Hurricane Katrina and Rita news is fading fast from the headlines. But long-term efforts at rebuilding are just getting underway.

Help continues to pour in, and as Church World Service (CWS) reports, more is in fact needed, especially in rural areas and for long-term recovery.

The long-term response to hurricane victims is an important metaphor for the charge of the church to both evangelize and disciple. In fact, that is what the Great Commission is all about—the long-term plan:

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matt. 28:19-20 NIV).

Doug Pollack, Dave Ping and Steve Sjogren went so far as to suggest that evangelism and discipleship are one and the same in the book they co-authored in 2003, "Irresistible Evangelsim." (Read the review.) Teaching people about Christ is evangelism if those people do not yet believe. Further teaching may move someone along what many church leaders now see as a continuum of faith, rather than a check box on a decision card. And that continuum stretches beyond a decision to trust Christ and be baptized—it is sempiternal.

Just as we saw after the hurricanes this season, not only must people be saved, plucked from their rooftops by metal helicopter baskets, they must continue to be rescued with temporary shelter, then housing, jobs and schools in relocation, and the list goes on.

And, like hurricane survivors saved from the flood and forever changed by the experience, we were once rescued from our sins. Now, we must work on the forever change, the long-term plan, the rebuilding of a shattered life with a new plan.

I hope as church leaders we do not forget in our zeal to rescue people, that the long-term plan for restoration is equally important. Rescues may be front page news, or simple newsletter fodder as we tally up the number of conversions, baptisms, etc., but lasting life change through the discipline of allowing God to renew our minds (Romans 12), is also important. And if discipline is done well it breeds evangelism—as part of living the Christian life necessitates sharing our faith with others.

October is Discipleship month here at ChurchCentral.com. Check the Discipleship page on the site for articles on ways to teach the faith. And look for top stories related to discipling others as well. I hope we can all grow.

In loosely related discipleship news, Biola University is seeking a director for the President’s Circle, a program to expand the school’s funding through donors. The school’s mission is to equip men and women in mind and character to impact the world for the Lord Jesus Christ. If that isn’t discipleship I don’t know what is. Anyway, here is the school’s Web site for more information.

As always, other open positions are posted on ChurchCentral.com’s Church Jobs page.