My Disciple Making Story
My Disciple Making Story
My name is Ray Cardwell. I grew up in a religious home, went to church every Sunday. But then during my Senior year in High School, through the faithful efforts of our Youth Pastor, I came to understand my need for a Savior. I trusted in Christ for salvation and received His gift of eternal life.
Moments after trusting in Christ, I was shown Matthew 4:4:
“…man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
My life changed. I developed a hunger and love for the Word of God that has blessed me over these last 45 years. I have had the privilege to sit under the ministry of amazing Bible teachers and grow in my walk with the Lord.
I have been blessed with three careers; serving in the Coast Guard, serving as a computer consultant, and over the last 20 years serving in full time ministry. In 2013 I had the privilege of leading a group of folks to plant a church in the Dulles South area of Loudoun county, VA. This is really where my DM journey started. I had been counseled by a missionary that the key to a successful church plant is a culture of making disciples. I thought I knew what that meant, turns out, I had a ways to go.
As the lead pastor of a new church plant, I was fixated on answering two questions:
- What exactly does God expect of every believer?
- What exactly does God expect of the local church?
If I could not give a solid answer to those questions, I had no business leading a church. Through the next 4 years of searching, God, gave me solid answers.
Every believer is an Ambassador of Jesus Christ. We are to represent Him, in whatever our sphere of influence. 2 Cor 5:20-21; 1 Peter 2:9
Every local church is an Embassy, a support facility for the ambassadors that assemble there. The church provides training, support, care and protection for each ambassador, such that each ambassador can fulfill their respective mission to represent Jesus within their sphere of influence. Heb 10:23-25; Eph 4:11-13
These answers pretty much blew apart my view of church and ministry. The attractional church model, of trying to get lost people to come to church, is in direct opposition to the Biblical model. I love church. I love everything about church, the music, the teaching, the retreats, the events, the children’s ministries, all of it. I am really good at doing church. But Jesus did not call us to do church.
My role as a pastor must be to encourage folks to embrace their role as Ambassadors and equip them to fulfill that calling effectively. In year 5 of the journey, along comes David Nelms of The Timothy Initiative.
- “The Church we read about in the book of Acts, is happening today in Asia and Africa.”
- “Every believer is called to be a disciple who makes disciples who makes disciples.”
The Holy Spirit took those words and penetrated the depths of my soul. This brought the next two questions:
- What exactly is a Disciple of Jesus Christ?
- What does making disciples look like in our cultural context?
Over the next 3 years, I was fixated on finding solid answers. This web site is one of the results of my ongoing journey to become a skilled disciple maker. May the Lord bless and guide our efforts as we seek to walk worthy of our calling. Col 1:9-12