making

strategy;

Christ does not teach us to support the potential development of young people so that they may realize their full potential. We are instead to call them to repentance and faith, because only in that way can they begin to realize their full potential.95

In his book ‘Joined Up’, Danny Brierley discusses the difference between

youth work and youth ministry. Youth work is primarily seen as a secular

service focusing on the personal, social and educational development of

young people, and youth ministry is effectively defined as making disciples.96

Brierley must be careful not to encourage a split approach by defining each as

a separate field, but he seems to have written the book in response to existing

thinking that there is a separation, rather than the separation being something

he is encouraging or has created. He concludes by calling for a holistic

approach using disciplines from both fields, saying that each is inadequate

without the other. In matching with this holistic approach I will use youth

worker and youth evangelist interchangeably throughout this chapter.

Organisations such as TLG could be seen as falling into the ‘youth work’

category rather than ‘youth ministry’, as they are paid to deliver a professional

service. But the staff recognise this is not enough for true transformation, and

hope that their students may become disciples of Jesus. Due to the

                                                                                                               95 Brierley, 2003, 9 96 For definitions of each see Brierley, 2003, 6 - 10

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constraints of being that professional service, they do not see themselves as

‘disciple makers’, but through their partnership with the church, enable

disciple making to happen. They are passionate about the need and they

meet it well, but they are also passionate about making disciples, and do this

through working in partnership. Youth evangelists must know that either

discipline, youth ministry or youth work, on its own, is inadequate. If

constraints of their particular role prevent a holistic approach, partnership with

other agencies and churches will be essential and must be initiated, prioritised

and sustained.

The boundaries between delivering a service and making disciples must be

clear. Delivering a service and meeting needs can lead to disciples being

made, but should this be the motivation behind it? If the focus is on making

disciples rather than meeting the need, will it still be met with excellence and

passion? Will the youth evangelist still be satisfied when a young person uses

a service, but never chooses to explore the Christian faith?

As the needs of vulnerable and broken people are met, they must never be

manipulated into making a decision they are not ready for, or do not

understand. When young people are helped, loved and accepted, it is all too

easy for them to try to please the source of where that is coming from and

initially, until they meet Jesus, it comes from the youth worker. People should

never be persuaded or manipulated into a Christian commitment when they

are weak and at their most vulnerable, they should be empowered to make

that decision when they have explored it fully for themselves.

Imitation

We have seen how modeling was an important factor in disciple making for

Jesus as his disciples spent lots of time with him both formally in teaching

settings and informally in travelling and eating. Paul continues this model and

calls for people to imitate him as he imitates Christ. Members of the early

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church could see how Paul lived out the life of Christ, and apply this to their

own lives.

In youth evangelism, consistent opportunities for young people to see Jesus

through words and actions must be provided. As Hull YFC create community

and live amongst the people they reach, they model Christ to the young

people of Hull. As staff and young volunteers at AV YFC build deep

relationships with young people and spend time socialising with them through

youth cafes, these young people see how Christ acts and what Christ says. A

challenge particularly for event-based youth evangelism, or youth work that

might be quite sporadic or professionalised, is how they will create a model for

young people to follow. How do youth workers ‘waste time’97 with young

people, so they can see how the Christian faith is lived out in everyday life

and in ordinary conversations, not just on a stage?

A challenge not just for those in youth evangelism but for every disciple who

seeks to make disciples, is that they can only make more of what they are

themselves. They may be youth evangelists, but primarily they are still

disciples of Jesus. The apostles were still disciples and even when they were

first called as apostles, their primary task was to ‘be with’ Jesus before any

task of ministry.98 The same is true for all those engaged in youth work and

evangelism. Before anything and everything we are made to love Jesus and

be in relationship with him. Failing to prioritise this may create more disciples

who will fail to prioritise it.

Young people must see the mistakes youth workers make too. They are not

making disciples of themselves, but of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ example was

perfect, theirs will be far from it. The first disciples made many mistakes and

so will they. If young people do not see youth workers fail and think they are

perfect, they will imitate and become dependent on them rather than Jesus.

Jesus spoke out specifically against his disciples calling themselves Rabbis.

Paul was devastated when people in Lystra and Derbe mistakenly saw him                                                                                                                97 Ward, 1997, 29 98 Mark 3:14

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and Barnabus as gods. He reminds them in Acts 14:15 that he is only human,

like them, and throughout the epistles reminds us of his shortcomings and

weaknesses. Failings must be communicated appropriately to young people,

and they should only be encouraged to imitate a youth worker in the way they

are imitating Christ. All evangelism and ministry must point to Jesus, the only

true Rabbi. Youth evangelists must also not be the sole point of contact with

young people, but work as a team to allow young people to build healthy

relationships with Christians of all ages and interests.

The Holy Spirit

The role of the Holy Spirit is essential in youth evangelism. It is God who adds

to the number of those being saved, disciples may plant and water but it is

God who does the growing.99 Ultimately disciples are made when they meet

the living Jesus and can never be the same again, which is something the

youth evangelist can be a part of but something that they should never force.

