A Space to Be Formed

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An Invitation for Our Leaders

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There is an unsettledness beneath the activity of ministry that many of us carry: the kind that doesn't come from busyness alone, but from the slow realization that we've been forming churchgoers more than disciples. We love the people. We serve faithfully. We've built good programmes. We've delivered faithful teaching. And yet… something is missing. We want to reorganise our lives and the way we do church around how a human heart actually becomes like Jesus.

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Dallas Willard put it gently but honestly: the modern church suffers not from a lack of desire to become Christlike, but from a lack of a curriculum for Christlikeness. We know what a disciple is. We've forgotten how to become one.

 

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How Jesus Actually Did It

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Jesus didn't give His disciples a curriculum filled with information. He invited them into a curriculum for Christlikeness, an apprenticeship in the way of the kingdom. He showed them how to live with God at the centre of ordinary days.

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He walked dusty roads with them. He broke bread in ordinary homes. He withdrew to lonely places and invited them to follow. He demonstrated how to see the image of God in the faces of children, tax collectors, and lepers. He sent them out in pairs to practise, then gathered them back to debrief over fish and bread. In all of these, he weaved teaching, practice, and community into the texture of life together, and slowly formed his disciples into people of love.

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This is the pattern we're returning to: a way of being together that trains us to hear and do what Jesus said, until His way becomes our way.

 

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Our Values: Communion, Sanctification, Mission
 

At Charis, we describe the way of Jesus using three values that drive our posture and priorities, and these in turn form the rhythms we inhabit:

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• Communion — being with Jesus. The unforced rhythm of abiding.

• Sanctification — becoming like Jesus. Spirit-empowered counter-formation.

• Mission — doing as Jesus did. Joining Jesus in His mission in the world.

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And how does a disciple of Jesus become this kind of person? Through our intentional formation triangle: teaching that renews the mind, practices that trains our habits, and community that shapes our walk—all immersed in the Holy Spirit's quiet work, unfolding over time, often through suffering. Such is the ancient way of becoming people of love that we hope is at the centre of Charis’ existence.

 

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What This Journey Asks of You
 

This isn't another leadership training. It's an invitation to receive before you lead again. In other words, we’re not gathering to learn about discipleship. We’re gathering to be disciples, together. To let Jesus re-form us so we can, in turn, form others.
 

It asks for:

1. Your presence – to show up on nine evenings between April and July.

2. Your honesty – to share your successes and struggles, and perhaps even be honest about the secrets you keep.

3. Your commitment – to try ancient practices (solitude, Examen, sabbath) even when it feels foreign.

4. Your willingness – to simply say, "I'm not sure I know how to become like Jesus but I want to experience it with others."

 

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Who We Sense God Is Inviting
 

If you’re reading this, it’s likely not by accident. We’re prayerfully gathering LCEC members, zone leaders, small group leaders, and follow-up mentors, not because you have it all together (none of us do), but because you understand that you’ve been entrusted by Jesus to the work of shaping souls. And the most powerful gift you can give those you lead isn't your competence. It's your authenticity: a leader being true to the formation intent of Jesus.

 

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The Details
 

Evenings:
April 15, 22, 29 | May 13, 20 | June 24 | July 8, 15, 22
6:30pm – dinner together (come as you are; no need to rush)
7:30–9:30pm – Discipleship community (based on Practicing the Way Course)

Where: Charis Methodist Church, Oasis
Cost: None

 

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An Invitation

This isn't a requirement. It's an invitation to spend nine evenings to simply be with Jesus alongside others who lead; to rediscover that the goal of ministry isn't effectiveness but union with Christ. And from that place, everything else flows.
 

If something in you stirred as you read this; if you've wondered whether you're forming disciples or just managing ministry, sit with that thought. Pray a simple prayer: "Jesus, are You inviting me here?"

And if the answer feels like a yes, take the next small step.​​​