Discipleship as Part of a Holistic Cross-Cultural Ministry - Part 2
This article is the second part of two articles on this topic. To read part 1, click here.
When Jesus made disciples, He didn’t just teach them—He invited them into a way of life. He met both their spiritual and physical needs, demonstrating that discipleship is one part of a holistic ministry.
In this article - Eric Costanzo, pastor at South Tulsa Baptist Church & Scott White, Vice President of Global Partnerships at One Collective - explore the second three elements of a six-part framework for discipleship that reflects this integrated approach.
Eric Costanzo:
Life-shaping experiences that result from cross-cultural ministry are well-known. In this two-part article we seek to take a deeper look by naming some of the specific ways of Jesus that are formed in the lives of His followers through cross-cultural engagement. We are suggesting the possibility that such engagement offers unique potential for personal growth that may not happen otherwise.
In Part 1, we’ve outlined the first 3 levels of a cross-cultural ministry framework that has emerged in the last 8 years at South Tulsa Baptist Church. What is so striking about this journey is the way it’s changed the makeup of the church and fostered spiritual growth among its members.
Scott White:
While these dynamics of mission and discipleship are distinctive, we found that they are also representative of the cross-cultural patterns Jesus practiced when training His disciples. Similarly, we’ve observed these same elements at work in One Collective’s global community transformation initiatives.
We referred to the first 3 levels as Foundational. In this article, we will unpack the next 3 levels, which we’ll refer to as Focused.
Level 4: Advocacy
Eric Costanzo:
The fourth level of our framework at South Tulsa Baptist Church is Advocacy. In Scripture we find that an advocate is one who stands alongside others in order to plead their case, defend their worth, provide for their needs, or do all three at once. If this seems like a strange element of a discipleship strategy, it’s helpful to remember that many of the people we welcome and serve in cross-cultural contexts are in a vulnerable state. Sometimes those of us who are closer to the center of our community and its leadership structure might need to advocate for those who are oppressed, exploited, or separated from vital resources. Following the examples of Christ and the Holy Spirit who are called our Advocates in the New Testament, we believe that being an advocate is a Christlike and deeply spiritual way to serve a neighbor in need.
““Sometimes those of us who are closer to the center of our community and its leadership structure might need to advocate for those who are oppressed, exploited, or separated from vital resources.””
Scott White:
Jesus not only advocates for us, but He also repeatedly modeled advocacy to His disciples. He advocated for the sinful woman wetting His feet with her tears while the Pharisee disapproved (Lk 7:36ff). He advocated for the poor widow whose meager offering of two coins was the biggest gift of the day (Mk 12:41-44). Perhaps most famously, He advocated for the adulterous woman whose life hung in the balance before the hypocritical judgment of those in power (Jn 8:2-11). With our focus on the “invisible” within at-risk communities, One Collective’s work regularly involves advocacy. Refugees, street kids, the disabled, women who’ve been trafficked--these and many more are the vulnerable individuals we find who need someone to speak up for them. Advocates find that such actions do not leave themselves unchanged. New courage comes to life. Priorities are reshaped. And self-sacrifice becomes a noticeable characteristic of a cruciform life.
Level 5: Discipling Others
Eric Costanzo:
The fifth level of our approach is Discipling Others. Though many definitions of discipleship are available, we define it as shepherding another person as they grow in Christlikeness through the transforming work of the Gospel, the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, the edification of the Scriptures, and are themselves sent out to replicate this process in the lives of others—to go and make disciples among all nations.
Churches that are growing both spiritually and numerically are consistently talking about discipleship. We can welcome, navigate conflict, build community, and advocate for others without actually discipling others. As a result, we seek to pursue discipleship-oriented goals starting at the first level of welcome by providing several options for spiritual discussions and Bible study groups in multiple locations and formats. Because true discipleship is always tied to spiritual formation, we also want to pray for and pray with those we welcome and serve from an early point and draw them into a process of learning about how to connect with God.
