Effective Disciple-Making Ministry

Effectiveness is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “producing a decided, decisive, or desired effect.”  When we apply effectiveness to discipleship ministry, it involves being capable of producing a desired and decisive effect in the lives of the students—Christ-likeness. While this article is not comprehensive, it does identify the principle considerations for a viable and effective discipleship ministry.

Obviously discipleship training entails far more than simply standing before a class and speaking. Certainly it is more than the teacher reciting to the students all he or she knows on a given subject. Undoubtedly, we all would agree that merely having a “warm body” in a classroom is never pleasing to our Lord. Effective teaching entails a capacity to produce Christlike formation in disciples (Gal. 4:19; Rom 8:29; Rom 13:14). While it is the Word of God and the Holy Spirit who effects change deep within the disciple, God uses His discipleship mentors and teachers to contribute to the process of spiritual transformation also (2 Cor. 3:17-18; Eph. 4:24; Phil. 2:5; Col. 1:27; 3:10).

In addition, effectiveness implies that the teacher possesses biblical authority, spiritual power, and communicative forcefulness to cultivate the desired holy character and spiritual lifestyle in disciples. It takes the right kind of person to reproduce a disciple for Jesus Christ—it takes a genuine disciple! While the mentor is only an investor in the godly progress of their students, each should aspire to wield instructional potency in their service to Jesus Christ. Merely ‘getting by’ or simply holding down a class is inconsistent with teaching to develop disciples. Transforming instruction is objective, deliberate, faithful, and effective. Thus, effective discipleship ministry involves a biblical perspective emphasizing an understanding of what discipleship is and a commitment to mature Believers.

Discipleship is Following Jesus Christ

To begin with we must understand what discipleship is; what is it actually that God expects of us as we seek to disciple converts? What is a disciple’s focus? Along the way we must discard misconceptions and perhaps even quite some fears related to discipleship commitment. All in all discipleship is following Jesus Christ.

First, discipleship is the process of becoming a committed follower of Jesus Christ (Matt. 4:18-22; Mk. 8:34-35; Luke 14:25-33). Notice specifically what Matthew records for our consideration,

And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him (Matt. 4:18-22).

Though it may be shocking to note, this is not the conversion experience of these disciples. They were very likely saved under the ministry of John the Baptist just prior to these developments (John 1:35-51; Acts 1:21-26). This is, however, a record of the day these men forsook all to follow the Lord Jesus. They committed themselves to learning from Him, and submitting to His teachings as a way of life. As He was, so they would become. Since He was a fisher of men, they would likewise become fishers of men as they followed Him. Though they had followed Christ for brief periods before, the relationship of these disciples became more concrete at this point. For these four men following the Lord involved leaving their occupations to become our Lord's disciples—this scene is drenched with commitment to following the Lord Jesus. Likewise, still today discipleship involves a definite decision to follow, obey, and adhere to the requirements of Jesus Christ upon one’s conversion. Salvation is a free gift, instantaneous, received by faith, and everlasting. In contrast, discipleship is costly, progressive—a lifelong process, an act of existing faith, and it fluctuates with each day. Therefore, a discipleship ministry must call believers to a lifestyle of commitment and submission to the authority and teachings of Jesus Christ. Any participant should rightly sense they are making a grand decision, but one that is consistent with repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).

Secondly, Discipleship is actually Christian sanctification and spiritual formation; it is the mandate for every believer in Christ Jesus. We are talking about spiritual growth in the Lord (1 Pet. 2:2). Spiritual formation is a process through which the Holy Spirit transforms us into Christ’s likeness or image (Gal. 4:19). According to Dr. Malphurs (Advanced Strategic Planning), Christ-likeness is God’s full objective for all His people through the ministries of New Testament churches (Eph. 4:13; Col. 1:28).

Second Corinthians 3:18 informs us that spiritual change is wrought by the Spirit of God and is progressive in nature. Dr. Hemphill observes, the verb form of “change” is passive voice, which signifies Christians simply yielding, and the life changes are actually accomplished by God. The transformation is essentially done for and to the Believer. This same transformation is prescribed for every child of God and all of Christ’s churches. Every church is to experience this same progressive transformation by the Spirit into the likeness of Jesus Christ (The Antioch Effect). Paul is writing to churches as much as to individuals (2 Cor. 1:1). Beloved, spiritual transformation is prescribed for both. Yes, churches should be changing as the individual members change and grow. I know some are resistant to any significant changes, but genuine spiritual growth will impact the features and quality of a ministry and church (Eph. 4:11-16). None of us know it all, and all of us have quite a ways yet to journey before we arrive at Christ-likeness! So, let us maintain an open mind to the Bible, the Spirit, and our Lord as they lead us into proper growth and befitting changes.

Thirdly, the benefits of discipleship are joy, peace, and happiness resulting from following Jesus Christ (Jn. 15:10-11; Jn. 14:27; Matt. 5:3-12). Though the challenges of genuine disciples are not easy, the Lord does afford His people His blessings as they walk and endeavor with Him. Fellowship with our Lord is a wonderful benefit and should never be taken for granted. Of course such profit is taken together with the hope of being like Him and with Him in Heaven (1 Jn. 3:2; Rom. 8:29). This also anticipates and stresses the importance of obedience to our Lord Jesus (Jn. 14:15; 1 Pet. 2:21). The Lord delights in blessing and encouraging the faith of His committed disciples as they follow Him.

