Discipleship in the Early Church: A Study of the Catechumenate and Its Implications for Discipleship Today

The state of discipleship in American churches is dismal.\nToday, discipleship is used as a catchall term for anything from mentorship to small-group discussion, to meetings at a coffee house, to the title of a conference at a sports arena. But at its core, discipleship is a deliberate, intentional process to help believers know what they believe, why they believe it, and how to defend it.\nThe post-apostolic church placed a high priority on training and educating new believers before they joined the church community. In a world of persecution, vice, and doctrinal heresies, it was critical to train new converts in the teachings of Scripture, doctrinal orthodoxy, and moral purity. The early church developed the catechumenate to accomplish this important corporate education of new believers.\nBut contemporary research has painted a dismal picture of the current state of discipleship taking place (or not taking place) within American churches today. As a step toward addressing this major concern, Dr. Burggraff examines the catechumenate, the post-apostolic discipleship program of the church that witnessed the rapid growth of Christianity through a deep commitment by believers to Jesus Christ.\nThough today's church may never return to the catechumenate, several lessons should be learned from the process and implemented in current discipleship programs. It is the church's responsibility to teach a believer the Scriptures, doctrinal truth, and moral purity. Corporate Christian education is more than just a suggestion; it is a mandate.