The Holy Spirit is a mystery. Youth workers may put guidelines and strategies

in place to ensure that young people are discipled, that the work is

professional and thought through, but the Holy Spirit is moving and acting

beyond human understanding. Some young people will come to faith through

years of relationship building, others through Alpha courses and events, but

some will have life changing encounters with the Holy Spirit which may be

inexplicable! Youth evangelists must not only be ready for this, but have the

faith to expect it. The mission is God’s, and disciples are merely co-labourers,

and servants of his mission100 through his grace and mercy.

Disciples were commissioned to heal the sick and cast out demons. None of

the case studies we have seen talked much about the Holy Spirit, and none

talked about the presence of signs and wonders. Signs and wonders are to

accompany what disciples do and all disciples must continue to make room

for this in their relationships and ministries. Praying for sick young people to                                                                                                                99 1 Corinthians 3:7 100 Youth A Part, 1996, 23

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be healed and enabling deliverance for those who need it may not be seen as

politically correct or culturally relevant, but is part of the commission.

Disciples Not Converts

Is there still a place for event-based evangelism? The practitioners in the case

studies seemed critical of it, but not enough to reject it as a method

completely. Hull YFC offer a largely incarnational model, but still talked about

event-based evangelism within a supportive faith community as a positive

thing. The Bank, an evangelistic event, worked hard to ensure the young

people who attended the event were able to build relationships with churches

before the event, and that those who made Christian commitments were

effectively filtered into existing church communities afterwards. When event-

based evangelism is part of a larger disciple making process, it can be helpful

and powerful. When the event is fractured from the wider activities of the

church, it is unlikely to create and sustain disciples. This is not a new thought

– John Wesley refused to preach in places where those who would be

converted were not able to be cared for and integrated into the local church.101

This presents a challenge to the youth evangelist, particularly those who

preach at events, or see event-based evangelism as a larger part of their

ministry.

Youth evangelists must be aware of their motivations behind such event-

based evangelism. What should they be? Is a marker for success the amount

of decisions during the altar call at the end? We live in a world where bigger

tends to be better and large numbers impress.102 Below is an image of the

Twitter account103 of Mike Pilavachi, leader of a large evangelistic event held

every year for thousands of young people called Soul Survivor.104

                                                                                                               101 Abraham, 1989, 54 102 Hull, 2006, 252 103 http://twitter.com/#!/mikepilav 104 www.soulsurvivor.com/uk

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Nearly every status he updates includes a number of people who have made

a decision to follow Jesus. This is of course to be celebrated, but is it a

measure of success? How many of those young people will still be following

Jesus in a years time? When a well-known figure in evangelism quotes

numbers, it indicates that numbers are important, which leads to the danger of

large numbers of commitments becoming our motivation. Numbers can

impress and honesty is needed about this, but motivations should be

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constantly checked, particularly those behind event-based evangelism with

altar call type response opportunities. After reading through The Bank’s case

study answers, we can be encouraged that they didn’t even mention the

number of young people who had made decisions.105 Their motivation seems

to genuinely be to make committed followers of Jesus and this should be that

of the youth evangelist too. The disciples were on a mission from Jesus, to

make disciples. They were given this mission after Jesus had risen from the

grave and they fulfilled it after being filled with the Holy Spirit. Could a

correctly motivated youth evangelist be one who has seen the risen Christ,

has a mission Jesus has given to make disciples, and will achieve it because

they are full of the Holy Spirit?

The commission was to make disciples, and surely success can only be

evaluated by reflecting on whether that has been and is continuing to be

achieved? Numbers of disciples perhaps do indicate success, but numbers of

converts do not, and without the test of time after an event, counting the

number of decisions as an indicator of success will be misleading.

Conversion

We have placed a strong emphasis on creating disciples not converts, but

what is the place for conversion in the context of youth evangelism? Hull YFC

sees conversion as part of the process, inextricably linked to discipleship and

TLG see conversion as necessary so discipleship can happen.

Conversion is not easy to define,106 but we can say with confidence that it has

to do with the first moments of one’s initiation into the kingdom of God.107 Do

young people need a ‘conversion’ experience to become a disciple of Jesus?

This may be different for everyone. The Bank saw many young people making

decisions and being converted, but Hull YFC have seen it happen with young                                                                                                                105 The number quoted in the case study description was asked for by me in an initial telephone conversation with the organisers 106 Finney, 2004, 17 107 Abraham, 1989, 118

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people as more of a process. Some seem to see it as a gradual process, and

some as a sudden moment.108 The youth evangelist must allow for both

approaches. Perhaps the method for initiation into the kingdom is not

important as long as they are initiated and know they are a part of the family

of God.

Baptism has traditionally also been an element of initiation109 and is part of the

Great Commission. Abraham describes baptism as the ‘physical incorporation

into the church’110 and cites Charles Finney who described it as the ‘public

manifestation of a determination to be a Christian’.111Abraham suggests that

baptism has been replaced by more modern substitutes such as the altar call,

but this is not necessarily the case with the practitioners I have spoken to.

