I became a Christian in my second year of SHS at PRESEC Legon. It was a time of introspection and exploration for me, where Jesus Christ became a person with whom I was relating rather than a distant figure my parents kept talking about. After SHS, I came to the University of Ghana (UG) for my first degree and became part of the campus ministry as an ordinary member and later the campus leader. I was involved in training and mentoring for the student leaders led by James Quist Therson and other older Navs.
During university, national service and afterwards, my father, Emmanuel Baidoo, began a one-on-one intentional bible study and teaching to help me figure out what life after school meant. During this period and continuing to date, John Komla Ansah offered to build upon an interest and friendship with me from the years of causal interaction and develop an intentional discipleship relationship. These three named men demonstrated and practised discipleship and disciple-making with me. They showed me lives of abiding trust in God, submission, obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ, and an intimate fellowship with the Holy Spirit. To them, Christianity was not a ritual of churchgoing but a personal holistic life of service to an eternal deity.
Even though I was a campus leader, I began intentionally discipling others when I was called up to serve on the present UG campus ministry team. The old habits of casual personal interaction and narrow small group meetings with students were frustrating in the first year of labouring. I realised that I was afraid of becoming vulnerable even though I have been impacted through the vulnerability of those who have helped and continue to help me grow in the Lord Jesus. I continued meeting with John K Ansah and requested training from Emmanuel Baidoo, which helped me identify the structure embedded in their deliberate interactions with me. I began to replicate the same on campus with students with positive responses.
I am currently discipling Deborah Yakohene, Marigold Sackey and Ekow Isaiah Praah Morgue. Helping them know Christ better required revisiting the fundamentals of the faith that I sorely needed to reflect on. It demanded an intentional approach to relationships that revealed weakness in my social skills requiring attention. My prayer life improved as I had other people’s needs to keep in mind regularly and made answers to prayer a focus. As I am discipling others, it highlights how much more I must grow and how much God has done in my life that I can share with others.
My conviction on disciple-making is that every believer should be making or have made disciples in their lifetime. Pastors and prophets are not the only ones with a charge to do the work of Christian ministry. Hebrews 5:12 keeps me thinking and praying.
By: Joshua Baidoo
Joshua Baidoo is a member of the Ghana Navigators family. He currently serves on the Leadership team for the University of Ghana Campus Ministry.
Great story. More grace for the work.
Lovely Story. God bless you Joshua. Great work by our communication team.
God bless you Joshua
Wow, this is inspiring. God bless you for sharing
I am so encouraged reading your story Joshua. I am also rethinking of my approach to some of the people that God has brought my way. Including my own daughter. Thank you for sharing.
Great piece. More unction to function. Shalom!
God bless you Joshua for your availability to work with Him on UG campus.
Heb.5:12 is indeed a thoughts provoking verse! One clear sign of a growing/ matured Christian is the ability to teach others God’s Word! Blessings Joshua! More divine strength and Grace!