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Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC

Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC

Discipleship takes place when we intentionally, sacrificially, and consistently live every moment of our daily lives in commitment to following Jesus, said Rt Rev. Dhiloraj Ranjit Canagasabey at the missional formation plenary of the Conference on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) on March 12.

Canagasabey is the 15th Anglican bishop of Colombo and presiding bishop of the Church of Ceylon. “One becomes a disciple of the risen Lord, not through baptism alone, but by observing or being ‘baptized’ into the teachings and practices of Jesus of all that has commanded”, he said.

Nafkot M. Dessaleg, a young Ethiopian woman theology student of the Al Mowafaqa theological institute in Rabat, reminded the participants of the conference that Jesus trained 12 disciples in a period of three years.

“When I arrived in Morocco to serve as a pastoral intern in the Evangelical church, one of the first sermons I heard said: ‘You are the Bible that many around you may not have an opportunity to read, so live according to the Word and reflect His light.’

“This can be a message for all of us today, regardless of the context in which we find ourselves”, said Dessaleg.

“My challenge to you this morning: over the next three years or even a bit more, each of us should train at least 12 disciples in Christ who can reject the world’s injustices and bring the word of God into their daily lives”.

Transforming the World: Equipping Disciples” was the theme of the missional formation plenary at the Conference on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) on 12 March. The plenary speakers explored how to continuously and consistently equip disciples who are dedicated to ongoing spiritual growth and transformation.

Other speakers and participants in the plenary included: Rev. Prof. Steve Bevans, Rev. Prof. Kenneth Ross, Bishop Yuhanon Mar Demetrios, Prof. Kirsteen Kim, Rev. Prof. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, Rev. Dr Septemmy Lakawa, Bishop Mark Macdonald, Fr Richard Nnyombi, and Rev. Dr Collin Cowan.

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