Mirjam Ngoy-Verhage, Discipleship Enabler for the Diocese of London, supports church leaders and communities in deepening discipleship and spiritual formation. She explores three key movements of discipleship for leaders to maintain.
By Mirjam Ngoy-VerhageJune 2025
As church leaders, we spend much of our time teaching and supporting others in their faith. Yet amid the demands of ministry, our own relationship with Christ can slip into the background. Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us in The Cost of Discipleship that following Jesus is our first and most important calling; everything else – including the command to ‘go and make disciples’ (Matthew 28:19-20) – flows from that foundation. So how do we stay rooted in our own discipleship while guiding others?
A few years ago, I joined a discipleship group at a new church – as a participant rather than a leader. After years in ministry roles, simply sharing my own faith – its struggles as well as its joys – felt odd at first, but it proved deeply refreshing and life-giving. In my work as Discipleship Enabler I often meet leaders who echo that need. They struggle to find time for spiritual nourishment, and they can feel isolated; being vulnerable within the church they lead, or finding another community where they can do so, is not easy.
That experience confirmed for me that following Jesus is more than knowing the faith or bringing others to it – it is a way of living. We all need rhythms and support networks that keep us close to Christ and sustain us for the long haul. Time and again I’ve seen the strength that comes when people commit together to simple practices that deepen faith and support one another. These practices gather naturally around three key movements of discipleship, helping us stay rooted in Christ even as we lead others:
Stay with God
‘Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God.’ Luke 6:12
This first movement is foundational. It’s about simply being with God, following Jesus’ example of going onto the mountain to listen and spend time with God, being reminded that we are God’s beloved children.
I wonder, in this particular season of your life, what practice helps you to stay with God? Perhaps it’s a regular prayer time, dwelling in Scripture, moments of stillness, or walks in nature. I wonder how you might carve out intentional space for this practice going forward?
Share the journey
‘And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them…’ Luke 6:13
This second movement is about community – the people with whom we live out our faith. It includes sharing both the highlights and challenges of our faith journey. These spaces are most life-giving when they focus not on fixing or advising, but on holding each other in God’s presence. They also remind us that, contrary to Enlightenment ideas, faith is not a private endeavour, but something deeply rooted in community. We need each other!
It can be difficult for leaders to find their own community, as they are often the ones in charge and being looked up to. We need trusted people to walk alongside us, encourage us, pray with us, and hold us accountable. Finding a peer group, and a mentor or spiritual director can be life-giving and a reminder that we, too, are learners in the way of Jesus.
I wonder, where do you share your faith journey – both the joys and the struggles? I wonder what you need from God to enable you to share the journey with others?
Serve our world
‘And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.’ Luke 6:19
The third movement is about our mission in the world. When Jesus and his disciples join the crowd, healing starts to happen. When we are deeply connected to Christ, mission flows out of this. Jesus said, ‘Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them’ (John 7:38).
When we serve from a place of abundance, our leadership becomes a testimony. People are drawn to leaders whose lives reflect the joy and peace of walking with Jesus.
I wonder if you can recall a specific example of when you served from this place of abundance, intimacy, and closeness with God? How might you remain connected to Christ as you join in God’s mission moving forward?
As faith leaders, we are first and foremost disciples. Staying rooted in Christ is not optional – it’s essential to fulfilling the Great Commission. As we deepen our discipleship, we will lead others more effectively – not from a place of pressure, but from spiritual abundance.
Let’s commit to walking with Jesus, staying in God’s presence, and sharing the journey with others. Discipleship isn’t just something we teach, it’s the very life we live.
You can explore more resources and support from the Diocese of London’s Confident Disciples
