Let the Journey Begin!
I was in 10th grade. For many months, my family had been planning a special vacation to Hawaii. As the day for departure drew near, we made final preparations for the journey. I remember the early morning when we needed to head to the airport. My mom entered my room long before the sunrise to wake me up and said, "It's Christmas!" It wasn’t really Christmas morning, but it was the beginning of our great adventure, and we were all so excited!
Since returning to Kansas City in August 2018 to serve with Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries International (SDMI), I have felt like I have been preparing for a great and wonderful journey. The global SDMI team has been asked to discover the will of God for a new framework for Nazarene Discipleship and move toward its official launch at General Assembly 2021. The new framework will not be a new program. It will serve to guide our church through a clear Nazarene pathway to accomplish our mission, "to make Christlike disciples in the nations."
Now, we call discipleship "A Journey of Grace." It is a journey of a lifetime as God continually draws the world to Himself through prevenient grace (God’s wooing grace that reaches the lost prior to salvation), saving grace (God’s rescuing grace that enables a sinner to repent and turn to God), and sanctifying grace (God’s cleansing grace that sets the believer’s heart fully on God and His will). We, Christ’s Church, are invited to join God in His journey and what He is doing in the world. The Apostle Paul reminds us, "We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20, NIV). Nazarenes everywhere are encouraged to join others along the journey from grace to grace through grace!
In January 2020, I met with our Global SDMI Council at the beautiful Golden Bell Nazarene Camp near Divide, Colorado. For four days, our global coordinators met, laughed, prayed, and planned together. God’s Spirit was with us. He is bringing clarity and unity in our hearts for His purposes in making disciples around the world! As we took a two-hour drive from Golden Bell Camp to the summit of Pike's Peak and looked over the earth, I couldn’t help but get excited as my heart sang, "Let the journey begin!"