Commission On Discipleship

Charles T. Crabtree
commissioner

In 2006, the Executive Presbytery made the decision to place the Commission on Discipleship in the office of the assistant general superintendent for the following reasons:

1. To raise and maintain the visibility of discipleship as an integral part of the threefold mission of the church.
2. To place direct responsibility for the ministry of discipleship in the hands of an executive officer.
3. To bring systemic continuity to the ministry of discipleship by making the assistant general superintendent the Commissioner on Discipleship.

The Commission on Discipleship has two departments under its purview. One is the Department of Christian Education and Sunday School which is led by one of our most capable leaders, Wes Bartel. He and his team have been superb to work with and are the reason for the growth in Sunday School attendance. This department will be responsible for Home and Church Bible Studies as well. The systematic study of God’s Word by everyone in the Assemblies of God is an absolute must in these days when truth is under attack and deception is multiplying.

The Department of Small Groups and Discipleship Initiatives is presently being coordinated by a very capable lady, Rebecca Gullion, who has earned the respect of everyone who works with her. Her office is responsible for the Discipleship website, working with Gospel Publishing House to produce the finest small group materials, maintaining the number and integrity of our small group model churches, and other assignments. Thank you, Rebecca, for an excellent job.

The Commission has met with me face-to-face only once, but I have used the members on a personal basis often for insight and input. They are a wonderful group of dedicated practitioners who want to see the Assemblies of God become a leader in discipleship.

During this General Council, I will have the privilege of speaking directly to the Fellowship on the present state and future of discipleship, so I will not attempt to articulate more details in this report except to call your attention to the fact I have written a book entitled Transformational Discipleship with supporting video training for leadership. In addition, there are some wonderful new resources available to you. Let’s get ready to change the world through Spirit-filled disciples.