Brighton First Faith Development Team Holds First Meeting

The Faith Development Team met for the first time on Wednesday evening, June 3. The task of the team is to develop a discipling program for Brighton First that works to being seekers and new believers to full discipleship and to develop a program that helps current disciples to grow in faith. Members of the team are: Loretta Job, Hilary Bott, John Phillips, Suzanne Everett, Karen Wagg, Amy Steffan and Verne Hoshal.

The team began its work by discussing the question, "What is a disciple of Jesus Christ?" Their answers included baptism, faithfulness to God and one another, on a path and willing to learn, grow, change and make mistakes. They agreed that disciples are followers of Christ and leaders of others, they are all in for the faith.

Making disciples at Brighton First is like weaving a piece of
cloth. The church provides the "warp" (structure and support),
the people provide the "weft" (their participation in programs
that fit their needs), and God is the weaver.

They also talked about what practices keep disciples going. They concluded that those practices can include: reading, studying, faith experiences and the chance to reflect on them, doing good works, being in Christian community for inquiry and accountability, Christian fellowship, and listening for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The team then assessed what Brighton First has in place to assist people to become disciples of Jesus Christ and ministries that are in place that keep people growing as disciples. Those ministries include worship, missions, classes, small groups, fellowship opportunities, and children's and youth programs.

The

The Faith Development Team determined that discipleship begins with relationships, connections with people to help along the spiritual journey. The move toward being an active disciple for Jesus Christ includes more. There must be clear steps in place that reflect Brighton First's expectations. 

The team decided that the move toward discipleship is not an identical check list for everyone to complete. Instead, they discussed that the church, individuals and God work together toward active discipleship much like a piece of cloth is woven together. The church provided the warp (the structure, options, support) and people are the weft (they participate in programs and opportunities that fit their needs). God through Jesus Christ is the weaver.

As homework for their next meeting, team members are going to bring a "pattern" for weaving discipleship at Brighton First.  They will also visit many websites of churches and check out discipleship resources to see what others are doing. The Faith Development Teams next meeting will be Wednesday, June 17th. For more informatio contact Deacon Loretta at loretta@brightonfumc.org.