“I’ve begun to view the gospel as a verb, not just a noun (“gospeling” each other), and have become more fluent with it. It also helped me think through my own personal story and how it relates to God’s Greater story (Creation – Fall – Redemption – Re-Creation).”

We’ve shared a number of times that we began “piloting” a new kind of group earlier in the year, focused on making disciples by becoming more “fluent” in the Gospel, and applying it to the rhythms of everyday life. Using a great, new resource – The Gospel Primer – we met weekly to share life together, eat good food, and work through the material that led us through God’s Greater Story, where our own personal stories fit, and how to better share this story with those around us.

Rather than summarizing our experience in my own words, I thought I’d let those who participated speak for themselves. Here is some of their feedback and some key takeaways – as we consider spawning similar pilot groups in the coming weeks and months. If you’d like to know more about one of these groups, or this material, contact myself or Mark Irving, our Pastor of Adult Discipleship.

1. What did this pilot group experience mean to you personally – in your own spiritual growth and gospel journey?

“For me, this pilot group revealed to me what discipleship is all about – following and imitating the Master. I just need to be intentional with the activities I am already currently engaged in, (e.g. eating with each other).”

“It helped me put some language and practicality behind what it means to actually live out the gospel in my neighborhood.”

“I subconsciously believe I’m not worthy, and therefore am constantly working to show myself worthy.  This study didn’t take the struggle away but rather has helped me name the struggle so that I can address it by reminding myself that God is Gracious.”

“This group introduced me to the idea that ‘Gospeling’ can be done everywhere in your life…”

“Being a part of this pilot group shook up my comfortable Christianity and lit a fire in me to be a servant missionary in every area of my life.  It opened my eyes to what a treasure every person is to God  – and we have the pleasure of joining Him and a beautiful diverse body of Christ in His restorative kingdom work.”

“It’s like we have this secret every day mission and now we get to go and live it out together, in our brokenness and dependence on Christ. There is a renewed hope in being part of something much bigger than me and knowing God is in control and I’m not alone.”

2. What was one key takeaway from the Gospel Primer that you would want to share with others?

“The 4 G’s about God – He is Great, Gracious, Good, and Glorious. These four attributes of God really summarize who He is and help me to stay focused and trust Him for not just my salvation, but daily life.”

“The 4 G’s were really helpful to connect the character of God with my daily life. Also ‘Gospel Listening’ for Gods redemptive story in my conversations and in my own life.”

“The one thing that really got to me was that I’m not as fluent with telling God’s story as I think I am.”

“I was reminded of how critical it is for me to pay attention to my thoughts and heart throughout the day in order to reveal what I’m believing or not believing about God – so that I can remind myself what is true and ask God’s Spirit to help me to trust Him.”

3. What was most impactful in this gospel-centered pilot group experience?

“The foundation of the Gospel – to make disciples.”

“Loved the daily/weekly format and the rhythm of it. I thought it was strong on framing up gospel identity and fluency and providing a ‘shared language’ for all of us.”

“It helped me think through conversations differently and reminded me that we are just vessels; it’s God’s job to turn hearts toward Him.” 

“This experience reminded us of our identity – who we are in Christ – and gave us an every day language to understand what it looks like to live in close community and be known by each other – trusting in His work, not in our effort.”

“It taught us how to look at what we are already doing and invite others to join us, making serving and discipleship an everyday practice – rather than making people feel like a project.”

“Hearing fellow group members share their stories and sharing my own in light of the gospel and God’s Greater Story. Powerful and transformative.”

“Coming to the understanding that my struggles in feeling worthy are founded in my disbelief in who God is and who He says I am.”

“Reminding me to get out of my cave (house) and share life and my love for Christ with others.”

“The tangible experience of gathering to eat weekly and applying Gospel principles with each other was most compelling because I sometimes regard weekly bible studies or meetings as another thing to take me from “the stuff of life”.  After going through the Gospel Primer with this group, I have the perspective that our family has to eat any way, so why don’t I invite others to join us?”  

It has been amazing to witness the “aha’s” and genuine enthusiasm around engaging ideas like “gospel fluency”, identity, “gospel listening” and the power of our stories in light of God’s Greater Story. (And no doubt, a big part of it is simply being around great people sharing stories about how they’ve been changed!) If you’d be interested in exploring The Gospel Primer or joining another pilot group, connect with either Mark Irving or myself.

For Greater Gospel Fluency,

Brian Petak

Photo Credit: David Amsler
Photo License: Creative Commons 2.0