Mission and the pandemic

Making whole-life disciples

Dr Naar M’fundisi-Holloway continues a series of weekly articles in which Research and Development personnel reflect on how our approach to mission has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic

THROUGHOUT this global pandemic, the Church in all its varied expressions of ministry has had to forge ahead with God’s mission in nuanced ways, proclaiming the unchanging word of God, providing hope and resourcing the body of Christ through whole-life discipleship.

The challenge for the Church in this time has been to find ways in which to recover and maintain its central vocation – to make disciples of Christ – while addressing the challenges that have come about as a result of the pandemic.

A disciple is someone who commits to learning from the one they choose to follow. Jesus’ disciples were not only his students; they also had a personal attachment to him. Their longing to be like him and walk in his footsteps shaped their whole lives.

A disciple is someone who flourishes on their daily journey with Christ. Whole-life discipleship has the double effect of helping a believer grow in their relationship with Christ and enabling them to love their neighbour as God would have them do. Whole-life discipleship enables the body of Christ to continue to grow and flourish spiritually, both for the individual in their walk with the Lord and the body as a whole.

The Bible repeatedly demonstrates the importance of discipleship: about 290 variants of the word ‘discipleship’ appear in the Gospels and the book of Acts.

As disciples, believers are called to: Live a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ (see

Philippians 1:27, Matthew 5:13–16, Galatians 5:13–26 and Philippians 4:11–13) Live a life of humility following the example of Jesus

Christ (see Philippians 2:1–11) Live life as to the Lord (see Colossians 1:15–21) Live a life that demonstrates love towards God and love for their neighbour (see Matthew 22:37–39) Live as God’s sent, scattered people (see Matthew 28:16–20 and John 20:21) Bear the cost of discipleship (Mark 8:34–38, Luke 14:25–33 and John 12:24–26)

What does whole-life discipleship look like in practice? Moving from the personal to our place in the world, whole-life discipleship should not only encourage growth in personal faith but also ensure we have an impact in everyday contexts within our communities. Neil Hudson of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity suggests several actions that leaders can take to guide whole-life discipleship in congregational contexts. These include keeping prayer central, helping one another learn the way of Jesus, living it out themselves as a leader, explaining clearly what the church is embarking on and extending the invitation for people to follow Christ and begin a lifetime of whole-life discipleship.

It is also important to adapt our discipleship and ensure it is relevant to the world today with its challenges.

Last year, when Major Noel Wright was territorial evangelist, he said that effective discipleship makes people more aware of God in their everyday. He suggested that fruitful discipleship prompts Christians to reflect on questions such as: ‘Do I see my job as ministry?’ and ‘How should I regard my interactions with the shopkeeper as mission?’

For the past 12 years I have been planted in a church that intentionally prays for people in their professions. When I was a secondary school teacher, my pastor would call all teachers and students in the congregation to the front to be prayed for at the beginning of each term. He and other leaders in the church would pray that we would carry the light of God in our schools and that we would have courage to use every opportunity to bring Jesus to situations and conversations we found ourselves in. Along with this, Sunday sermons and midweek prayer and Bible study meetings would have lessons on how to live missionally in our various contexts.

I find the whole-life discipleship approach in my church helpful because I am always aware that I am a living epistle of Jesus Christ wherever I am. I have a greater awareness that my life from Monday to Saturday is not divorced from my life on Sunday or on weekday evenings when I participate in church activities.

What does whole-life discipleship look like in your context, and is there anything you might start to do differently after reading this?

For resources that delve more deeply into the themes of this series and how to explore them using the Faith-Based Facilitation model, visit salvationist.org.uk/resources

DR NAAR M’FUNDISI-HOLLOWAY

Action Researcher Research and Development Unit, THQ