New Life Church (organisers of The Bank) has not replaced baptism with the

altar call but use both as a necessary part of the journey. Baptism happens in

the context of the church the young person is integrated into.

Abraham reminds us that baptism is not an empty ritual but where something

divine happens, where we are reminded of the mystery of the Holy Spirit who

is present during such sacraments.112 The rich metaphor of dying with Christ

and being raised into a new life with him, publicly declaring your witness of

him, is an immensely powerful act and one that must not be rejected, but

encouraged and enabled.

Cost

As we have established the unique characteristics of being a disciple of

Jesus, one thing that stands out from any other disciple/master relationship in

the past or present, is the magnitude of the cost. Being a disciple of Jesus

meant making huge sacrifices. The youth evangelist must communicate this,

                                                                                                               108 Finney, 2004, 19 109 Abraham, 1989, 130 110 Abraham, 1989, 130 111 Abraham, 1989, 131 112 Abraham, 1989, 132

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being particularly careful that in their persuasion through culturally relevant

presentations and preaching, they do not just present a one sided gospel. For

those who commit to Jesus there is freedom, forgiveness, salvation and joy,

but there is also hardship, persecution and sacrifice. Jesus himself gives very

strong warnings about the cost of being his disciple (Luke 14:25 – 33). He

encouraged those listening to count the cost, to think about their decision. In

her detailed assessment of the discipling relationship portrayed in Matthew’s

Gospel, Collinson points out that before the call of the disciples in Matthew

4:18-22, Matthew says that Jesus had moved from Nazereth, to live in the

same town as the four fishermen; Capernaum (Matthew 4:13). It is likely

therefore, that they would have already met Jesus and; ‘would thus have been

better able to assess the cost involved in their personal lives before making

their decision to follow him.’113

If the youth evangelist is to make disciples, they must enable a cost counting

process where the young person is not pressured into making a quick

decision, but is given time to encounter Jesus, consider their experiences and

understand fully what being a disciple of Jesus involves.

Evangelism

We must be aware that Jesus never mentioned the word evangelism. His

commission was not to ‘do evangelism’, but to make disciples. Paul instructs

Timothy to ‘do the work of an evangelist’ (2 Timothy 4:5) and tells the

Ephesians that some will be appointed by God to be evangelists (Ephesians

4:11) but this is always within the context of the church, to be used alongside

other roles. Evangelism must be done, the victory must be announced114 and

the gospel proclaimed, but as a part of the larger body of Christ engaged in

the mission of God.

                                                                                                               113 Collinson, 2004, 46 114 Finney, 2004, 26

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Evangelism is a beautiful limb of the body of Christ, but it is just a limb,

designed to work in synergy with lots of other limbs, joints, muscles and

tendons. Amputate this limb from the body and you are left with little more

than a bloody stump, attracting attention for a short while, but ultimately

leaving the body it came from incomplete, inadequate and bleeding to death.

Perhaps the greatest implication of the Great Commission for the youth

evangelist, is that evangelism is only to be used as a tool in the craft of

disciple making, a part in a larger body, never on its own and inextricably

linked to discipleship. The youth evangelist must ensure that they are aware

their role is only a part of the task and that their activities are embedded inside

the local church. They must never believe they will not be held accountable

for ensuring those who become disciples, remain disciples. They may not be

the ones who are necessarily gifted to do such work, but they are responsible

to work with others to ensure it happens.115

Conclusion

In this dissertation we have sought to draw out the implications of the Great

Commission in Matthew’s Gospel for youth evangelism, with specific

emphasis on ‘making disciples.’

We have identified and discussed the history of the word disciple and the

concept of discipleship, from its classical and Hellenistic use as well as its

roots in education, through to the discipling relationships of the Old

Testament.

We have discussed the possibility of Jesus being a Jewish Rabbi and

discovered some unique characteristics of being a disciple of Jesus. We went

on to study the commission in Matthew, briefly drawing out key points from

other gospel commissions. We looked at how disciples were made in the early

                                                                                                               115 Abraham, 1989, 47

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church, studying the methods of Paul and the other apostles in their

proclamation, teaching and role modeling.

We then analysed four youth ministries in the UK to see how disciples are

being made amongst young people today. We discussed some strengths and

weaknesses of each model, bringing in discoveries from previous chapters.

Finally, we discussed the main implications of our findings for youth

evangelism.

Main Findings We have found that meeting needs is often a part of youth evangelism, but by

itself is not an effective disciple making strategy. It may also be said that

becoming a disciple is not an effective needs meeting strategy. Both must be

done. This may mean some youth organisations must work in partnership with

other charities and churches, so a holistic model of mission can be

undertaken. Organisations we had studied who had partnered with others

such as TLG and AV YFC, were effectively meeting needs and making

disciples.

Youth ministries, particularly those who used event-based evangelism as part

of the method, must ensure that opportunities are created for time to be spent

with young people where they can see a model of how a Christian lives their

life. Young people can only imitate what they see, and a one-off event may

not allow them to see a model of Jesus.

