Since the beginning, The Timothy Network has had the goal of reaching and training disciples from across the spectrum of society. As we have grown and developed over the past seven years, we have realized success with three primary groups of people.

The first are leaders, people already active in serving within God’s kingdom but who want to become more focused on building intentional, effective discipling relationships. Because this group requires the least investment to be ready to work, our first discipling groups were heavily weighted with these leaders.

The next group is what we like to call “hungry people.” Often these men and women are already Christians who have just not found a place to plug-in or who have not yet taken Jesus’ call to discipleship seriously. It has been a joy to watch many of these people grow and blossom into mature disciples of Christ. Many have now become leaders within their churches and within The Timothy Network.

Men and women in these first two groups have been equipped to disciple others. Many of them have become multiplying disciple makers, thus achieving the goal of reproduction (i.e. making disciples who make more disciples, etc)

The third group is made up of “marginalized” people, men and women who for one reason or another are living in fairly desperate circumstances (jailed, homeless, chronically poor or ill, etc). They have hit bottom and life is not working for them. While it is possible for any of us to end up in this category, many of those in this group we find at places like Green House Ministries or at our new work at the Rutherford County Workhouse. It is true that these people take more time and a more broad range of skills to successfully disciple. This is why it is such a great blessing that we have built an army of leaders / disciple-makers from the first two categories who are now on fire for God and are ready for the challenge of sharing the good news of Jesus with those who most need it. Also within this group are those society has forgotten such as those we have been privileged to work with at nursing homes.

It is my conviction that interaction between these three groups of people provides invaluable opportunities for spiritual growth for all parties. We all need each other.

In many ways the journey of growth that we have been privileged to help so many people with is mirrored in the growth of the ministry itself. We are excited to be working to disciple not only Christians but not–yet-Christians as well, both rich and poor, educated and uneducated, those of many races and ethnicities and backgrounds. Surely this is a reflection of what heaven will look like.

As David Young, the preaching minister at my own church has so eloquently reminded us over the past several months, the church’s work can be organized around a few key activities that bring both focus and balance to the lives of its members. As David puts it, these core activities are experiencing authentic conversion, living holy and righteous lives, immersing yourself in the life of the congregation, finding your place to serve in ministry, and sharing the good news of Jesus with others. These five commitments reflect well the mission that The Timothy Network tries to do in the lives of disciples. In fact, it is one of our greatest goals to strengthen the church by investing in people one life at a time.

Please let us know if you’d like to become involved in any phase of our work.

Thank you,
Dr. Robert Blaylock