Pray, Team and Assess make up the Foundation. It is absolutely vital that these dynamics be in place to begin and to sustain an effective process of Intentional Disciplemaking in the church.
- Pray – The Foundation of the Process begins with Prayer. We first address the prayer life of the leaders; re-invigorating them in developing intimacy with the Lord, renewing their Quiet Times. In addition, creating a corporate prayer focus for the church’s mission and vision is critical. Regular updates on the progress by the leaders provide additional motivation to pray and to be part of the process by the congregation.
- Team – Teaming is very important for the leaders. Out of a strong devotional practice, one’s understanding and security in their design emerges. At the beginning of teambuilding is understanding one’s own design and gifted contribution and that of others as well. Teaming must be strong among the leaders to handle the stresses they will encounter and to be able to come to agreement on critical issues and live in unity.
- Asses – Assessment is essential to benchmark church health and effectiveness. It also will reveal the disciplemaking needs of the church. As the church moves through the IDC Process, additional assessment needs to be done to measure progress. In addition, assessment needs to continue at regular intervals to provide vital information to the church leaders to continue to aid them in leading the church to be effective and intentional.
If we were merely bringing an organizational process to the church, then the foundation components would not be a necessity. But what we are after is a lot more significant than that. It is a systemic spiritual change and alignment of all ministries of the church with the Great Commandment, to love God, and the Great Commission, to make disciples.