Dean RidingsChurch Discipleship Ministry "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19a).
Ministry in the Colorado Rocky Mountains
I'm pleased to serve as a representative of The Navigators' Church Discipleship Ministry in the Rocky Mountain Region. Here's a picture of what that ministry looks like.
One of my primary responsibilities is serving on the national leadership team of a Navigator ministry called Dangerous Man Day as well as being point man for the event when it's held in Colorado Springs. Dangerous Man Day is a ministry to men to help them be "a danger for good, for God, as men." Presently we're preparing for DMD 2012 in Denver—to learn more, go to
www.dangerousman.org. One session I lead is a workshop titled "Men Discipling Men." Jesus gave us one "Great Commission," and I want to do all I can in this generation to help people understand and respond to the call!
In addition to my involvement in Dangerous Man Day, I assist pastors and church leaders in thinking how they can be intentional about discipleship in their own lives and to help others do the same. I also lead Bible studies and speak at such men's events as annual retreats and periodic breakfasts.
Since my CDM ministry primarily takes place during evenings and weekends, I'm able to serve during weekdays with Focus on the Family and also teach part time at Colorado Christian University.
How I Serve with The Navigators
My heart for making disciples goes back to the late 1980s when I co-led a class at Reston Bible Church in Virginia on the topic. Not long after that, I developed a disciple-making approach I call Side-by-Side, an easy, inviting way for believers to pair up for mutual growth, support and encouragement, and accountability. See
How to Walk Side-by-Side for a ministry tool I developed to help men and women get into such biblically based one-to-one relationships.
Through the years I’ve served in a variety of church and parachurch ministry positions—including for a time as an Associate Pastor at Woodmen Valley Chapel's Woodmen Heights Community in Colorado Springs—seeking to be faithful to Jesus’ Great Commission by practicing, speaking about, and writing on discipleship. One article that tells more about Side-by-Side is “
Making Disciples: Four Churches, Four Plans,” published in The Navigators’
Discipleship Journal. I’ve also written a Bible study with Side-by-Side built right in. It’s called
Mighty Warriors: Solid Foundations (PDF). Download it for free to walk alongside another person, and be sure to let me know how the Lord uses it! Finally, not long ago I had the unique opportunity to be a featured guest on the Pastor to Pastor broadcast. Here's the
website to listen to "The Art of Discipleship," a Focus on the Family broadcast for pastors.
There's an additional way I serve with The Navigators, and that has to do with the ministry of prayer. Indeed, prayer has always been a cornerstone of Navigator ministry—a sign of our desperate dependence upon the Lord for everyday life and ministry. Those familiar with the Wheel Illustration know that "Prayer" is one of the essential vertical spokes.