Before youth evangelists are youth evangelists, they are disciples of Jesus,

and can only create more of what they are themselves. Being with Jesus and

in relationship with him should be the highest priority of any disciple.

Young people must see the shortcomings and failings of youth workers so

that they do not become disciples of their youth workers rather than of Jesus.

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There is only one Rabbi, and youth evangelists are to make disciples of Him,

not themselves.

The Holy Spirit is essential in any disciple making effort. Youth evangelists

must recognise that they are not the ones who create the disciples, God is,

and they are co-labourers with him. Signs and wonders should also

accompany the work the youth evangelist does.

The youth evangelist who uses event-based evangelism must ensure events

are not isolated, but part of a long-term disciple making strategy. They should

not be motivated by numbers of converts or use this as an indicator of

success. Success is defined by fulfilling the commission, which is to make

disciples. They should also ensure that young people are not pressured into

making a quick decision, but can commit to being a disciple after a ‘cost-

counting’ process.

A flaw in this research has been the small amount of space and time that has

been able to be devoted to exploring the term evangelism. However, in what

we have discovered, we have learnt that evangelism should never be

separated from the ministry of the church. Evangelism is just a part of the

ongoing mission of God, which is best used in the context of a living, thriving

faith community – the church of Jesus Christ. Where this is done, the gospel

is proclaimed, lives are transformed, and most importantly – disciples are

made.

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Appendix 1 – Case Study Interview Transcripts TLG Reading Name: Quentin Gunderson Job Title: Centre Manager Organisation/Church/Ministry Name: The Lighthouse Group (TLG) Reading Website: www.tlg.org.uk Please give a general overview of your work; the main activities your organization does and what your involvement is. TLG is a national charity set up to support young people who are at a crisis in their education. In Reading we work with 12 – 16 year olds to try to prevent them from becoming excluded from school. Sometimes the young people that come to us are still in mainstream education, and some have already been put into alternative education. Typically they come to use for a program of twelve weeks, which is a model that runs in each TLG center around the country, of which there are currently seven. In Reading we also have four early intervention centers where volunteers are working with primary aged children. The secondary centers are a blend of formal education in classrooms and informal education through youth center type activities. We have a curriculum that is a foundational learning tier looking at functional skills, English, Math’s and ICT which are all ASDAN accredited building up to an award or certificate in PSD (Personal and Social Development). We have a wider curriculum tailored to the interests of the young people such as music, D&T or art. We have a ratio of up to three students to one member of staff so we’re very often working with a young person one to one and we review their personalized learning targets every six weeks with their family and whoever referred them. TLG Reading was set up in partnership with Reading Community Church. The vision of TLG is that centers are set up with churches that provide the building and the staff. The aim is that not only will we provide education for these young people, but also we will help them make a success of their life and have an opportunity to present the Christian gospel. We don’t really do this during the school day but the church is heavily involved from day one – a member of the church attends the initial interview and we’re very clear that we’re a Christian organization partnered with a local church. The hope is that the young person will want to explore the Christian faith and get involved voluntarily with church activities that go beyond the school day. Wider than that we have a family support volunteer as the young person in crisis is often from a family in crisis, whether it be debt or marital problems, the church can offer help and support for the whole family. We feel that once someone becomes a student they are always part of us, not just at TLG but at the church, so even if they go after 12 weeks we invite them back to award ceremonies (twice a year) and hope to continue the relationship through their involvement with the church. Do you have a mission statement, or a sentence that best sums up what you are trying to achieve? Educating young people and transforming lives.

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Do you see people becoming disciples through your work? Explain this process and give an example of a time you have seen this. So far in our 15 months of being open we’ve seen two young people come to faith. One came along on a church weekend and made a commitment, and another young person after leaving us kept in contact. We gave her a Bible and continued with one to one support, she then told us she had prayed a prayer of commitment in the Bible notes, become a Christian and now wanted to come to church. I think it happens because it’s a work and move of the Holy Spirit, but there is also a real hunger in the church at the moment for prayer and the kingdom. When those things come together God moves! I think the process is that we love people because Jesus told us to love people. Even though they might leave us after 12 weeks we still love them past that. The people we work with are often very needy and haven’t had that before, so it’s very powerful to them. Actions speak louder than words and when young people see love in action they respond. Would you describe your relationship with the young people you work with as a discipling relationship? If so, why? No, that’s not our priority. Our priority is to see their lives transformed and we begin by helping them to achieve with education. Our longer-term aim is that they find transformation for their whole lives by becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. Because of the nature of the relationship it’s not voluntary; the services are professional and have been bought. Their schools are paying for them to be there. We communicate the gospel through our lives, the young people know we are Christians and very often ask us about our faith and we share when we can. We give them an opportunity to explore it, to come to church and that’s where the discipling starts. Our priority is to see them saved and to disciple them, but that is more appropriately done by church workers or members of the church. How would you define a convert and a disciple. Is there a difference? The Great Commission is all about making disciples, that’s what we’re charged with doing. It’s not about making converts because it matters that people go on with their own faith to become part of the local church. As workers for the Church and TLG, we’re about seeing people come to faith and being discipled in that faith. Discipleship is the goal not conversion. Conversion has to happen for discipleship to happen but it’s not the end goal. What do you think Jesus meant when he said ‘go and make disciples’ in Matthew 28:19 and how do you apply this interpretation to your ministry? Our world here is working with young people who are at risk of exclusion and facing a crisis in their lives so good news to those people is giving them the opportunity to get their lives back on track. The gospel to them is improving their self-esteem, circumstances, qualifications and chances of succeeding in school and work. We recognize that there needs to be direct proclamation of who Jesus is and although we can’t do that during the school day we do it beyond the school day through the clubs and activities of church. Our fundamental belief is that we are all Christ’s ambassadors and we act as signposts by the way we live our lives.

