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Disciple-Making Strategies
Muscular endurance involves muscle groups repeatedly exerting force against resistance. Fit churches need to develop their ability to exert force against resistance. Many aspects of life can cause resistance in the life of Christ followers. In an attempt to stay in step with the Spirit (see Gal. 5:25), both inside and outside forces exert resistance on the believer’s ability to follow Christ.
Satan applies resistance. “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8 NLT). The world in which you are called to live pushes back on you. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world” (Rom. 12:2 NLT). You get resistance from your own desires that if not checked will result in sin. “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death” (James 1:14–15 NLT). You must develop spiritual muscle to exert force against such resistance.
Disciple-making is a central component for developing muscular endurance. Christ’s commission to his church underscored this. “Go therefore and make disciples” (Matt. 28:19) is the clear clarion call of Christ. Few churches deny this, but few churches design strategies to make it happen.
Paul instructed Timothy, “My dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others” (2 Tim. 2:1–2 NLT). Paul was providing Timothy with a basic strategic framework for disciple-making. The basics being this: take what you have learned and share with those who will pass it to others.
A church that is effectively building the body will design and deploy disciple-making strategies. “We can measure a church’s spiritual health and its ultimate success by its obedience to the Great Commission.”1 A healthy, fit church is one that is making disciples. And it uses a disciple-making process, not a disciple-making program, to create multiplying disciples!
The Genesis of Disciple-Making
The genesis of disciple-making is the leader. You cannot make disciples until you are a disciple. You cannot challenge others to be followers of Christ unless you are a follower of Christ. It is out of your followership that you lead others to follow. “The truth is that the greatest way to create a movement is to be a follower and to show others how to follow. Following is the most underrated form of leadership in existence.”2 Paul said to those he led, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1 NIV). Craig Groeschel, the lead pastor of Life Church in Oklahoma City, explains, “We have too many full-time pastors who are part-time followers of Christ. What we need are more part-time pastors who are full-time followers of Christ.”3 He was not making a case for bivocational ministry but instead was making the point that pastors are to be followers of Jesus first. Then they are to pastor/lead their churches.
Church leaders, you are the genesis, epicenter, core of the disciple-making aspect of your church. You must be in a discipling relationship and you must be discipling others. From your modeling of discipleship and living as a disciple, your church will progress toward fitness in this area. Out of your connection with God you are able to influence others to connect with him too. “The only enduring influence we have to offer others is the influence God has in our lives.”4 What are you doing to increase being influenced by God?
In his book Strategic Disciple Making, Aubrey Malphurs identifies four competencies a leader can, and must, bring to the disciple-making process: character (being), knowledge (knowing), skills (doing), and emotions (feeling). “Achieving excellence in all four competencies must take place for the leaders to be able to do their jobs effectively,”5 he writes. Honing each of these allows the leader to influence at a higher level.
In Phil’s role as a district superintendent, he made an interesting discovery: many of the pastors under his oversight had never been discipled. As a result, many of his churches had anemic, if any, disciple-making strategies. People were going through the motions of programmatic disciple-making but were seeing little authentic transformation.
He determined to address this issue and developed Disciple-Making Leadership Communities (DMLC). This was one-year, intensive peer disciple-making for pastors. The purpose was to teach pastors the skills and show them the heart it takes to be followers of Christ. The idea was that if pastors could become more passionate about following Jesus, develop skills for listening to the voice of God, and experience daily spiritual transformation, then a movement of reproducible disciple-making might result.
At the writing of this book, Phil was just beginning the second generation of the DMLC. Honestly, he still has difficulty convincing his pastors of the value of disciple-making. Many pastors still view it as merely finding the right material to teach. And, frankly, some who have completed the year-long intensive have yet to reproduce it in their churches. But those who have reproduced it have seen transformational things happen in their lives and in the lives of those in their church. The results have proven one thing without a doubt: if discipleship is to happen in a church, it must begin with the pastor.
Define a Disciple
During a diving competition at the 2016 Rio Olympics, one of the television commentators made an interesting comment. He said that in training divers, the first thing the Chinese do is teach their divers how to enter the water from whatever diving apparatus they are competing from (e.g., springboard, platform, etc.). Prior to any work on flips, turns, somersaults, and other aspects of technique, divers are coached on how to enter the water. The result is that Chinese divers enter the water with minimal splash, and minimal splash is a critical element of scoring high marks.
