When I was asked to lead the men’s group in the Church of the Nazarene in the Romanian village of Țigmandru, Romania, I prayed that there would be at least one person who would make a serious commitment to grow as Christ’s disciple as part of the group. Instead of one, God entrusted me with the discipleship of three men, each being young in their Christian walk.
I recognized that they needed to be better grounded in the Bible. So, for the past year, I have met weekly with these three men (often for more than three hours at a time!), as we studied the major passages, events, and people in the Old Testament.
On Sunday evening, February 19,
these three men were presented with certificates from Continuing Lay Training after they shared with the congregation the overarching Old Testament story from beginning to end.Our discipleship group has always been about more than simply imparting knowledge about the Bible; it is the means through which they have been transformed by the Bible. I prayed from the beginning that they would become leaders in the church, in their families, and in their community.
God is answering that prayer in ways I never imagined. God is taking these three men and using them to do things that I as a missionary could never do. They’re growing as lay leaders by becoming more involved in the day-to-day life of their local church. They’ve taken the initiative to start an outreach ministry in their homes to share their faith with their extended families and neighbors who aren’t yet willing to step into a church building. Additionally, they’re now leading a children’s ministry in a neighboring village.
Just because we’ve finished studying the Old Testament doesn’t mean discipleship in Țigmandru is coming to an end. These young men recognize that this is only the beginning of their spiritual formation. We have plans for future discipleship courses – for them and others in the Țigmandru Church – in the areas of the New Testament, spiritual disciplines, and Christian beliefs.
It has been wonderful to see God work in the lives of these young men throughout the past year, especially as they have recently become involved in leading two new outreach ministries. Even though there were "just three" in the discipleship group, God is working through them, so "just three" is becoming the "first three."
written by Jonathan Phillips
Reprinted in Where Worlds Meet, April 2012 and Engage Magazine.
