Recently I read that “The church doesn’t just exist to make disciples. We also exist to bring those disciples to maturity” (Deeper Walk by Marcus Warner). This concept has been a driving force for us as a mission for more than a decade, and has been at the heart of our family’s ministry since we began. We were never called by Jesus to merely make converts, but rather to disciple people into maturity…mature disciples was Jesus’ goal, and it continues to be our goal as His Church.

Earlier this year, me and Peter (a coworker at the Mbale Mission) decided that something MORE was needed to help the young men at the city church grow into deeper maturity in their faith. So we prayed for the young men and decided to invite them into a weekly disciplemaking group. From that first meeting, we have been open with them about the serious commitment that spiritual growth requires of each of us, and that begins with making the time and opportunity a priority: meeting at 8am on Sunday morning for late-teen and twenty-something guys is NOT easy to do in any culture. But that’s the standard we set before them!

We have been tackling difficult and challenging topics: spiritual warfare, forgiveness and bitterness, prayer, fasting, humility and pride, disciplines (both physical and spiritual), habits of sinful behavior, and the Holy Spirit in our lives. What is obvious to us is that for almost all of these young men (12 in all), they have never had these kinds of conversations and dialogues before. They are normally just told what to think and believe. No one has walked alongside them to guide them into God’s Truth. The ABC’s of traditional discipleship (academics, behavior, and church activity) is all that they have known, if even that. But the Lord doesn’t want our faith to stop at the shallow end of the pool…to stop at merely head knowledge. Jesus wants our entire lives to be TRANSFORMED by the Spirit of God so that our Head, Heart, and Hands all work together to reflect the Glory of God the Father, Son, and Spirit.

For the past few weeks we’ve been sharing and listening to the story of each member: How did they came to faith? Who were they before they knew Jesus? How are they moving with Jesus now? And what hopes do they have for their relationship with God in the future? One consistent theme has come up time and time again: these young men need us to continue discipling them deeper into faith. Overall, their faith remains fairly shallow and focused on salvation alone. There are pockets of spiritual maturity amongst them, but very few of them can explain the impact that Jesus has on their relationships or daily lives other than church attendance and “trying to behave better.” So we clearly have enough work to keep us busy with these brothers.

But our hope is that each week we spend with them – each hour that we pour into them, every conversation we have about the Word of God and their lives – will deepen their walk with the Lord HERE and NOW. We want them to walk in their TRUE identity in Christ and to be able to abide in Christ (John 15) in everyday situations. These conversations will continue to get deeper, more challenging, and more life-giving. These shared experiences will continue to move us closer to the One True Lord and the impact of His Spirit in us. This group will continue to transform our lives! (By the Grace and Power of God!)