Dare to disciple – and see your church grow

ByCRE

Dare to disciple – and see your church grow

Our commission is to make disciples, not church attenders.

That will be Rev Cris Rogers’ message at CRE 2018.

‘It is vital we help churches activate a thriving discipleship culture,’ said Cris, rector of All Hallows in Bow, east London. ‘Some of us struggle with the term “discipleship” and use “spiritual formation”. I will look at the differences between the evangelical understanding of discipleship and the more Catholic understanding of spiritual formation. Neither deliver biblical discipleship on their own but when the two merge we get a biblical picture of Jesus’ understanding of discipleship and formation.’

Developed by Cris, Making Disciples is an assessment tool to help churches, small groups and individuals interested in developing as disciples of Jesus. Churches developing a discipleship action plan have found people serving in and outside the church has gone up, financial giving has risen and disciplines of personal daily prayer have grown.

‘I will also look at how the modern school system has killed how we do discipleship within the church because our education is teaching rather than apprenticeship based,’ said Cris. ‘I will also look at the way we need to grow leaders, another important part of building a discipleship culture.’

Cris took on the leadership of an Anglican Church in Tower Hamlets, one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse areas of London. The church had shrunk to seven people before his arrival. He is also part of the Spring Harvest planning group.

Rev Cris Rogers will speak on ‘Making Disciples’ at CRE 2018 (12 pm, Wed 17 Oct)