Discipleship

Many men commit their life to Christ for the first time – or recommit their life to Christ – at an Encounter.  For most, it is truly a mountaintop experience.

But it cannot end with that.

Christ never commanded us to make converts.  He commanded us to make disciples.  Christianity is not repeating a prayer or intellectually subscribing to a set of beliefs.  It is a change of heart.  In fact, repentance literally means to turn around and go the other way.  It is not an emotion – it is a deliberate act of the will, by faith, in response to the Holy Spirit’s conviction.

When a man “comes down the hill” and resumes life on Monday, he must be equipped to succeed and persevere in his faith.  Christ said “IF you continue” in Colossians 1:23 and the parable of the sower teaches very clearly that what was planted can be snatched away by the cares and worries of life.  We want to do everything we can to ensure each man does not become a casualty of the Enemy and simply has “an experience” instead of a life change.

Following an encounter, we continue to meet regularly with the men for 8-10 weeks by providing them with a solid biblical foundation in the basic elements of the faith: praying, reading the Word, fellowshipping, breaking bread together, giving, and serving.  We equip them to succeed by transitioning them into their own churches – or perhaps a new church – and with an understanding of what it means to be a Christian and the tenets of the faith.

The days, times, and locations of these will vary and are determined based on the needs of constraints of the attendees themselves.  The groups are generally composed of the men that shared a cabin during the encounter and are thus small.  In a very real way, the men become a “band of brothers”.