If Sunday is the primary focus, the rest of what we do feeds off it. When we meet up, we are doing discipleship. We are modelling to people how, in this setting apart from Sunday, we think about whatever is before us biblically. We model how we act with our families.

When it comes to discipleship, there is no shortage of courses or things that people are quick to tell you are definitely needed for this group or that group. Don’t mishear me, sometimes those courses or suggested things are helpful. They may well be worth using. But it also pays to remember that, throughout its history, the church has managed just fine without them, which suggests – helpful as they may be – they probably aren’t vital.

In truth, the church has had a fairly solid, long-standing, reasonably successful discipleship programme. For the most part, that revolved around Sunday. It is the main gathering of the Sunday meetings of the church that has been the church’s long-term discipleship strategy. That is where the bible has been read, preached, sung, prayed and made visible in the ordinances. It is where the training of God’s people has primarily taken place.

When it comes to talk of discipleship, people often quickly gloss over this. Of course we will do stuff on Sunday but we want to talk about discipleship. As if what happens on Sunday isn’t discipleship. As if it isn’t the God-given primary means of discipleship. Not only should we not overlook what happens each Sunday, we should really be building our discipleship programmes around it.

The principal means of growth for God’s people is the corporate gathering of God’s people. It is in the word preached, the songs sung, the prayers prayed, the communion shared and the service enacted as the church comes together.

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