Go and Make Disciples
Part Five: The Disciple-Making Church

A)

It speaks to the church’s identity, for the local church is a group of disciples who are practicing discipleship together (Acts 2:42). They seek to commit, follow, imitate, coach, and persuade in a corporate setting and with a united purpose.

B)

It speaks to the church’s mission, for making disciples who in turn make disciples is the principal mission of the church (Matt 28:18–20). Every program, sermon, special, presentation, function and activity should be evaluated by this criteria: is this helping to accomplish the mission of making disciples?

C)

It speaks to the church’s life, for the local church is the primary community within which discipleship should take place (Heb 10:24–25). Francis Chan comments, “While every individual needs to obey Jesus’s call to follow, we cannot follow Jesus as individuals. The New Testament is full of commands to do this or that for ‘one another.’ Love one another, pray for one another, encourage one another, etc. So how can we teach people to ‘observe all that I have commanded’ if they have no one to love, pray for, or encourage? It’s impossible to ‘one another’ yourself. It’s impossible to follow Jesus alone.”¹

D)

It speaks to the church’s future, for the church is a family of families who are evangelizing and discipling their children to carry on the identity, mission and life of the church (Deut 6:6–7; Ps 78:5–8; Eph 6:1–4). Why should the world be interested in following Christ if our own children don’t? If we grow the church by making disciples of our kids, we’ll have no trouble reaching the world! How tragic it would be if we lost our children to the world while we were out trying to convince the world to follow Jesus!

A)

By every member doing their part.

1)

Paul compared the church to the human body (1 Cor 12–14; Eph 4:7, 11–16; Rom 12:3–8; cf. 1 Pet 4:7–11). In the body, each member is necessary and none can exist on their own. If one member of the body doesn’t function properly, the whole body is affected. This means each of us has a responsibility to contribute and participate. The teacher must teach, but those being taught must listen and learn!

2)

Francis Chan comments, “The moment you begin to believe that your church can be healthy while you sit on the sidelines, you have given up on God’s plan of redemption. God placed you in your unique situation because He wants you to minister to and with the other Christians He has placed around you. If you are not active in the church, you are hurting your brothers and sisters. One paralyzed leg forces the rest of the body to work twice as hard to make up for that leg’s inactivity.”²

B)

By providing leadership and training in personal and family discipleship.

1)

Lead by example. Pastors and church leaders need to tell their congregations that they are committed to practicing personal discipleship and then lead by example.

2)

Train the men. The men in the local church are the leaders of their families as well as the leaders of the congregation. This means they must be trained in personal and family discipleship. The church can’t function properly if the men aren’t thoroughly equipped in the basics of discipleship.

• Begin with the core. These are the men who attend faithfully, tithe regularly, and give sacrificially. These men should be trained with the stated goal that they, in turn, will be training others.


• If possible, hold weekly training sessions. Depending on the number of individuals, it may not be possible to train the core all at once. Start with one or two men and build from there.


• Start with personal discipleship and make sure they’re firmly grounded in what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. The website provides all the material needed for teaching the basics of personal discipleship.


• Once they’re established in personal discipleship, begin modeling family discipleship. The “Disciple-Making Family” lesson explains how to do this, and this approach can be followed for the weekly training sessions.


• After a while, have them try leading one of the weekly sessions. This will give them practice in family discipleship and also prepare them to train others.


• Spend a year with these men, and then have them begin training others. They should know at the beginning that this is the natural progression: be discipled so they can then disciple others. At the very least, if they do nothing else, they should be discipling their own families.


• Recommended resources:

1. The Disciple-Making Church by Bill Hull.
2. The Disciple-Making Pastor by Bill Hull.
3. The Complete Book of Discipleship by Bill Hull.
4. Multiply by Francis Chan.
5. The Lost Art of Disciple Making by LeRoy Eims.
6. Following the Master by Michael J. Wilkins.

C)

By caring for and nurturing new believers.

1)

Consider this: “In 1997, the Chicago Tribune reported the story of a mother who let her nine children, aged 8 months to 11 years, fend for themselves in a gritty apartment filled with trash and excrement. Public officials, responding to a neighbor’s call, entered the apartment at 2 A.M. and took the children into custody. The mother, said the owner of the apartment building, was more interested in partying late than in caring for her children.”³

2)

Now we’re outraged by such a story and rightly so, but we need to think about this because the church sometimes commits the moral equivalent of child abuse. How so? When we spend our time and effort persuading the lost to follow Jesus and then fail to make sure they are given the love and guidance they need to grow into healthy, mature disciples of Christ. The church must come alongside new believers and actively disciple and train them in how to follow Jesus.

D)

By cultivating a sense of community. Western culture is characterized by individualism. We place great value on independence and self-reliance, and we tend to think that the interests of the individual should take precedence over those of the group. Because of this, we often forget that we’re members of the body of Christ, and our primary goal is to strive for the health and well-being of the body. The church must do all it can to provide venues and opportunities for connection and fellowship between the members of the congregation. The more interconnected families are, the more they are able to imitate each other and model for each other.

E)

By promoting biblical understanding and holy living. The church is uniquely gifted by the Spirit to help believers understand what God has said and how to apply it to their lives. This is essential for personal and family discipleship. When people have a proper understanding of the Bible and know how to live in obedience to God’s commands, they are then able to be and to make disciples of Christ.

F)

By providing discipline and accountability. Being part of a local church involves not only a call to imitate the faith of church leadership, but also a commitment to obey them and submit to their authority (Heb 13:7, 17). Church leaders watch over our souls, for they must give account to God. We should live in such a way that they may do this with joy and not with grief. Believers are also called to submit to each other out of reverence for Christ (Eph 5:21). This means we are to hold each other accountable to live careful, godly lives.

G)

By persuading those within our sphere of influence to become disciples of Christ. This refers to our extended family, our friends and acquaintances, our coworkers, our neighbors, and others we encounter in daily living. This is done in two ways: first by living a godly life in front of them and then by looking for opportunities to share our testimony and tell them the good news.

H)

By supporting and participating in global missions. This is done in a variety of ways: praying for our fellow workers in other parts of the world, contributing money and time in support of various missionary endeavors, personal participation in missionary activity, and developing a passion in our children for spreading Christ’s kingdom across the world.