The work of discipleship begins with our personal commitment to follow Christ then evolves into a shared, accountable experience of how we follow Christ as a community of faith. This is only the beginning.
The outflow of our journey of faith as we deepen our commitment to Christ must begin to manifest itself in the many ways we interact with the world around us.
There are countless, unique ways we can serve others with various pathways of serving.
"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:14-16 (NIV)
The words of James reminds us that faith comes first, then actions pour out of our life into the live of others. Serving is the completion of discipleship.
- The WORKS of a disciple flows from a heart beating like God's heart.
- The WORKS of a non-believer is a good deed and appreciated by society.
The difference between the two is "why" Christians serve. We do service to please God and to care for His creation. While the intention in the heart of many unbelieving good citizens is also wonderful and pure - the outcome is dramatically different.
We must find ourselves, as Christians, in a position of serving not because we are told to serve, and not becuase we empathize with others. We must find ourselves in a position of serving to please God - from an outpouring of our pursuit to follow Christ.
It is safe to say that we've been in the company of others who were kind, generous, and giving - but had no interest in God and serving the greater kingdom in our midst. To be different if we must see ourselves as set apart. We must see ourselves as Christ followers who are compelled by our compassion to pour out hope and grace to the places and spaces we occupy.
To do this, we need a plan for our journey. We should develop intentional ways to apply our faith to the world around us.
The gift of faith comes with a clear requirement... to love other people the way God loves us and to give ourselves by serving others with our abilities, our attention, and our resources. Our faith becomes stronger when we place it into mission.
We've developed a fairly straightforward pathway to help you discover where God is calling you to serve. The Acts 1:8 model is about finding those places God is uniquely calling you to serve.
In this section, we'll continue to refine areas of service which fall into 4 primary areas:
- Serving the Church / Community of Faith
- Serving the community in which you live
- Serving the marginlized, the disadvantaged, the forgotten - being an advocate
- Serving the world by delivering the word of God around the globe.
Inside the Mission area of this resource app, you'll be introduced to well vetted partners and opportunities to serve. We've cultivated relationships and continue to provide serving areas where you and your core group can make an impact.
Together, we can ensure that every guy in the United Methodist Church around the world has a credible opportunity to meet, know, and serve Jesus Christ. Help us reach that vision.
Join the movement and let's share the love of Christ will all around us - through our hands and feet!