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Do you think that in general, contemporary evangelistic practice is doing a good job of making disciples? There is a huge mixture of approaches. There are models which I’ve seen work that seem to buck the trend of everything else. I’ve seen youth workers who take a completely incarnational approach where they become so like the young people they reach so that the young people can relate to them, share their story and live out God’s story in their own way. I’ve also seen people who do that who just end up being so like the young people they’re trying to reach that they’re no different from them. It’s a very fine balance to achieve – being relevant but being yourself. I’m just myself, I don’t try and be like the young people because they don’t want that. I want to be authentic and they’ll see through it if I’m not being myself. It’s about being who you are as the evangelist, being authentic but holding that in tension with as Paul said, ‘becoming all things to all men so that you might win some’. Write here any other thoughts or opinions that have come to mind whilst writing answers to these questions. The Bank / New Life Church Lincoln Name: Dan and Jo Hargreaves Job Title: Youth Pastors Website: www.newlifelincoln.org.uk Work Overview: THE BANK event ran in May 2011 at Lincoln City Football stadium attracting over 3000 people. The event was designed to showcase the talent of young people in Lincoln and to make the name of Jesus famous and relevant across our city. We worked with over 30 Churches and over 20 organisations in order to put on the event and worked into 20 secondary and primary Schools across Lincoln seeing over 10,000 YP. The Bands LZ7, DWEEB and BEBE VOX performed in these schools and presented the Gospel and invited YP to the event. There were many events and competitions running up to the event where YP could win the chance to perform on the day; in total we had over 300 YP performing including Bands, Street Dance Crews, Lincs Parkour, NEON Youth Theatre, Soccer Skills, Rappers, DJ’s and Beat Boxers We had over 350 people from Churches across Lincoln volunteering on the day to make it happen. Prior to the main event Churches and community groups held many different events in order to promote THE BANK including Family Fun Days, Football Matches, Cinema Nights and more. The aim of the event was that every youth group from every church involved would grow and thrive as they take their responsibility in feeding YP into the work they do and discipling them. Mission Statement: Our mission is to create an influential youth movement in the city of Lincoln (and beyond) enabling and equipping every YP to live life to the

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full and discover their God given potential through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Do you see people becoming disciples through your work? THE BANK is an inter-church event and is underpinned by a structure of discipleship, mentoring and follow up work. Every church involved in the project signed a contract and agreed to run three events prior to the THE BANK and three events post THE BANK. This ensured that Churches were taking responsibility for inviting and attracting Young People to the event and then ensuring that they were given the opportunity to get plugged into a church youth group. It was suggested that Churches ran a Youth Alpha as one of their follow up events. As project coordinators we placed a strong emphasis on discipleship and mentoring and did some basic training on this at a pre Bank meeting. We were not able to check that each church that agreed to the follow up events then went on to disciple these Young People; as a reaction to this issue we will be creating a pack on ‘mentoring and discipleship’ that we will give to all our partner churches for the next event. An inter-church youth leaders forum was also set up to work alongside THE BANK in order to create a sense of unity and joint ownership of the event, this forum is a great place to discuss mentoring and discipleship work and ethos, this also plugs into a monthly worship event called FUEL that attracts young people from many different churches across the city. Our personal experience of discipleship post event at NewLife is a positive one. We ran a youth alpha as one of our follow up events attended by over 40 YP; and continued with our Friday Night programme of Worship Events, Girls vs. Lads, 11-14, 11-15s and Social events. Many Young People were fed into our Friday Night programme via THE BANK. Connect Groups are one of our main discipling tools by which YP split into their year groups and discuss topics related to Faith, The Bible, Jesus and how it is all relevant to their lives. The group will be contacted on a weekly basis by their connect Group leaders and each Connect Group has a Facebook page that they can contact their leaders through. Groups often meet up socially in the week and can meet on a 1:1 level for Discipleship. We also run a scheme called ‘Adopt an Energizer’ by which we link YP up with ‘Adopters’ on the Youth Team and in the wider Church (if appropriate) and they will pray for the YP they are linked with and send them cards of encouragement an birthday/Christmas cards etc. This is not direct discipleing but it works well alongside 1:1 work. Would you describe your relationship with the young people you work with as a discipling relationship? If so, why? Yes; we place a strong emphasis on discipleship and we believe that it is key in order to see YP live their lives to the full. As mentioned previously every Church involved in THE BANK agreed to put on pre and post events in order to ensure that YP are given ample opportunity to get plugged into an established youth work.