““Churches that are growing both spiritually and numerically are consistently talking about discipleship. We can welcome, navigate conflict, build community, and advocate for others without actually discipling others.””
Scott White:
Jesus making disciples and teaching His followers to do the same is an unmistakable feature of the Gospels. In fact, it’s so fundamental to His ministry that it would make sense to consider it Foundational rather than Focused. Nonetheless, the journey into cross-cultural engagement typically doesn’t start with discipling others.
Some important aspects of growth must first take place in order to be a good disciplemaker. Furthermore, though we don’t often think of the profound impact discipling others has on the life of the disciple-maker, we believe vital aspects of spiritual maturity are unattainable without it. Dependence on God, growing spiritual insight, love for others, spiritual power--all of these and more are the fruit of discipling others. In One Collective reproducible disciple-making is a core part of everything we do. Community-wide transformation won’t happen until more individuals have a life-changing encounter with Jesus and introduce Him to others.
Level 6: Partnership
Eric Costanzo:
The sixth and final level of our church’s cross-cultural ministry strategy is Partnership. Our desire is not to continually practice ministry at others, but rather with them. Our hope and prayer is that we will one day minister alongside those we serve. As the missiologist Lamin Sanneh wrote, “The Church is called to be a great, multiethnic collaboration, as the gospel message of Christ’s kingdom goes ‘from everywhere to everywhere.’”
For true partnership to exist, there must be several shared commitments.
We must be committed to equality—we are one in Christ Jesus.
We must be committed to equity—there are no second-class citizens in Christ’s Kingdom and representation matters. Therefore, each person should have equitable access to resources and the decision-making process.
We must be committed to mutuality—through the Holy Spirit, everyone has something to contribute.
We must be committed to exchange—we grow more in Christ when we grow together and learn from one another.
We must be committed to teamwork—We are only as strong as we are strong together. If one part of the Body rejoices, the whole Body rejoices. If one part suffers, the whole Body suffers with it.
Through partnership, our goal is to connect both believers and churches together so that we can impart the gospel in word and deed together. This helps maintain a clear picture of the beautiful unity and diversity that comes through the Global Church and our shared commitment to fulfilling the Great Commission together. Our prayer continues to be that God would continue to guide us to be faithful to our mission verse from Romans 1:8: “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.”
Scott White:
Jesus’ plan for such Kingdom partnership among His people is perhaps nowhere better seen than in the emerging Gentile mission described in the book of Acts. The Gentile church in Antioch was birthed out of Jewish witness and then further funded the mission of Jewish leaders Paul and Barnabas. As Gentile churches were planted, they participated in support for the Jerusalem church as their Jewish brothers and sisters suffered through famine.
Healthy cross-cultural partnership reveals the universal greatness of God beyond a national deity. Such partnership allows us to re-examine the elements of our faith through the perspective of our culturally-different sisters and brothers. Our theology is thereby refined and enlarged. One Collective’s model requires partnership and starts by identifying ways God is already at work through local changemakers. An engagement strategy is developed together so that our role becomes one of empowering local initiative. We’ve found this to be a key to long-term sustainability.
Reflecting on the experience at South Tulsa Baptist Church has taken us back to the Scripture to look again at Jesus’ own strategy. We’ve discovered that He charged His disciples with a mission that crossed cultural barriers not just because of His love for all peoples. Built into His strategy of cross-cultural engagement were essential experiences and practices designed to shape His followers to be like Him. Perhaps He believed that without regularly and deeply involving His followers in cross-cultural Kingdom work, they would not be fitted for the Kingdom they were inheriting.
At One Collective, we customize partnerships to include strategic opportunities for engagement, and we know that God uses each opportunity for personal growth in those willing to become involved. Whether people go short-term or long-term, or serve through prayer initiatives or virtual experiences, we seek to create resources and pathways where growth is maximized.
Read part 1 of this article, where we explore the first 3 elements of this framework by clicking below.