NWBA is delighted to be a partner in the Seventy-Two network, a catalyst for missional movement working through the networks of Baptists Together and its 13 Regional Associations. We are working with Seventy-Two to publish a significantly revised and updated version of our church-life resource Disciple-Forming Communities.
Our dream is also to see local churches being places where that faith-sharing instinct is cultivated within everyone who is part of them. What is it that makes a Disciple-Forming Community? How can we develop this within our own local church?
These are questions that we seek to explore through a local church leaders guide. It offers a Bible-based vision of what a Disciple Forming Community might look like and a framework that can be used to evaluate the activities and priorities of your congregation.
It explores discipleship not as a set of expectations or disciplines but by asking a more foundational question – what makes people think and act as effective faith-sharers? From there it considers the kind of church environment that is likely to encourage and inspire people to behave that way. We call these the 12 marks of a Disciple Forming Community. At the heart of this resource is the desire to challenge and equip leaders not to simply agree that these are a good idea, but to take a long hard look at the way they do church and consider how they can be embedded in every aspect of church life.
Leaders’ guides, study books or more information are available to order from admin@nwba.org.uk