Our Discipleship Model
We believe that we are called to be disciples of Jesus and to disciple others - learning to love Jesus and to love like Jesus. This means that we are created to holistically give witness to and embody the heart of Jesus in our daily lives. We do this by loving God, loving each other, and loving our neighbours by showing God’s care and sharing God’s story as illustrated by our discipleship model.
Just as there are four chambers of the heart work together to keep blood flowing as a river of life through the body, so holistic discipleship is made up of these four parts working together in rhythmic balance.
Love God
Love the Lord our God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength
Mark 12:30 (NIV)
God who is Love invites us into the unfailing eternal love that is God’s very self - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our response is to grow in loving God with everything we are.
One of the primary ways we express love to God is by abiding in His love as we journey through our daily lives. Although abiding looks different for each person, we have included some practical ways you can show love to and grow in your love for God below.
Love Each Other
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
John 4:10-12 (NIV)
We believe that loving God cannot be separated from loving others.
This love can be expressed in a variety of ways including displaying a commitment to belong to one another as a family of siblings in Jesus, journeying through life’s joys and struggles together, and exploring ways to disciple and be discipled.
Show God’s Care
Love your neighbour as yourself.
Mark 12:31b (NIV)
Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
Isaiah 1:17 (NIV)
As disciples of Jesus, we believe we are called to show God’s care through loving our local and global neighbours. We do this through meeting the holistic needs of others and through social, economic and ecological responsibility.
Share God’s Story
But how can anyone trust in or call out to one they have never heard of? And how can they hear if no one has told them? And how will [God’s] message reach their ears if no one is sent? Just as it is written down in the Sacred Teachings, “How beautiful are the feet of the good story bringers, who tell about the good things Creator has done for us through the Chosen One!”
Romans 10:14-15 (First Nations Version)
Jesus’s ministry and message was underscored by God’s desire to reconcile the world to Himself. As reconciled children of God we too are called to participate in His ministry of reconciliation. One way we can do this is by actively, relationally and creatively sharing the good news about Jesus.
The feet together - sharing God's story and showing God's care - is a picture of how we walk out our mission in the world.