A key aspect of church leadership is helping new or inexperienced believers grow in their faith; in other words, to make disciples. Weekend services, small groups, and mentoring volunteers are a few examples of how church leaders can disciple believers.
Discipleship is certainly an activity that involves personal interaction. However, technology can assist us in the discipleship process. How? Here are a few examples:
1) Provide a clear path
If I was new to your church, would I quickly be able to see how to get involved? Consider asking a few people who’ve recently joined your church to get their input. If the path wasn’t clear for them, decide what information you could add to your church’s app. Include notifications to people who download the app for the first time and mention how to get involved in a small group or how to sign up for a new believers class.
2) Make it easy to sign up
Don’t make people navigate a maze of instructions to get involved in discipleship opportunities. If getting involved at your church starts by signing up for a membership class or orientation, make signing up easy to do through your church’s mobile app.
What’s the next step after an orientation class?
- Do you want people to sign up to serve?
- Should they enroll in a new believers class?
- Do you offer small groups?
Whatever options you have available, provide information and the ability to sign up through the app.
3) Offer a custom Bible reading plan
It’s easy to attend a service on Sunday morning and not retain what you’ve learned into the following week. Combat that issue by inviting your congregation to read the Bible together through a custom reading plan on your app. Make the plan coincide with a passage of Scripture or a topical study you’re covering in a message series. This gives people the opportunity to carry the message from Sunday into the rest of their week.
Helping followers of Christ progress from new believers to more mature Christians isn’t a quick or easy endeavor. However, we have many options available to us with technology to connect with people using a device they always have with them – their phone. Use this as an initial connection point to help people get involved and grow in their faith.