In essence, the Chinese divers start with the end in mind. Everything else is built on the conclusion of the dive. If they know how to end well, everything leading up to the ending creates a solid performance.
You need to apply this same principle to the disciple-making process. You need to know what you are looking for in a disciple. What does a disciple look like? What actions, attitudes, and attributes do you want in a follower of Jesus? “You need to define what you want to accomplish and how you are going to do it.”6 Clarity as to the end result will inform the process you put in place to get there.
According to Aubrey Malphurs, “In a specific sense, a disciple is one who has trusted in Christ as Savior.”7 This provides a foundation for what it means to be a disciple, but it does not clarify what that person who trusts Jesus might look like. To gain a better handle on disciple-making, more specifics must be provided.
In the book DiscipleShift, authors Jim Putnam and Bobby Harrington provide two practical guidelines for defining a disciple. “First, the definition needs to be biblical (as Jesus defined it), and second, it needs to be clear.”8 Using Matthew 4:19 as a pivot point, they provide three key characteristics of a disciple. Jesus stated, “Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people” (Matt. 4:19 NIV).
The three characteristics, or attributes, of a disciple are: a disciple follows Jesus, a disciple is changed by Jesus, and a disciple is on a mission with Jesus. Putnam and Harrington define a disciple as an individual who is “following Christ, being changed by Christ, and is committed to the mission of Christ.”9 The drive to produce these attributes informs Putnam and Harrington’s disciple-making process.
Regardless of the definition you give to a disciple, the most basic characteristic of a disciple is obedience. This characteristic is seen in John 2. It is in the story of Jesus turning water into wine that obedience is specified. Mary, the mother of Jesus, told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you” (v. 5 NLT). Obedience without hesitation to Jesus’s instructions is the primary mark of a disciple. “Basic to all discipleship is our resolve not only to address Jesus with polite titles but to follow his teaching and obey his commands.”10 In all the effort put into a definition of a disciple, obedience is an observable action.
When working on producing disciples you will want to answer these three questions: “What qualities and behaviors are we trying to develop in disciples? What do we want them to do? What do we want them to be?”11 What is clear is that a church building the body defines an end result to the disciple-making process.
Elements of a Disciple-Making Strategy
Jesus’s clear and compelling invitation to “come, follow me” has not changed. These three words opened the door to transformational living for those to whom he extended it. These three words demanded a response. These three words set people into motion on the path of discipleship.
The invite was distinct. The invite was full of challenge. The invite was consistent, no matter the person or situation. The impact of the invite was dependent on the response of the one who was extended the invitation.
When Jesus crossed paths with Peter and Andrew, he shared the invitation to follow him. Upon hearing Jesus’s words, “They left their nets at once and followed him” (Matt. 4:20 NLT). Jesus’s invitation resulted in them letting go of “what was” to discover “what could be.”
In another conversation, Jesus extended an invitation for a rich man to follow him (see Mark 10:17–31). The rich man’s first response was enthusiastic, but Jesus noted something in him and added a challenge to his invitation. The challenge was for the man to first sell all he had, then follow him. This dampened the man’s enthusiasm. “At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions” (v. 22 NLT). This rich man responded to Jesus’s invite by holding on to what was at the expense of what could be. His willingness to follow Jesus was contingent on minimal risk.
Jesus’s invitation to follow him has not changed. Those who respond, as Peter and Andrew did, set out on the path of discipleship. Now the question becomes, How do we effectively make disciples at this time in God’s history?
The following five key principles influence and determine the process, structure, and material for effective disciple-making:
Effective disciple-making is relational. People are discipled in relationship, not in the transference of knowledge or content.
Effective disciple-making is biblical. The Word of God is central to making disciples. A disciple is a follower of Christ. How better to understand who you follow than to read about who he was, how he thought, and what he did.
Effective disciple-making is applicable. If a disciple-making process does not impact how people live in the world, then it is merely religious ritual. Disciples bring the kingdom of God into the areas of life where they have been placed.
Effective disciple-making is accountable. Accountability is often an underutilized component of the disciple-making process. Accountability goes beyond getting assignments completed; it means holding those serious about following Christ accountable to live out their following him in daily life.
