NextLevel Online: Adult Discipleship Training for Small Group leaders and Sunday School teachers

The Importance of Community in Discipleship

In Session 2, participants explore the significance of community in discipleship, reflecting on the divine model of perfect community within the Trinity. Addressing barriers like individualism and expectations, attendees discover opportunities to cultivate genuine Christian community, drawing insights from Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Henri Nouwen. Through this session, the call to discipleship is framed as a call to embrace and nurture meaningful Christian fellowship.
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The Importance of Community in Discipleship

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The vision of Ozark Christian College is to glorify God by evangelizing the lost and edifying Christians worldwide. The mission of Ozark Christian College is to train men and women for Christian service as a degree-granting institution of biblical higher education.

Classroom Instructions

The Importance of Community in Discipleship
14:45The Importance of Community in DiscipleshipThe Importance of Community in Discipleship

Session 2: The Importance of Community in Discipleship

Our God is a God of perfect community: One God in Three Persons

The call to discipleship is also a call to community

o Ephesians 4

Barriers to Community

  1. Individualism
  2. Expectations
  3. Fear of Unknown
  4. Organization
  5. Psuedo-Community

Opportunities to Build Community (see Julie Gorman's Community That Is Christian for a complete list)

  1. Expect It
  2. Cultivate Safety
  3. Foster Cohesion
  4. Active Involvement
  5. Authority of Scripture
  6. Know People

Dietrick Bonhoeffer in Life Together (the following quote was summarized in the video) Christianity means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ...It means, first that a Christian needs others because of Jesus Christ. It means, second that a Christian comes to others only through Jesus Christ. It means, third that in Jesus Christ we have been chosen from eternity, accepted in time, and united for eternity.

Henri Nouwen in Out of Solitude: Three Meditations on the Christian Life Community life is not a creation of human will but an obedient response to the reality of our being united. Many people who have lived together for years and whose love for one another has been tested more than once know that the decisive experience in their life was not that they were able to hold together but they were held together. That, in fact, we are a community not because we like each other or have a common task or project but because we are called together by God.

The Importance of Community in Discipleship Instructions

The Importance of Community in Discipleship
14:45The Importance of Community in DiscipleshipThe Importance of Community in Discipleship

Session 2: The Importance of Community in Discipleship

Our God is a God of perfect community: One God in Three Persons

The call to discipleship is also a call to community

o Ephesians 4

Barriers to Community

  1. Individualism
  2. Expectations
  3. Fear of Unknown
  4. Organization
  5. Psuedo-Community

Opportunities to Build Community (see Julie Gorman's Community That Is Christian for a complete list)

  1. Expect It
  2. Cultivate Safety
  3. Foster Cohesion
  4. Active Involvement
  5. Authority of Scripture
  6. Know People

Dietrick Bonhoeffer in Life Together (the following quote was summarized in the video) Christianity means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ...It means, first that a Christian needs others because of Jesus Christ. It means, second that a Christian comes to others only through Jesus Christ. It means, third that in Jesus Christ we have been chosen from eternity, accepted in time, and united for eternity.

Henri Nouwen in Out of Solitude: Three Meditations on the Christian Life Community life is not a creation of human will but an obedient response to the reality of our being united. Many people who have lived together for years and whose love for one another has been tested more than once know that the decisive experience in their life was not that they were able to hold together but they were held together. That, in fact, we are a community not because we like each other or have a common task or project but because we are called together by God.