As he was about to return to heaven, Jesus commanded his followers to “make disciples of the nations.” In obedience to that commission, we at Bay Park, are committed to nurture “fully devoted followers of Jesus.”
Dallas Willard beautifully clarifies what discipleship is all about:
“. . . a disciple, or apprentice, is simply someone who has decided to be with another person, under appropriate conditions, in order to become capable of doing what that person does or to become what that person is."
How does that apply to discipleship with Jesus? What is it, exactly, that he, the incarnate Lord does? What, if you wish, is he “good at”? The answer is found in the Gospels: he lives the life of the kingdom of God and he applies that kingdom for the good of others and even makes it possible for them to enter it for themselves. The deeper theological truths about his person and his work do not detract from this simple point. It is what he calls us to by saying “Follow me.” . . . .
And as a disciple of Jesus, I am with him by choice and by grace, learning from him how to live in the Kingdom of God. This is the crucial idea. That means, we recall, how to live within the range of God’s effective will, his life flowing through mine. Another important way of putting this is to say that I am learning from Jesus to live my life as he would live my life if he were I. I am not necessarily learning to do everything that he did, but I am learning to do everything that I do in the manner that he did all that he did. (The Divine Conspiracy, New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1998, 282-283)
With this in view, we try to create an environment that fosters both the desire and the ability to live as Jesus would live. Through a range of activities such as Sunday worship, small groups, Life Long learning seminars and modules, and personal growth sessions, opportunity is provided to learn to live your faith. This website provides you with a description of a number of different options that you can participate in to help you “keep your roots deep in Him, build your lives on Him, and become stronger in your faith” (Col 2:7). We look forward to growing together with you.