Effective disciple-making is reproducible. Reproducing other disciples is often the missing piece of disciple-making. Genuine disciple-making has happened when other disciples have been multiplied. The growing and making of disciples is a lifelong process.
These five principles are the filter used in developing, implementing, and evaluating disciple-making in your ministry. So regularly ask the following five questions regarding disciple-making in your church:
- What is the relational impact?
- How is the Bible used?
- How is the disciple-making process impacting how people live in the world?
- How are people being held accountable?
- How is what we’re doing reproducing disciples?
Disciple-making is the call of every Christ follower. The call to “go and make disciples” continues to be the intent of Jesus’s mandate to his church (Matt. 28:19 NLT). What will you do to fulfill this mandate in your life and in the lives of those in the faith communities you lead?
Five Types of Churches
Beginner Churches
Beginner churches affirm disciple-making but seldom have well-thought-out processes in place. These churches see the pastor’s teaching as the primary discipling methodology. If anything is in place outside the pulpit teaching, it primarily involves the pastor meeting with folks one-on-one or in groups. The leadership of beginner churches is always on the lookout for the best packaged material they might use.
PLAN OF ACTION IF YOU LEAD A BEGINNER CHURCH
- Identify the church’s current disciple-making process.
- The pastor gets involved in a group where people can be discipled.
- The pastor and board read through the Gospels looking for how Jesus defined a disciple.
- Make a list of three to five admirable characteristics to be produced in the life of a disciple.
- The pastor and board read one book on disciple-making.
Novice Churches
Novice churches are aware of the inadequacy of a pulpit-driven disciple-making process. The leaders have started to develop observable criteria for what makes a disciple. The pastoral teams have been exposed to books on disciple-making and are getting greater clarity on the principles of disciple-making. Novice churches are beginning to put plans in place.
PLAN OF ACTION IF YOU LEAD A NOVICE CHURCH
- Key leaders should study a book on disciple-making.
- The leadership of the church (pastor, pastoral staff, and board) define and agree on the definition of a disciple for the church.
- Develop a first draft of a disciple-making process to achieve the agreed on end result.
- Key leaders should participate in the draft process.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the process.
- Retool the process as necessary.
Intermediate Churches
Intermediate churches have achieved agreement across their leadership teams on the definition of a disciple. The leadership has test-run the church’s disciple-making process, evaluated it, and retooled it. A second cohort of leaders is now experiencing the revised discipleship process, and the wider church body is sensing the importance and necessity of a genuine disciple-making strategy.
PLAN OF ACTION IF YOU LEAD AN INTERMEDIATE CHURCH
- Pastor should preach a sermon series on what it means to be a disciple.
- The leaders who have been through the initial disciple-making process need to lead a group of three to five people through the revised process.
- The head pastor leads another disciple-making group.
- Make the expectation of being discipled an element of the church’s DNA.
Advanced Churches
Advanced churches are populated with disciple-making groups. These groups are designed around both knowing about and practicing discipleship. These churches have a built-in expectation that people who have been discipled will disciple others. Disciple-making is woven into every aspect of the church.
PLAN OF ACTION IF YOU LEAD AN ADVANCED CHURCH
- Pastor should teach a regular pulpit series on biblical disciple-making.
- Evaluate how many of those who have been discipled have discipled others.
- Evaluate the church’s disciple-making process.
- Build disciple-making into the church’s membership expectations.
Elite churches are multiplying disciple-making into the third and fourth generations. These churches define effectiveness according to how many are multiplying disciples, not merely how many are being discipled. The pastoral leadership teams are consistently discipling others. Many of those who have been discipled are going out to begin new faith communities. Elite churches have an intentional process that multiplies disciples, leaders, and churches.
PLAN OF ACTION IF YOU LEAD AN ELITE CHURCH
- Revisit your church’s definition of a disciple. What may need to be changed or clarified?
- Evaluate how your church’s process is working in regard to developing the disciples it wants.
- Share with other churches what your church has learned regarding disciple-making.
- Determine ways you might engage more in the disciple-making process.
Disciple-making contributes greatly to a church moving toward fitness and health. “The solution to our ineffectiveness as churches involves following a clear and uncomplicated way to train people to be spiritually mature, fully devoted followers of Christ, then in turn having those disciples make more disciples.”12 Churches that are building the body take seriously the call to make disciples who make disciples, who make disciples.