Bruce Staley

In my last post, the Power of Discipleship, I introduced the concept of a POD, a Power of Discipleship group, a group of people that is intentional about making disciples. After some wonderful preaching, a training program and a weekend conference on evangelism, and an attempt, by myself, to engage people in disciple-making through monthly workshops in our local church I've pondered before God, the question, "What would it take for the everyday person sitting in the church pew to become actively engaged in the work of the Great Commission?" "Is there some form of grassroots catalyst, like the small rudder of a large sea-going liner, that could bring about enduring change?" I had begun applying the lessons I had learned from the recent evangelism events and my own research, and discovered God rewarding my efforts to such an extent I was having difficulty keeping up with the opportunities to explain how a person can have a personal relationship with the Living God...

A Power of Discipleship or POD is a group of people, who are committed to follow Jesus under God's authority, compelled by the Holy Spirit to fulfill the Great Commission, waiting on God in prayer, going and reaching out to people God has brought across their path and making disciples. What we do? Gather a POD of 3-4 people Pray for one another Encourage one another in making disciples Pray for people, who God has placed on our hearts Reach out to people God has brought across our path and engage them in activities of common interest to build relationship and trust Learn to tell our story about how we became followers of Jesus and share it with others Learn to tell God's story and explain how a person can know God personally Disciple people, who have decided to follow Jesus, one-to-one and/or in a discovery group Regularly communicate with each other by text, email, Skype, Facebook, or any other way, even face-to-face, about our progress in making disciples ...