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At its core, the term disciple refers to one who is a life long learner. In the context of the Christian faith, a disciple is one who is an apprentice of Jesus; a life long learner of what it means to love as he loved and to live as he lived. People who have made a decision to become a follower of Christ let him lead the way in what it means to be part of the 'new humanity' that Jesus came to establish. As we learn from Jesus what it truly means to be human we learn to live all of life out of the context of God's love for us and for the whole world. There is so much that is wrong about religion and yet so much that is right about who Jesus is and what He came to teach about how life ought to be and how it can be.
Discipleship Ministries at VAC is about helping people in their faith journey to find healing, freedom and growth in Christ and in the community of fellow believers. One of the characteristics that describe the body of Christ (the church) is ‘brokenness’. We believe that there is something fundamentally wrong with the world we live in and with every individual who is born into this world. The evidence is all around us as we look at war torn countries, the addictive nature of humankind, communities ravaged by famine and disease, and natural disasters that devastate cities and families and economies. When Jesus came into the world he came to establish a kingdom of hope; a kingdom of light and love and peace. Through very imperfect people he came to show us what it means to be this new humanity which tears down barriers and builds bridges through love, compassion and sacrifice. The church has not always lived up to the mandate given by Christ, but God works out his purposes in this world in spite of all our imperfections and failures. Discipleship Ministries is an attempt to help us orient our lives around Jesus and to trust him to accomplish his work through us, his imperfect followers.
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