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Every YP at THE BANK event was given information about all the Churches involved, what special events they were running post the event and what events they regularly run; YP were also given email address of all the youth leaders across the city. There is also a monthly inter church worship event that is attended by many YP and churches from across the city. Specifically at NewLife we expect all our youth team to be mentoring and discipling their connect group and working with specific YP more closely on a 1:1 basis. We have a discipleship and mentoring budget that will refund the youth team for any expenses that they may incur whilst discipleing YP-E.G. Drinks, Cinema tickets etc. We regularly meet with our youth team to discuss discipleship andfor training on what is appropriate/good practice etc. We are launching a Leadership academy in September in which the top age range in youth will also be trained in discipleship and mentoring and given the tools to go and disciple young people. As mentioned before with regards to the next ‘Bank’ event we will be creating a pack on discipleship and good practice etc that will be given to all our partner churches. As part of the youth leaders forum we will also be doing a training session on effective discipleship and why it is important. How would you define a convert and a disciple? Is there a difference? We would say that they are different. Our experience with specific emphasis on THE BANK, is that it is one thing putting on an event and creating hype around becoming a ‘convert’, however leading people into a relationship with Jesus and enabling them to live their lives to the full is an ongoing process. We believe that this is not just true of YP but of people in general. We would define a convert as somebody that had made a one off decision and had reached a destination in order to make that decision, a disciple however is somebody on a journey of realising and working out their decision. What do you think Jesus meant when he said ‘go and make disciples’ in Matthew 28:19 and how do you apply this interpretation to your ministry? (You could talk here about the discipleship strategy and how important this was in the planning of the event) We believe what Jesus said is beautifully simple as he commissioned people firstly to ‘Go’-to get up, to do something, to go out there and secondly to ‘Make Disciples’ to teach people and to point them in the direction of something more specifically someone-Jesus himself. Jesus goes on to say that part of the great commission is to baptise people (something we aim to enable for every young person at New Life), and (teach) them to obey everything that I have commanded you’. What this means to us is that this is an ongoing process, journey and ultimately a lifestyle as opposed to a one of decision. (Discipleship strategy outlined above) Do you think that in general, contemporary evangelistic practice is doing a good job of making disciples?

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I am not completely sure if contemporary evangelistic practice is doing a good job of making disciples? One area of concern is a culture of large events and one off events that could potentially make many converts but possibly fail in terms of investing in YP lives and a journey of discipleship. We are believers in each Church taking responsibility within their sphere of influence and think that local churches and large events can work very well together with THE BANK hopefully being an example of good practice. I think ‘Mountain top’ experiences and large events play an important and exciting role but they must be underpinned by discipleship strategies and inter church working. Write here any other thoughts or opinions that have come to mind whilst writing answers to these questions. Hull Youth for Christ Name: Chris and Anna Hembury Job Title: Youth Workers Organisation/Church/Ministry Name: Hull Youth for Christ Website: www.hullyfc.co.uk Please give a general overview of your work; the main activities your organization does and what your involvement is. The mainstay of our work is simply that we live in the community and do everything we do with rather than to others, as members of that community. Out of this, we run a Breakfast club every school morning for primary school children and their parents, after-school clubs, youth clubs, a weekly meal for young people exploring their faith, parenting courses and one-to-one support. We take assemblies and help provide classroom assistance in the local primary schools, as well as try to actively support and encourage our local churches. (Please see website for lots more information: www.hullyfc.co.uk). Do you have a mission statement, or a sentence that best sums up what you are trying to achieve? Our mission statement as a Youth for Christ Centre is ‘taking the good news relevantly to every young person in Hull’. What this looks like is best summarized in the following which is taken from our website;

‘At Hull YFC we consider the work that we do as generally very simple. We are not renown for delivering cutting edge, 21st century, all singing all dancing programmes for our community to engage with. Yet, we have been blessed to see lives changed, in a tough and hardened community. In our own history we have seen the ineffectiveness of running events with gospel presentations to groups to whom we are practically strangers, no matter how relevant, fun or engaging they are. Although 'altar calls' after such events may have initially seen many commitments made, we have seen that like the seed that fell on the path (Mark 4) they slowly fade away. Raymond Bakke, says 'I thought of the Vietnam war where we parked our B52’s on Guam, flew at 37,000 feet, bombed the Vietnamese and returned for

