The following is Connie’s story from Campus für Christus (Switzerland) in her experience with Concentric:
Thanks to the material from Concentric I started to study the life of Jesus chronologically.
Although I studied theology, this was something totally new for me. I discovered a lot in the life of Jesus that I had never noticed before.
By observing how Jesus lived as a 100% human being, he became a more powerful and comprehensible model for me. A model that I can really follow and not just an ideal that I’m never able to reach. As I see Jesus investing intentionally in his relationships, I also started to invest in my relationships much more intentionally. To do so, I had to reduce my investment in certain church programs, but through that, I gained more personal relationships where I pray with people, discover Jesus in the Bible and challenge them to become disciplemakers.
Jesus is also an example to me, the way he invested in his disciples with a goal and an intention and how he called them out of there comfort zone to take next steps. I started to think more consciously about where I want to lead the people I am walking with. This helps me to plan more concrete steps in their discipleship process, especially with the pastors and churches we are serving. I am excited to see how our coaching helps the leaders of these churches to shift their thinking. By studying together the chronological life of Jesus, they begin to reflect on how his model and his principles can help to train believers in their churches to become disciplemakers and how their program-driven churches can become a movement of multiplication.
I also see that Jesus’ training of his disciples included practical outreaches where he spoke about the Kingdom of God and demonstrated it in a very practical way by healing the sick and deliver people from demonic influences. When I read how Jesus sent out the disciples, as he was sent by the Father, with the same mission and authority, and when I see, that it was completely normal for the disciples how the Holy Spirit worked miracles through them and freed people, this is what makes my faith grow.
I believe that God wants to do much more through me than I have experienced until now. So I started to pray for people more courageously and to expect more from God’s work in my life.
