Houston Herald

July 2020
A publication of
Houston Baptist Association
Reaching Our World For Christ
From Your Associational Mission Strategist
How would you define Discipleship? I suppose that many people that have been involved in the church for many years would give a pretty accurate definition of discipleship, but the question that needs to be asked are we as churches known for making Disciples? I recently came across two definitions from a book I have been reading (Replicate) that defines discipleship and disciple- making in this way: 

Discipleship is intentionally equipping believers with the Word of God through accountable relationships empowered by the Holy Spirit in order to replicate faithful followers of Christ. 

Disciple-making is intentionally entering into someone’s life to help them know and follow Jesus (evangelism) and teach them to obey His commands (discipleship). 

I am in full agreement with these definitions and when I think about it, I wonder how many churches in America are Disciple-making churches? I ask this question because if churches fully understood discipleship and were known for being a disciple-making church, we would see our churches growing instead of declining. When I was a child growing up in the church, my family was actively involved in the discipleship program of the church. This of course was what churches called discipleship at the time. But the key to understanding discipleship, however, is that it is not a program but rather it is a process. I believe we are at the greatest time in our lives to begin to really make disciples and not just through attending a class, but to encourage mature Christians to begin to disciple a group of 3 or 4 people for at least a year and teach them the biblical principles of the word of God and encourage them to become faithful followers of Christ. This has been proven to be the best way to multiply and grow believers and in turn grow the Kingdom of God. My prayer is that our churches will evaluate where they are at in the area of discipleship. If a church discovers that they need to put a stronger emphasis on discipleship, I would love to meet with any Pastor and their leaders and give them some great resources on where to begin this process!

I am praying for each Pastor and congregation especially as we continue to understand how to have great ministries in the midst of this pandemic. I believe God is giving us a great opportunity to be fully committed to sharing the Gospel and helping people to become committed followers of Christ!

Bro. Gary

Church
News


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Please pray for

■Asssociational Missionary Gary Leutzinger
■Church planters Drew and Shannon Cunningham, Santa Cruz Area, California
■Pregnancy Care Center
■Lost and unchurched people
■Revival in HBA churches
■Unity in our churches and unity among our churches
■Churches without pastors
■TV ministries of Cordele First, and Pinecrest churches 
■Our schools, teachers and students
■Raymond Gibbs
■Tony Knox
■Pittsburgh Mission Team
■All the events and activities mentioned in this newsletter

Church Positions Available

Smyrna Baptist Church is seeking a Music Director. Job Description is as follows : Must have music related experience, ability to work with different age levels, and must be cooperative with pastor. Primary function will be to provide leadership of the church’s Music ministry. Responsibilities and duties include: Direct music for Sunday services, revivals and other church related activities, be responsible for Special Music for both services and for seasonal musicals, direct adult and children’s choirs. There is one week paid vacation and absence on special occasions as arranged with the church music committee. Call (229) 268-6852 or send resumes to P.O. Box 382 Vienna GA 31092

Please contact the HBC at 229-273-4127 if you would like to feature an available church position in the monthly newsletter.

Opportunities
coming up

Houston Baptist Association events are printed in bold. HBC is an abbreviation for Houston Baptist Center.



July 26 Southern Baptist Media Day
One-Day Total Church Equipping Conference
Premieres Online August 28
Blood Drives
What to do with all those old Sunday School books?  

Don’t throw them away–bring them to HBC

Bring your old SS literature to Houston Baptist Center. Chad Harris will take it to a Edwin L. Hodges Ministries collection site to send overseas. ELHM is a Christian literature ministry that collects donated Bibles, books, magazines, tapes, and tracts from American Christians and ships them to Bible schools, churches, missionaries, and ministries overseas. ELHM is a non-denominational, nonprofit, evangelical ministry.
Partner with Lifetouch to create a no cost, updateable directory for your leadership, staff and families and start 2018 with new tools to help your church stay connected.
Be a Church Host or Volunteer in times of disaster!
If you would like your church news or events featured in the Houston Herald please send it to [email protected]