Acts 2:41 states that “those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” What a beautiful thing! The apostle Peter preached the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and 3,000 souls believed, repented, baptized and were saved, joining the church in a single day!
In the Lebanon Church of Christ, this verse inspired a vision to see many people saved at the same time. We know that “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few,” so we decided to create a class called “Deep Roots,” which began in October 2018. The primary goal was to train Kingdom workers to be prepared to do the First Principles (salvation studies) and to bring their friends with them to the class. However, we experienced other benefits as well:
- Their friends who attended the class received help from the entire church. Although one person was leading the class, the rest were involved in building relationships.
- Few disciples had the talent to teach and preach, but all were productive in fellowship and follow-up process. The person preparing the lesson couldn’t follow-up with everyone, but the other members could.
- When their friends came to church, they knew everyone! Their friendships and sense of belonging facilitated their decision to become disciples and be part of the body of Christ.
Due to those benefits, we witnessed a growth of 25% in our church in the last year, with 15 baptisms. With many joining the church at the same time came the urge to complete the requirements of the Great Commandment: to keep teaching the newly baptized sisters and brothers till the day Jesus comes again (Matthew 28:18-20). So we began a “Deeper Roots” class (Second Principles) to help new disciples deepen their relationship with God, acquire the habits that make them stable and well-founded in their faith, and be more like Jesus.
We all know that growth is a process that doesn’t come naturally. It takes time, discipline, energy and determination. It begins in spiritual infancy where new disciples need full nourishment and care from others. To reach adulthood, disciples need to learn how to study the Bible, become men or women of prayer, belong to the family of Christ and grow in their giving hearts. The “Deeper Roots” sessions united the old and new disciples in building on the rock of Jesus to stand stronger against the storms of life and the attacks of the Enemy.