Making Disciples
Can you imagine if what Jesus Christ did with 12 disciples over 2000 years ago, could be duplicated today . . . by your church?
It’s possible. Not only is it possible, but He commanded us to do exactly that, saying, “Go and make disciples” (see Matthew 28:19). Jesus isn’t calling us to a complicated program or methodology that will add to your already overburdened administrative tasks. He’s simply asking us to live life His way: as we go about our lives, engage with other-in-the-faith believers and help them mature in their relationship with Christ… so that they can then help someone else do the same. In other words, people in the church having a ministry of multiplication.
If this is the missing piece in your church body, mature believers raising up young believers, then we’re here to help. Gather your church body for a Disciple-Making Summit!
In two three-hour sessions, John lays out the simple steps to investing in the life of another so that they grow in Christ and, in turn, reproduce that faith foundation in someone else’s life. This summit is designed for church implementation; we assist church elders, leaders, and staff with engaging their people in life-on-life disciple making. The result is becoming an intentional disciple-making church.
Click here to download an information sheet to share with your pastor and leadership team!
“Wow! What an impact on our church. John does an amazing job of laying out The Four Priorities and helping churches help individuals be about the process of making disciples who will in turn make disciples.”
Richard Ellis
Senior Pastor, Reunion Church | reunionchurch.org
“Prestonwood has been blessed by the teaching and exhortation of John. His Discipleship-Making Summit and Four Priorities materials are significant tools in equipping men to be leaders in today’s society. John is a gifted and passionate communicator who speaks straight to the heart of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.”
Dr. Jack Graham
Senior Pastor, Prestonwood Baptist Church | prestonwood.org
HOST A DISCIPLE-MAKING SUMMIT
RALLY YOUR CHURCH
As a church family, learn the Biblical basis for disciple-making
ENGAGE IN DISCIPLE-MAKING
Raise up the next generation of leaders who will disciple other believers
REPRODUCE DISCIPLE-MAKERS
Relationships, Churches, & Communities changed by Biblical disciple-making
Your church body will learn:
- What is the Biblical basis for discipling?
- Why is discipling important? What happens when we don’t disciple?
- What are the characteristics of a disciple?
- What is the Christian life all about?
- How to live by Biblical priorities and develop a balanced life.
- How to become a disciple-maker.
Using The Four Priorities, encourage your church family to engage in one-on-one disciple-making.
The Four Priorities is the best foundational book to teach the principles of being discipled and discipling others. There are great materials out there to use in conjunction with or after The Four Priorities, but we have found this to be an effective 1st and 2nd step: hosting the summit then discipling with The Four Priorities book) as the foundational platform for this type of one-on-one discipleship.
Create authentic community among believers as they learn by example how to reproduce disciples by investing their lives into younger believers.
Disciple-making is a life style…it has no finish date! Jesus’ last command was to go and make disciples who make disciples. Jesus intends that both the disciple-maker and the disciple would now reproduce a faith foundation in someone else. This continues throughout the life of the church and the lifetime of a disciple.
Please complete the form below for more information about hosting a Disciple-Making Summit for your organization.
A Disciple Is A
Learner
Much of discipleship is caught rather than taught. We all need someone to help us become the person God wants us to be. Jesus is not only our Savior, but our Teacher. We learn from Him.
Follower
A disciple is one who follows and imitates the life and teachings of another as that person imitated Christ. The Apostle Paul said, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”
Reproducer
Reproducing disciples involves taking what the Lord has invested into your life through learning and following another and passing along those truths and faith foundation to others.
I Want to be Discipled
- The first step is to pray that the Lord will lead you to the right person to ask to disciple you.
- Order a copy of The Four Priorities if you do not already own it and read the Introduction which explains what it means to be a disciple. The goal is for the person who is discipling you to teach you how to live life the Christian way, as illustrated by Jesus, and model it out for you so that you then have the knowledge and skills to teach someone else how to live the Christian life.
