Utumishi Blog

“Most Christian programmes separate mission from discipleship, creating a faulty understanding of discipleship and mission. The significance of iServe Africa is that it is built on the understanding that discipleship is about mission and mission about discipleship. What blessing that young people can be helped to learn this early in their lives! I highly commend iServe Africa to Churches and Christian groups passionate about discipling young people.”  (Dr. David Zac Niringiye, Bishop of the Church of Uganda)

Isn’t that a brilliant observation? “Discipleship is about mission and mission about discipleship.”  You see that in Luke 9:57-62, at the beginning of the central journey-to-Jerusalem section of Luke: following Jesus = going and proclaiming the kingdom of God.  And then at the beginning of Philippians, the letter wisely chosen as the content of the Discipleship Explored course, Lesson #1: the Philippians were mission partners with Paul (praying, preaching, suffering, supporting) from day one! (Phil. 1:3-7)  Let’s think – what happens when we divorce mission and discipleship?  What do we end up thinking about mission and who does it and how we train for it?  And what do we end up thinking the Christian life is all about?

What God has joined together, let no man…