Over the past several years, every time Jodie visited her hairdresser, she looked for opportunities to begin a gospel conversation. Through conversation and leaving materials for the woman to ponder, Jodie was able to answer her friend’s questions.
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However, recent controversial national events led the woman to question why Christians weren’t responding, so Jodie invited her friend to her home for dinner and conversation. The new friend, who was also an artist, began to read through Genesis 1 and 2, looking at God as Creator and seeing His creation. Jodie’s friends have been praying for her and have reminded Jodie to pray for her hairdresser as well.
Jodie followed the pattern for disciple-making that Jesus outlined for His followers. In John 1:43, Jesus told Philip, “Follow Me.” Over the next three years of His ministry, Jesus showed Philip and the other disciples a method for making disciples. Jesus’ disciples then modeled this pattern for others throughout the life of the early church.
In an effort to equip N.C. Baptists to be disciple-makers, the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina developed Patterned, a 10-week resource for pastors and church members focused on disciple-making.
The material includes five lessons for each week centered on the elements of disciple-making. These elements include praying for the lost, defining evangelism and discipleship, studying the Bible, telling one’s story, engaging in gospel conversations, living in biblical community, reaching unreached people groups and living as sent people, among other topics. Contributors include North Carolina pastors, ministers, lay leaders, missionaries and seminary professors. Additionally, each week’s material is accompanied by two short videos by the contributor to further expound on the topic.
This resource is ideal for use in a small group or Sunday School setting, allowing students to learn from one another as they share what God is teaching them in His Word and as they encourage one another in their growth as disciple-makers.
Currently, a bound copy of Patterned is available to N.C. Baptist churches free of charge. Each church is able to order a maximum of 15 copies and one DVD of the resource using this order form (https://ncbaptist.wufoo.com/forms/patterned/). More information about this resource can be found at PatternedNC.org.
As for Jodie’s friend, she has not yet prayed to receive Christ, but Jodie remains hopeful. “Genuine relationships begin with conversation – too often we talk rather than listen,” she said. “By listening to my friend’s deep concerns about brokenness and pointing to the artistry of God, we were able to connect on a deeper level of friendship that easily led to sharing the gospel.”