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our nights sleep while we pulled out the ground troops. It didn’t work of course, we lost the war.' (A Theology as Big as the City). With this understanding over the years we have grown to fully understand that our ability to bring change is significantly less determined by the quality of any event or gospel presentation that we could hold, but by the quality of the relationship that we have with those individuals. We believe that by living alongside people, long-term, we give ourselves the greatest opportunity for these life changing relationships to form. At the core of our approach we are influenced by the way God lived amongst us and was present with us - the incarnation. 2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor so that by his poverty you may become rich” Jesus is most well known for his birth, his adult ministry and his death and resurrection. The life he lead for 30 years inbetween is often forgotten or deemed irrelevant. At Hull YFC we are inspired by this period of his life. God could have stayed at a safe distance, but instead he chose to become one of his people. He chose to live like they lived, to experience their joys and their suffering, to immerse himself in their culture to the point where he could consider it his own. It was only once this was done that his ministry could take place. The thirty years life experience gave him authority when he spoke, he was able to use their language, use stories that they could relate to and on this foundation reveal God and his revolutionary plans for his kingdom and his people. We consider this a model to be copied. At Hull YFC we live in the community and endeavour to be active members within it. This helps us avoid labels of 'interfering outsiders' and instead we are considered 'caring neighbours'. Our long-term commitments and our availability mean we are able to be there for people and accompany them along their journeys to experiencing life in all its fullness. Our community is ranked amongst the most deprived communities in England, it has many needs. Initiatives to turn the tide come and go. Most fail to get past the superficial and our community grows tired and cynical of people doing things to them, without much consultation. We aim to be different. We aim, as one of them, to bring change through them from within. We aim to do this by knowing our neighbour, loving our neighbour and learning with them how to love our community and see it restored. As an organisation we find the following passage by Henry Nouwen encompasses how we aim to live. ‘More and more, the desire grows in me to simply walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems. My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some

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impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets. It is difficult not to have plans, not to organise people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress. But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and to let them know without words, handshakes and hugs that you do not simply like them but truly love them’.’

Do you see people becoming disciples through your work? Explain this process and give an example of a time you have seen this. We are at a point now where we can see all of the years of previous mission and ministry coming beginning to transform the lives of individuals and the community. The slow pace of change has meant that this transformation is rooted and we believe it has real depth. We had had several young people and adults come to faith, small numbers but very real commitments and local people in difficult circumstances and no church background really turning their lives around. The Breakfast club is tangibly rebuilding community in a broken place, parents and children have found a place to which to belong, things like our parenting course and one to one support have given people confidence to move on in their lives and to be a support to others, and the churches are tentatively beginning to see that the mission work here has ample opportunities for them to reconnect with their community / parish. Would you describe your relationship with the young people you work with as a discipling relationship? If so, why? Yes. This is our starting point, long before any faith commitment and not part of any programme. Discipling , as in guiding or teaching, young people is something we do by example so that our words and deeds match up if you like, and the long-term relationships we form are the context for this to happen more naturally. For those who come to faith, the weekly Tuesday meals, Bible study groups, our Matt’s house worship “service”, summer camps at places like Greenbelt Christian Arts Festival and occasional mission trips all offer the space and climate for their faith to grow. We have found these young people are often interested in becoming part of a church community and we encourage them in finding one which meets their needs. How would you define a convert and a disciple. Is there a difference? We tend not to get too hung up on technical terms! A conversion implies a change of heart and hopefully also a change of life, choosing to live with Jesus Christ as the Lord of your life. We have found that in our context this is often a slow process, with more tangible moments of clarity and determined action where choosing to follow Christ makes sense because an understanding of God’s love and care has already been experienced. (It’s very much belong, believe then a change of behaviour rather than the other way around.) Discipleship is about teaching and guiding, helping people make sense of the world and their lives from the perspective of the Kingdom of God. I guess we disciple young people to follow Christ from the start, but never in a way that suggests this is the only way or that they have to do things the way we do. We

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are clear about why we live how we live and for those who choose to follow Christ themselves we give them guidance from our own experience, other Christians, our faith tradition and the Bible. I suppose what I’m saying is that technically, perhaps, discipleship follows conversion but for us conversion happens in the context of a discipling relationship since we tend not to compartmentalise a life into defined stages of a programme or process. What do you think Jesus meant when he said ‘go and make disciples’ in Matthew 28:19 and how do you apply this interpretation to your ministry? Go live a life that examples my Good News, that lives in my love, so that others may find that love and live a life that lives in it and examples it. Do you think that in general, contemporary evangelistic practice is doing a good job of making disciples? I’m not sure we’re qualified to comment on contemporary evangelistic practice since we pretty much get on with what we’re doing! In our experience, event-based evangelism is most helpful when young people are part of a supportive faith community of some sort, so have a context from which to make sense of what they hear and experience at events and a discipling relationships to return to. It is exciting to go somewhere with a bit of a buzz, where everyone seems shinier and happier and prettier and cooler than usual, but it is selling a falsehood if we make out that that’s what being a disciple of Christ is like or about. Capitalising on a wave of collective enthusiasm with an altar call is tempting but unfair. In our own context we are careful not to put pressure on young people who profess an interest in wanting to “become a Christian” by rushing them to do something about it. Young people are open to all sorts of ideas, but we are careful not to use an opportunity to share the gospel as an opportunity to manipulate their thinking. Courses that offer a basic introduction to Christianity can and have been helpful to many. Again, we would consider the best context for any evangelism is long-term and unconditional relationship. It is great to have some clarity about the message, but I wonder if the whole format of a course suits a more modern rather than post-modern mind-set. Packaging the faith as a ten-week course or programme gives quite a linear presentation of the Christian faith, but may be helpful within the more rounded context of (the example of) a life lived. It is better to know and love someone well enough to share your faith with them than send them on a course, but doesn’t have to be an either or, so long as the relationship is unconditional to their faith commitment. Write here any other thoughts or opinions that have come to mind whilst writing answers to these questions. Would love to bang on, but I’ll make less and less sense and I think we’re out of time!

