Living Discipleship

By Brad Ransom

According to Webster, a disciple is “one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another: such as Christianity.” If this definition is correct, I fear there aren’t many true Christian disciples. While most if not all Christians would describe themselves as disciples, how many “spread the doctrine?” True discipleship is obedience to the call of Christ on our lives.

God calls all Christians. Some are called into full-time ministry positions such as a pastor, church planter, missionary, worship leader, or Christian school worker. Some are called into bivocational ministry (the true heroes in my opinion). But all are called to spread the gospel. We are reminded by the Great Commission to “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Some take this command more seriously than others. Statistically, however, few Christians ever share their faith with someone else. A few people do. Even fewer take it so seriously they are willing to live it out every day. One such couple is Rudy and Storm Kwiatkowski. Rudy and Storm were actively involved in the Pleasant Acres Free Will Baptist Church in New Bern, North Carolina, when Stephen and Lauren Kimbrell answered the call to plant a new church in Irvine, California.

Rudy, an electrician, and Storm, who worked at an automobile dealership, quit their jobs, uprooted their lives, and moved to Irvine in 2015 to join the team planting Grace City FWB Church. They are highly involved, but more importantly, they are committed to be disciples who make disciples.

Maybe you are like Rudy and Storm Kwiatkowski and want to live out discipleship in a radical way. Opportunities are everywhere. Many church planters serving with North American Ministries would love to get a call from a family saying, “We want to come and help you spread the gospel and build a church.”

Opportunities exist in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Montana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Quebec City (Canada), Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Virginia (with new church plants added regularly). What better way to teach your children about obedience and discipleship than to live it out with them?
Discipleship doesn’t require you to quit your job, sell your house, and move across the country, but it does require you to “spread the doctrines of Christianity.” Whatever that may look like for you, do it. “Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).

About the Writer : Brad Ransom is director of church planting for North American Ministries. Visit www.fwbnam.com for more information.