“Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.’” John 4:34 ESV
What do you do when someone begins to show signs of a desire to go deeper with God? Over the past month, I have been working to formalize strategies for the Jesus Connection. Ones I have learned and implemented in some way. They have been in my mind but not “on paper.” But now that TJC is expanding, I want to synthesize so I can:
Create reproducible practices to pass on to future disciples &
Articulate my work to current and potential supporters.
And of course, where else do you start but at the beginning.
As I have encountered people in various stages of their Jesus journey, from nonexistent to years of faithfulness, each scenario presents a different starting point. How to proceed then stems from the relationship and, of course, by the Holy Spirit’s lead. Oftentimes, the next step begins with determining the person’s hunger. What’s motivating their desire to go deeper?
How we go about discerning this depends on the person, but basically it’s a commitment to look at an element of God’s Kingdom and go from there. The potential disciple need not know of the “commitment,” just the aim.
For instance, one strategy I’ve been shown with the Ignite Network is to walk through Jesus’ 7 signs as presented in John. You don’t need to introduce it as a 7-week commitment, just say you’re going to discuss how Jesus rocked His world and proved He was the Son of God. (Again, phrasing depends on context.)
If the potential disciple(s) is eager to start and their hunger intensifies as you explore the 7 signs, they’re most likely disciple-able and ready to go deeper. If they quickly lose steam or disappear, multiple things may be at play, including a shallow hunger or life happened and they’re not yet disciple-able.
Of course, there are other ways to discern someone’s hunger. You could also look at what the Bible says about specific topics like anxiety or the existence of evil. If it’s someone who’s been in
the church for a while but is looking to put feet to their faith, maybe it’s equipping them to have crucial conversations with people that turn into spiritual conversations.
By inviting a potential disciple(s) to "taste and see," you can determine the genuineness of their hunger.
The latter is one I’ve used, but I’m also starting with a person now by looking at our identity in Christ. Remember, the method depends on the potential disciple(s). The aim is to uncover the
depth of their hunger.
It reminds me of a child who says they’re starving but wrinkles their nose when you offer veggies and dip. Yet the moment you say “brownie,” their “starvation” returns. If they were truly hungry, they would accept anything eagerly and ask for more. By inviting a potential disciple(s) to “taste and see,” you can determine the genuineness of their hunger.
How you do it need not be fancy or complicated. Just meet the person where they are and invite them to discover Jesus together. Only time will tell the depth of a person’s hunger and only the Spirit can cause the hunger, but we have to start somewhere. Start with a taste and see how hungry they are.
References:
English Standard Version Bible. (2001). Crossway Bibles.
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