Is your goal to build great churches or make great disciples? Is your congregation full of professing-only Christians?
Becoming a Christian disciple is supposed to be life-altering, a process of maturation and transformation. The church is to intentionally support that development--both individually and corporately. Sometimes, though, pitfalls and barriers in life and even within the church itself can damage the committed but unequipped follower.
Proposing a "deep-sea change" from the typical church plan, Glover and Lavy offer experienced coaching in how to systematize disciple-making in a congregation.
"As people of the Great Commission, we have only one job: to fill our churches with people who can say… 'I really know Jesus,'" write Glover and Lavy. "When this happens, the world will not be able to contain the church. We will be everywhere, serving everyone and lifting the name of Jesus as our motivation. Jesus, who is Truth, would not have sent us to go and make disciples of all nations if we weren't actually able to accomplish the mission."
Framing their very workable ideas in a seashore analogy, the authors explain how to identify the stages of spiritual development--from skeptical seekers to authentically functional disciples. Each aspect is supported with examples of both ministry successes and failures.
Every church understands its mandate to "Go and make disciples," but not every church has a plan to make it happen. Deepening Your Effectiveness is the template you've been looking for to attract new believers and move them toward Christian maturity.
With Glover and Lavy as your guides, you'll transform your congregation's mandate to "Go and make mature and committed disciples!"
Dan Glover is president of Deepening Your Effectiveness, Inc., a non-profit organization focused on equipping mission-minded pastors and church leaders through consulting, training and coaching. Dan is an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church who has served as senior pastor for churches in both the Western Pennsylvania and West Ohio Conferences. He has also served as Director of Cell Group Discipleship at Ginghamsburg Church in Tipp City, Ohio and Director of Discipleship at EUM Church in Greenville, Ohio. Dan has also been a national small group trainer for Serendipity House Publishing and speaker/trainer for Men's Life, a ministry of Church Development Resources Publishing. Dan and his wife, Kathy, are the parents of four grown daughters and live in Greenville, Ohio.
Claudia Lavy is vice president of Deepening Your Effectiveness, Inc., a non-profit organization focused on equipping mission-minded pastors and church leaders through consulting, training and coaching. Claudia has served as part of the Discipleship Ministry Team at Ginghamsburg Church and Program Coordinator at Tipp City United Methodist Church, both in Tipp City, Ohio, as well as Operations Director for EUM Church in Greenville, Ohio. She gained extensive experience in administration, operations, management and sales in marketplace leadership positions that range from construction sales management for a large regional home builder to ownership of her own custom home construction company. She is also a former Realtor and licensed land title agent. Claudia and her husband, Keith, are the parents of five grown children and live in Troy, Ohio.