- In order to ask someone to disciple you, you need to be willing to be Faithful, Available and Teachable (FAT). Determine if you possess these qualities. If yes, proceed. If no, pray for the Lord to develop these characteristics in you. We would recommend you wait to ask someone to disciple you until you can honestly say you see these qualities being developed in yourself.
- Faithful – Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Do you desire to grow in your faith?
- Available – Do you have the time and energy to commit to a disciple-making relationship?
- Teachable – Do you desire to learn from another?
- Look for someone (men with men, women with women, married couples with couples) who demonstrates:
- A love for Jesus
- A commitment to follow His Word
- A willingness to be prepared to make disciples
- Mature in his/her faith
- Once you have identified someone who demonstrates those characteristics, ask him/her to meet with you so you can ask them to disciple you.
- If that person has discipled someone before, you all should talk about starting the disciple-making process and pray about it together. If both people are committed to beginning, grab your Bible and your copy of The Four Priorities and get started!
- If that person has never discipled anyone before, have them order a copy of The Four Priorities and read the introduction, the section in the appendix called “How To Make A Difference For Christ Using This Book” and the steps below titled “I am ready to be a disciple-maker,” so they can become familiar with what it really means to disciple someone else and how to do it. It will be up to that person to determine if he/she is ready to disciple you. If so, great! Grab your Bible and copy of The Four Priorities and start the process that will change your life! If not, that is ok. Continue praying for the Lord to bring the right person into your life for you to ask and go back to number 4 and begin thinking of someone else.
I Want Disciple Someone Else
- The first step is to pray that the Lord will lead you to the right person to disciple.
- Order a copy of The Four Priorities if you do not already own it and read the Introduction which explains what it means to be a disciple. The goal is for you to teach your disciple how to live the Christian life, as illustrated by Jesus, and model it out for him/her so that they develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to teach someone else how to live the Christian life.
- Because you will be investing a lot of time and energy into the person you disciple, it is important for that person to be Faithful, Available and Teachable (FAT).
- Faithful – Has he/she accepted Jesus Christ as his/her Lord and Savior? Does he/she desire to grow in his/her faith?
- Available – Does he/she have the time and energy to commit to a disciple-making relationship?
- Teachable – Does he/she desire to learn from another?
- It is also important for you as the disciple-maker to evaluate yourself. Do you meet the following criteria:
- Do you love Jesus?
- Are you committed to following His Word?
- Do you have a willingness to make disciples?
- Do you have a solid faith foundation?
- Meet with the person(s) you have identified as potential disciples. Discuss with them what a discipleship relationship looks like to you, why it is important and try to understand his/her desire to engage in a disciple-making relationship with you.
- Clearly convey the expectations of a discipleship relationship:
- Intentional Participants: Each person you disciple should have a willingness to commit, on the front end, to disciple two people per year. As a disciple-maker, your time is valuable, therefore, if you invest your time into another person, that person should be willing to make the same commitment to others (and request the same commitment form those they disciple). Otherwise the cycle will stop with the person you disciple.
- Meet Weekly: Frequency in meeting helps with accountability and follow-through.
- Come Prepared: The discipleship relationship is a mutually transforming relationship. The disciple-maker and the disciple should arrive having read the chapter and be ready to actively discuss the insights gained through the study and application of the material.
- Consistent Application: Both the disciple-maker and the disciple should leave the meeting time committed to applying the lessons learned in each chapter.
- After completing Priorities 1 and 2 in The Four Priorities, give your disciple an opportunity to lead the meeting. This will aid in building confidence and skills in their training to become disciple-makers.
- Once you complete The Four Priorities, set your disciple loose to start their own discipleship relationships! Pray for him/her and check in periodically. Then you should begin looking for someone else to disciple. Again, keep finding that person a matter of prayer and make sure that person is FAT (Faithful, Available and Teachable).