How Discipleship Impacts Our Witness

Researching for my latest book project, I have read several works about the deconstruction movement and rise of the “nones.” These are those who do not align with any religious faith, describing their belief as “none.” Many are young people who no longer identify with the church.

In an article in the Courier (a monthly SC Baptist publication), the writer references a recent Pew Research study that details two primary reasons the Nones cite for their nonreligious beliefs: (1) dislike of religious institutions and (2) bad experiences with religious people (Todd Deaton, Courier, March 2024, 14).

In the article, Chad Stillwell, director of SCBaptists’ Share Team said this: “Followers of Jesus must be different. Non-Christians are not pushed away by Christians who are living in spirit and truth. They are offended by half-hearted followers who claim Jesus but behave like the culture” (Deaton, 15).

The truth is that faithful disciples can indeed repel non-Christians because the gospel is offensive to those who are perishing. Just as often, however, people are discouraged by the lack of biblical character within the church, and that is what I want to address.

I have found this to be true in my conversations with young women who either identify as having no religious affiliation or say they believe in God but do not associate with any church fellowship. They often cite experiences with church people that do not represent biblical truth.

Stillwell went on to say, “Young people see the truth in the way we live. They know fakes and counterfeits. The two ways to better disciple our young adults are to be better disciples ourselves and to intentionally engage them” (Deaton, 15).

This statement struck a loud chord in me because this lack of intentional and consistent discipleship is the motivating factor behind the ministry of Grounded and Growing. My desire is to encourage women to commit to discipleship, not only for the sake of their own personal journeys, but because of the impact their spiritual growth will have on the generations coming behind them.

I often see on social media this idea that if people are falling away from the church because they were disappointed in church people then they had a misplaced faith. And while I certainly agree that our faith must be in Christ alone, I do not believe that the church can ignore our own witness as an encouragement (or discouragement) to those around us.

Followers of Jesus are called to be salt, light, a city on a hill, testifying to the truth of who God is by our very lives (Matthew 5:13-16). Jesus commanded us to be His witnesses to the world (Acts 1:8). The Greek word translated “witness” is martys, which can mean a witness in a legal sense (someone who testifies as an eyewitness), in a historical sense (a spectator of an event) and in an ethical sense (those whose example testifies of the genuineness of their faith, even unto death, which is where we get the word martyr).

So, how do we live our lives in such a way while we still struggle with sin ourselves?

Discipleship.

We must be intentional about growing our relationship with God. And I know we all have many reasons we struggle to do so (lack of time, lack of focus, lack of understanding), but the truth is that we will put forth the effort to do the things we deem important. And discipleship is not just important; it is essential.

When we take the time daily to be quiet and still with God, to engage with His Word, to converse with Him through prayer, and to search our hearts for any unconfessed sin, the Holy Spirit will convict us and draw us to repentance. This drawing near to God and turning away from sin will compel us to humbly confess that sin to others so that when we mess up before those who are watching, we may demonstrate to them the grace of God in action.

In his book Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God, Timothy Keller wrote: “Only when we see both the freeness and the cost of forgiveness will we get relief from the guilt as well as liberation from the power of sin in our lives” (208). He goes on to say that repentance “is the key to growing deeply and steadily into the character of Christ” (208).

Keller explains that the free gift of God’s grace gives us the assurance and security to avoid legalism and run freely to Christ when we sin. Yet the costliness of God’s grace is what compels us to forsake sin that we might please our Lord.

Only when believers are intentionally spending time with God and seeking to grow their faith will they mature and walk in the humility and holiness that point to the gospel. We cannot be half-hearted followers who intellectually assent that God is real yet live in a way that compromises the truth of the gospel.

Discipleship impacts our witness; therefore, we must be disciples: fully devoted followers and learners of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Then we must actively and intentionally engage with our culture in a way that shows them the truth of who Jesus is. Only then can we begin to impact this growing generation of nones with a faith that is real.

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