Sarasota Alliance Church

The Foundation for Spiritual Growth...

Discipleship is relational; just as Jesus developed his disciples by spending time with them, we are called to intentionally make disciples who will, in turn, make disciples of others. While discipleship is taught, it must be modeled and lived out in the context of a relationship. As a church, we encourage these core relationships to happen in 3 different contexts:
 

1. Families.  God established the home as the foundational unit of society, and calls parents to reproduce their faith in their children.  While the church has many programs and ministries to teach children and enable them to become mature Christians, the best context for learning to follow Jesus is a family where parents live out their faith, both teaching and modeling what it means to become a committed follower of Jesus Christ.
    
2. One-on-one discipling relationships.   This kind of intentional discipleship is the basis of establishing new believers in the faith, teaching them the basics of living a fruitful and productive Christian life, incorporating them into the church, and equipping them to disciple others.  These relationships are limited to approximately 3 months, after which the new disciple should be connected with Small Groups, Biblical Communities, and the Church Worship Celebration.  By being involved as either a disciple or a discipler, believers at all levels of Christian maturity are encouraged and equipped to be active in fulfilling the Great Commission.
    
3. Mentoring.  Mentoring relationships are those where one individual or a small group of individuals spend focused time with another person or small group to prepare them for new roles and develop specific skills, such as teaching a class, leading small groups, or preparing couples for marriage.  Mentoring was the method Jesus used to train his 12 disciples

All believers need to have these types of Core Relationships in order to become all that God intends, first as a disciple, then as a discipler and mentor of others.  Personal discipling relationships are essential for establishing, nurturing, and multiplying healthy relationships with the Lord and His people.