The church multiplication momentum, evidenced by the growing number of Wesleyans attending Exponential, is being launched for discipleship. More than 101 Wesleyans attended the first official discipleship shoulder event on June 24, held in conjunction with the Amplify Conference in Chicago, Illinois.
“Discipleship, foundational to our Strategic Focus and the unleashing of a Wesleyan Kingdom Force, is so multifaceted we felt it important to establish a foothold for The Wesleyan Church by partnering with Amplify,” said Kim Gladden, director of Discipleship. “Our expectations were exceeded as Wesleyans representing all types of ministries gathered, shared, learned, worshiped and celebrated how God is working through discipleship.”
Multiple speakers addressed the five TWC Discipleship prompts – Intentional, Relational, Holistic, Multiplying and Lifelong – during the four-hour shoulder event. Attendees progressed from The Wesleyan Church shoulder event into the Amplify Conference.
“The strength of shoulder events is to provide context for our Wesleyan sisters and brothers as they learn about various discipleship models and methods,” Gladden said. “We define effective discipleship as incorporating the five prompts celebrating the variety and uniqueness of each ministry that results in disciples making disciples.”
Seven conference workshops were led by TWC lay and clergy representatives sharing the Wesleyan voice even more broadly with Amplify attendees.
“We are already looking ahead to next year’s conference,” said Gladden, “building on this one and the many discipleship connection points we offer throughout the year, including resources shared at https://www.wesleyan.org/discipleship and through our Discipleship Conversations.”
