Church Renewal Through Everyday Missional Discipleship
Sometimes people ask us what we do, or what ‘Embers’ is, and there are lots of possible answers.
We tailor what we say depending on who is asking, to help them understand it well.
If you would like to know more about the training we provide, or how it could impact your life, your church and even the world around you, take a look at the photo.
If you have any questions or would like to talk about it we’d love to hear from you. Click here to find out how to get in touch.
Andy Frost of Share Jesus International (SJI) created this booklet in 2022 and I’ve just had a read. It’s really good.
It refers to a ‘disciple’ as someone who knows Jesus, becomes like Jesus, and who does the things that Jesus did.
The booklet is only 40 pages long, is very practical and helps new Christians think about the things that may be hard for them and how they can overcome them.
Along the way are plenty of great resource recommendations, from things to read and things to watch to questions to consider and even courses to attend.
I wish I’d had access to something like this when I made the decision to follow Jesus! It would have helped greatly with actually working out “What do I do now?”. It can be tempting to think “I’m in! Job done” when actually we have the rest of our lives to live after that point of decision, and if you’re anything like me you’ll be grateful for whatever help you can get along the way.
From Decision to Disciple can be purchased here for just £3 and there is a discount for multiple copies.
We recently had the privilege of helping with a course called ‘The Culture Bridge’, led by Pioneers UK (https://www.pioneers-uk.org/).
According to the website, the aim of the course is to “help diaspora Christians navigate the challenges of integrating into British culture”. The word ‘diaspora’ refers to being scattered, and the course is aimed at Christians from other nations who have left their homeland for whatever reason and are now scattered here in the UK.
The course was made up of people mainly from African nations, and was led by people from Pioneers (we were there as guests and were able to help with some specific input). The participants learned about British culture and then they were able to gain more confidence in how to relate to British people, not to mention how to share the good news of Jesus here. I can only imagine how very grateful I’d be if I moved to a different country and had the chance to take a course like this. After all, things that have worked over here are not guaranteed to work anywhere else!
It was helpful for us to think about what it means to be British, and we had a good laugh about some of the quirks and oddities that seem to be engrained into who we are over here, such as how much we love queuing(!), and how we don’t always say what we mean!
There was one fascinating moment where someone said they had managed to turn a conversation with a stranger about the weather (a very British thing) into a conversation about Jesus!
If you fit the description of a diaspora Christian here in the UK, or if you know anyone who does, we strongly recommend The Culture Bridge as a tool that could be of great use. It isn’t just for individuals, but groups from the same church could also get involved. So why not email hello@pioneers-uk.org and ask when their next course is happening?