The Impact of DI in Ethiopia

May 26

by Hizkias Fako

Hizkias (center) with believers attending *Step-by-Step* training.

Christianity is more than religion; it is life transformation made possible through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. As a means to join with our Lord in His work of transforming us into His likeness we began Step-by-Step Process with a group of believers using the training materials provided by Disciplers International (DI). This curriculum is well-structured to equip Christians for a life of ministry that is aligned to the Great Commission of Christ (Matthew 28:19). Not only are we being helped in our journey with Jesus daily, but also in every other aspect of life.

When I found DI online a year ago, it brought me much-needed happiness. My life began to change significantly during my training with others and in seeing Jesus beyond religious rules so familiar to me. In this new experience, I am enjoying God's love while also loving others more than ever. And I thank God for the love and unity that is bringing us together and leading us forward in Ethiopia. What follows are photos of the groups of Disciples of Christ whom I am now training to become Disciplers for Christ.

Team of key training leaders in Ethiopia. Pastor Getachew Yoseph (gray suit).

Life is about the journey we take with Jesus and the people who join us along the way. My friend, Pastor Getachew Yoseph, who came from a traditional church, has a lovely heart and wants to use the Step-by-Step Process in Ethiopia. Recently, Pastor Yoseph decided to walk with Jesus in a new way and asked me to develop a plan of action for igniting a discipleship movement in Ethiopia. He wants to expand this training within the church and beyond the church as well. I am confident that the Step-by-Step Process will enable us to train many Disciples of Christ to become Disciplers for Christ.

The goal of discipleship, as presented in the Step-by-Step Process, is to experience spiritual intimacy (in-to-me-see) with God and each other, and this has been happening during training sessions. The interactive experience has prompted people to ask these fundamental questions of life: Who are we? To whom do we belong? As for me, in the process of answering those questions while going through the training, both my attitude and approach to studying God’s word has completely changed. Not only has this been a transformational experience for me, but also my elder son, Ephraim, who told me that the Step-by-Step training will help him establish a firm foundation for his family.

The *Prayer of Commitment* has freed my heart from superfluous activities that seek to conceal the face of Christ in my life and the lives of those involved with me in the *Step-by-Step Process*. I thank God for using DI to open my eyes to His Word and experience the love that Jesus has for us on this step-by-step journey with Jesus and others.

Our discipleship training teams are learning how to dig into God’s word, experience new life in Christ, and serve others according to the example of Christ – a ministry that was pure, simple, and life-changing. We are goal-oriented individuals committed to bringing to others the good news of Jesus' finished work on the cross and honoring the Lord in all we do. Jesus declared Himself to be “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6). By joining ourselves to Jesus through God’s grace and our faith, we are learning to walk in ways that are more and more pleasing to God step-by-step and day-by-day.

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Bart Physioc

Bart’s interest in discipleship began at the time of his conversion in 1978, while serving in Guam as a Coast Guard officer. After reading the four gospels in the New Testament, Bart was moved to accept Jesus as Savior and follow Him as Lord. He wanted to be a disciple, but didn’t understand how discipleship was supposed to work, and no one took the initiative to mentor him. Bart’s early discipleship experience was limited to reading books on the subject and going through study guides. Although examples were evident throughout Scripture, but Bart did not have such an experience personally.

While attending Golden Gate Theological Seminary in California, Bart took several courses on discipleship. From those classes, he took the most useful and practical elements of each model and produced a guidebook of his own that was comprehensive in scope, yet concise in presentation. After graduating in 1983 with a Master of Religious Education degree, Bart spent three years developing a discipleship model specifically for college students at the University of Idaho, where he served as Campus Minister. Upon returning to Golden Gate Seminary for his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees, Bart tailored the discipleship model for church plants and then instituted that model in the church he planted and pastored in California. As an Army Chaplain, Bart used the Discipler/Disciple model which led many service members to Christ and provided new believers with a set of tools to disciple others.

Convinced that disciple-making requires a relationship between a mentor (“Discipler”) and learner (“Disciple”), Bart created the 14-Step Discipleship Process, which was launched in 2000 and has been used worldwide to grow Disciples of Christ into Disciplers for Christ. In 2022 he launched a new presentation of the discipleship process called Step-by-Step.

While still serving in the military, Bart helped to establish Disciplers International in 2006 to provide free Discipleship Resources and Training for all who follow Jesus, and obey His call to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

https://disciplersinternational.com

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