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Discipleship processes review

1/12/2017

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Having recently started in a new ministry possition, I'm reviewing my chruch's discipleship processes (including evangelism). The "web-diagram" below represents not a thorough analysis, but rather, three lenses to focus my understanding of how discipleship functions in my new "household of faith".
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Note* this is not a strategy FOR discipleship - it is a tool to asses the way people see themselves relating to this particular church that they attend, visit, or identify with: a way of identifying contexts within which discipleship might best occur.
As a personal exercise, the aim is to achieve 3 things with this web-diagram:
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1.
Clarify WHO we have the opportunity to disciple as a church. My first pass identified the various segments of the Church's network (represented by each triangular segment in the working diagram above: Local/Parish Members, Metro-Networked Members, Civic Networked Contacts, those Passing through etc.)






2.
Clarify the SPACES (public, social, personal & intimate) in which people percieve they "belong" to the Church. 

I'm loosely defining "spaces" along the lines developed by Edward T. Hall, and as qualified by Joseph R. Myers.
i) Public    ii) Social   iii) Personal   iv) Intimate  

This is different to asking wether, in reality, they are yet disciples of Jesus (which is our ultimate concern). I'm asking a lesser question: "In which space will each segment of  attenders be most open to further discipleship?"



3.
Clarify what discipling PATTERNS, contexts or practices are best suited to engaging each particular SEGMENT of the church's networks, in the particular SPACES they are most willing to inhabit.

Some contexts such as Sunday  Services will have value for engaging almost every segment of the church's networks. Bible study groups will likely engage a smaller percentage of just the Local/Parish & Metro-Networked Members segments.






What I imediately noticed:
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Other than the most public (burgundy) and intimate (mint) spaces in which people might consider themselves as belonging, we currently have relatively few opportunities to conduct evangelism/discipleship. In the personal (purple) & social (pink) spaces, we basically only have "bible study" small groups currently opporating - the other opportunities listed in those bands are not yet opperating.

That means we have relatively few opportunities to disciple people outside...
i) the regular Sunday meetings (public space) and,
ii) opportunistic evangelistic opportunities such as "2 ways to live" and some 1-on-1 "Christianity explained" (intimate space).

It is worth noting that attempting to move people from  public (burgundy) to intimate (mint) contexts for discipleship is a big ask. And, moving people from intimate (mint) to public (burgundy) contexts for discipleship leaves them to figure out the purpose and value of public meetings unassisted.
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    I'm Steve. Anglican Presbyter, Practical Theology Enthusiast, and Graphic Design Hobbyist in Sydney, Australia

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