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A Brief NDI History

Discipleship has always been an important part of the Church of the Nazarene. However, the journey of titles given to the discipleship efforts of the Church of the Nazarene are varied. In its earliest years, discipleship was included in General Assembly Committee on Sunday Schools. Then, discipleship was championed in the Department of Church Schools which was organized in 1928. This took a new name in 1977 as the Division of Christian Life and was divided into three departments: Adult Ministries, Youth Ministries, and Children Ministries. In 1981 the name was expanded to Christian Life and Sunday School and known by the abbreviation CLSS. The name was shortened in 1990 to Sunday School Ministries and known by the abbreviation SSM.

However, in 2008 the name again expanded to Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries International and known by the abbreviation SDMI. Its aim was to move beyond “one size fits all” classes to a resolute 24/7 preparation of children, youth and adults to follow Jesus as His personal disciples. The desire was to equip all of us to pursue a Christlike way of life in the fulfillment of the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. However, in 2022 there was a need to better align SDMI with the new denominational focus on Nazarene Discipleship as a Journey of Grace. We think this is best expressed in our newest name “Nazarene Discipleship International” and abbreviated as NDI.