Discipling others

​On Monday afternoons, Amy and I have been reading the Gospel of Mark with two of our youth. I love reading the gospels and reflecting on the way Jesus made disciples. He chose Simon and Andrew to come follow him and taught them to make more disciples (followers) of Jesus. He also called James, John, then Levi and others to join them. Jesus took his team with him as he went out and taught people about the kingdom of God, healed people and set people free.
Jesus' message was good news and his popularity grew. More and more people started to follow him. Christianity (following Jesus) was a movement! It wasn't about going to church on Sunday. It was about sharing the good news about the kingdom of God in the local community. As a result, more and more people became Christians.
When my Nana was young, it seemed almost everyone went to church and that was their expression of being a Christian. They didn't necessarily make disciples though, and as a result church attendance has declined. Last week I sat with a network of local Church and community leaders, under the teaching of Phil Mc Creddan, principle of Ecclesia Leadership to ponder the decline in Church attendance, and what we ought to do, or not do, to be more relevant to our world today.
I don't have all the answers, but I think we are on the right track with trying to include more discipleship pathways in our Mission Action Plan. We need to get back to making disciples: one person, one relationship at a time, and helping people to grow in their understanding of God's Kingdom and what it means to be a follower of Jesus today.
I believe Jesus is calling his followers today to go back to the grass roots of Christianity and be disciples who make disciples, as he always intended. Jesus wants his followers to share the good news of His Kingdom with those around us. He wants to set people free from all that holds them back from living life as God intended, in relationship with him. He is still Goodnews in our post-modern, post-Christendom, western culture and context. 
The idea of going to church each week, like our grandparents did, may not appeal to younger generations, but they still need Jesus and the Hope he gives to us in this life and the next. Thats why I'm excited about HOPE 25, an initiative of the Anglican Diocese to help churches consider afresh how we can connect with the people around us and share the good news of Jesus with them.
At Synod, we spent half an hour with our teams, considering what the Church needs to change (let go of/take on) to make disciples of Jesus today. What do you think we need to do differently? 
How can we share the good news of Jesus in our local community/networks? 
Who are you discipling? It's up to every one of us to fulfil the call of Jesus on our lives. We are called to be disciples who make disciples, and when we do that, the church will grow.
I'm excited for our future, and I love being in this with you.

Yours in Christ,
Reverend Tanya Cummings