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Aylesbury Vale Youth for Christ Name: Marco Loxley Job Title: Youth and Community Worker Organisation/Church/Ministry Name: Aylesbury Vale Youth for Christ Website: www.avyfc.org.uk Please give a general overview of your work; the main activities your organization does and what your involvement is. Aylesbury Vale Youth for Christ is a local Christian youth work centre that aims to relevantly meet the needs of young people in Aylesbury Vale, and offer support and positive transformation to the communities in which they live. Our work is based around building relationships with the young people in the area, and through this encouraging them to become more loving, truthful, creative and responsible. We are able to do this through a number of different projects, primarily that of our youth cafes, which run as drop in centers located within the communities which we serve and seeking to allow young people to be themselves within a value based culture when they come along. These youth cafes run for a 3 hour session on a weekly basis and are located in central venues within the community. They are set up in both rural and urban areas and seek to meet the needs of the young people in those areas. Whilst originally giving the cafe vision and direction in order for it to be set up, we aim to build a team of volunteers within the area in order for it to become a locally sustainable project in the future. We have set up 15 of these youth cafes across Aylesbury Vale and are still currently involved with 9. Another of our key projects is that of our Junior Volunteering System, which aims to offer young people a role within their community and be equipped with the skills to have a positive effect upon those of their own generation. We have over 60 active Junior Volunteers who currently serve in their communities and get involved in assisting and leading a number of events. These young people are able to build ground level relationships with those who are entering projects for the first time, as their approach comes from first hand experience. We run a Studio project, which is based in a refurbished church hall and are able to provide activities and services from music recording to photography workshops. This is where we can really encourage our young people to become creative and celebrate them for that. The project serves local schools with workshops and teaching for their students, as well as dedicated studio time for local bands and musicians from across the area. The costs for the use of the space are heavily subsidized and therefore allow this sort of activity to become more accessible to young people. During the summer months we are blessed with a number of opportunities to get involved with, and run a number of community festivals across the area. This is mainly a seasonal project however it is a significant part of our role within the community. We often deliver youth and community based activities at family fun days and enable people to engage in positive communication

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with each other. The local projects involve hosting or taking part in a free event for everyone in the community, in a non-discriminatory way. We aim to engage and involve everyone and in order to see hope restored. We also work alongside New Wine and Soul Survivor festivals, hosting youth venues during the summer. My personal role is as a youth and community worker within the charity. I manage a number of the rural youth café projects Do you have a mission statement, or a sentence that best sums up what you are trying to achieve? “Being good news relevantly to every young person in Aylesbury Vale”. Do you see people becoming disciples through your work? Explain this process and give an example of a time you have seen this. We are able to build meaningful and significant relationships with a number of the young people who we serve and in turn this allows us to positively disciple them through role modeling and sustainable contact. At each of the youth cafes we run, we are able to know the young people by name and we see them regularly enough to build trust with them, this in turn allows us to sign post them to other events which we do within the church, for example youth worship events. This type of discipleship is invaluable as it displays trust and care on their terms and in our time. How would you define a convert and a disciple. Is there a difference? Seeing a young person give their life to God is incredible and often becomes a sort of measure for the work in which a Christian organization does. This measure could be defined as a conversion rate. At what point do we need to construct a balance between a “saving conveyor belt “ and a “sustainable transformation”. Often it becomes much more valuable that we build meaningful relationships with young people first, and over time we are able to listen them into the kingdom of God. Giving young people something to belong to is a massive part of discipleship and being around in order to meet their needs further is more important still. Enabling young people to know that they are journeying with God without a beginning or an end is real discipleship and becomes a significant part of the relationship. What do you think Jesus meant when he said ‘go and make disciples’ in Matthew 28:19 and how do you apply this interpretation to your ministry? Jesus had a way of doing things that he wanted to role model to us. He showed people the way things should be done, he then did things with them and then encouraged them to go out and do things themselves for the kingdom. This is a process of discipleship that we should be following. Going out and making disciples is equipping people with an understanding through journeying with them to serve others and seek the kingdom of heaven. We want to see as many of our projects as possible become sustainable parts

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of local communities through the process of discipleship. Do you think that in general, contemporary evangelistic practice is doing a good job of making disciples? There are some incredible projects and ministries out there at the moment and so much of the stuff that is happening is new and fresh. What we really need to focus on is where are we taking evangelism in the future and are we mentoring, teaching and inspiring enough young evangelists to grow this practice into the future. Write here any other thoughts or opinions that have come to mind whilst writing answers to these questions

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