Before Jesus left to go back to heaven, He gave His followers specific instructions to go into the world and make disciples. So that’s what they did. With the help of the Holy Spirit, they told everyone who would listen what God had done for them through Jesus and how they could now have an eternal relationship with Him. As more and more people came to believe, the early church was born and grew from city to city.
The apostles also had the responsibility to instruct the new disciples in all that Jesus had told them. They faithfully passed this information on as the church gathered, usually in homes, to learn, and to encourage each other, and to live life together. Five of the apostles also began writing letters that could be passed from home to home and city to city and eventually throughout the world. These twenty-one letters were filled with clear teaching about what God had done through Jesus, and also practical instruction on how a true disciple of Jesus should live.
Thousands of new believers became disciples of Jesus and began the adventure of living for Him and like Him. Their story – the teachings they heard and taught, the challenges they faced, the transformation they experienced, the amazing work they did – is found in the letters of the New Testament.
This particular StoryBoard – Making Disciples – is unique from all the others in a very awesome way. Though the letters of the New Testament were all written within a sixty-year span of time, the era of making disciples continues today. Almost 2,000 years later, we are still living in this time of history! The good news is still being passed from person to person. New disciples are still being made. God is still waiting for all those who will believe to come into a relationship with Him. And this era will continue until the day that God has planned for the final StoryBoard to begin.
Making Disciples
everything I have commanded you.”