An “Immersion I” training event, to be held June 7-8 at Trinity Point Church, Easley, will provide interactive training to multiply disciples in a relational environment. The discipleship event will equip attendees to define their role as a disciple, assess their leadership, create positive change and cast a vision.
The Immersion model was developed in a church in Idaho. A strategically developed discipleship model has been designed for South Carolina Baptist churches to implement, which provides the basis of the Immersion I training material.
“After being exposed to this model of discipleship, my response was ‘where have you been all my life?’ It lines up with how Jesus made disciples, which was through a relational environment,” said Tracy Turner, collegiate campus minister to Spartanburg-area schools.
Turner said the Immersion principles have given his collegiate ministry groups a lot of momentum. “We started with three or four groups two years ago, and this fall we will have about 30 discipleship groups meeting. My ultimate prayer is that these college students will be multipliers for the rest of their lives. For church leaders to embrace this could truly be revolutionary,” Turner said.
Michael Mohler, pastor of host church Trinity Point, has implemented the Immersion method principles in his own church and will be training during the event. “You cannot make disciples apart from a relational environment and without authentically knowing people. As Christ made disciples in the early church, it began in homes where they shared their lives together. We will look at how this plays into making disciples,” Mohler said.
Storytelling is taught in the Immersion process. Jim Simpson, discipleship and prayer strategist, SCBC, said Jesus was personally invested in the lives of the disciples and taught through parables and stories so that the disciples could easily reproduce what they heard as they shared the good news. Discipleship came first.
“Many times the church has a primary focus on cultivating leadership. Before someone can become spiritually mature enough to be a leader, they must be a disciple,” Simpson said.
“This is the first conference that was worth my time, effort, and finances,” Mohler said. “This will be challenging in the way we are ‘doing church’ by asking if we are really making disciples. If that’s what Christ is calling us to do, let’s hold ourselves to those standards. Let’s identify what that is, how you do it, and how to make more,” Mohler said.
Groups that complete Immersion I may request information about Immersion II, which offers customized training for church discipleship teams.
Registration for the South Carolina Baptist Convention-sponsored event is $75 per person for South Carolina Baptist church members and $100 per person for all others. Lodging is not included. For more information, or to register: 800-723-7242 (ext. 4021), or www.scbaptist.org. – SCBC