Discipleship Ministry Requires Commitment to Maturing Believers

Not only must we understand what discipleship is, but we must actually commit to maturing believers in the Lord Jesus. This awareness must become energy for establishing and sustaining viable discipleship ministries. Several important considerations must be given careful thought for effective implementation.

The first consideration is Christ’s mission for His churches is expressed in the Great Commission passages. The mission of each New Testament Church was articulated by the Lord Jesus Christ after His resurrection and just before His ascension to Heaven. He communicated the Great Commission in passages like Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; Acts 1:8. The intention of these passages is to make and mature disciples as an integral element of the Great Commission.

As any Bible student would anticipate, this involves reaching lost people with the Gospel (evangelizing), and moving them along a continuum towards maturity (edifying). Maturity is just as important as evangelizing. Though the Bible uses different terms there is great stress on the objective of growing believers (Hemphill, 1994) to full development (Eph. 4:13, 15; Phil. 3:12, 15; Heb. 6:1; Gal. 4:19; Col. 1:28; Matt. 5:48; Rom. 6:19, 22). Consider the insight of the Apostle Paul in the following passage:

 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love (Eph. 4:11-16).

What a brilliant portrayal of the maturation of Believers in a local church context. This church was committed to developing and growing Believers. God still requires this today.

Secondly, it is evident in the Bible that healthy churches place a high priority on promoting the growth of people towards Christlikeness. This is the fundamental issue of the discipleship ministry of a church. “Discipleship is the intentional training of converts/disciples, with accountability, on the basis of loving relationships” (Hemphill, 1994).

Dr. Hemphill correctly insists that the church at Antioch did maintain a healthy emphasis on discipleship of believers. In fact Barnabas went to Tarsus to bring Paul back to Antioch to help him disciple and train the many converts the church had (Acts 11:25-26). They spent an entire year ministering diligently in the work of developing and maturing believers in Christ. The end result was the believers were first called Christians in Antioch.

Much can also be learned from the church model of Jerusalem about the importance of a balance ministry. We can glean significant insight into the emphasis, features, and values of the early believers under the influence of the apostles. The account in Acts 2:41-47 indicates that discipleship is not a quick fix but a process of maturing believers in a balance manner. These are the signal features identified by Dr. Hemphill.

·                    They added the converts to the body (v. 41)

·                    They devoted themselves to apostolic teaching v. 42)

·                    They devoted themselves to one another in biblical fellowship (v. 42)

·                    They devoted themselves to worship (v. 42, 47)

·                    They were respected throughout the community (v. 47)

·                    They continued to emphasize outreach (v. 47)

Thus this church in Jerusalem possessed all the basic ingredients necessary to developing a balanced discipleship ministry in today’s churches. Certainly identifying these signature features is a relatively easy exercise, but implementing this in modern churches will requires some wisdom from God and solid planning. In addition, there is no desire to downplay or minimize the influence of the Spirit of grace in these instructive passages. Christ must lead and the Spirit must empower New Testament church ministry. The work is not purely strategic; it is also overtly supernatural.  Again healthy churches make discipleship a priority in their planning, budgeting, training, and services.

Thirdly, we must identify the characteristics of a genuinely mature disciple of our Lord.  What does a fully mature and functional disciple of Jesus Christ look like? Is each pastor an excellent example? Can we take for granted the leadership of most churches is mature in the Lord? This is important to recognize and identify because these mature characteristics will become the goals of our people—disciples. Once these distinguishing qualities are identified, they must be communicated to the church and the disciple in training. This helps them know what to fix their minds and hearts upon as they mature.

So then a survey of the Word of God reveals these features in mature disciples: they worship (Rom. 12:1-2), pray (1 Thess. 5:17), evangelize (Col. 4:3), know and apply Scripture to their lives (2 Tim. 2:15; Heb. 5:11-6:3), serve the church body (Eph. 4:11-13), partake of communion (1 Cor. 11:23-26), display the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23), give of their finances (2 Cor. 9:6-15), love others (1 John 4:7), and bear spiritual fruit (John 15:5). These are the primary traits that disciples must be encouraged to focus on. This is not merely a list of dos and don’ts; it is a portrait of genuine maturity in disciples of Jesus Christ. Each ministry leader should measure up and demonstrate these priorities from the heart in devotion to Christ. As they do so, the new converts and younger believers will understand better what to aim for in their own growth journey. The likelihood of arriving at the proper destination depends greatly upon knowing what the destination is at the beginning of the journey! Help your converts grasp what biblical maturity actually is; remove the mystery, misconceptions, and false traditions surrounding maturity in Christ.

A fourth consideration is the mastery of basic life skills for Christian living relative to discipleship. This is difficult to appreciate because much of our discipleship training time is mental, and not performance oriented. But, discipleship that is effective must have a strong emphasis on developing and mastering certain skills. These basic life skills are prayer, Bible study, Scripture memory, worship, stewardship of life, witnessing, and obedience leading to holiness (Hemphill, 1994). Converts must be painstakingly trained, monitored, corrected, coached, and critiqued through a skills development process. Just like acquiring any skill demands practical instructions, participation, practice, feedback, and continuous coaching through the process, the same is true with developing discipleship skills. Prayer, Bible study, evangelism, and stewarding life as skills not merely lessons to be taught. The discipleship mentors must be practical, evaluative, instructive, corrective, and diligent regarding accountability and expectations. Opportunity must be provided for believers to learn these vital Christian life skills under the tutelage of a master of them. Young believers will not learn these things without instruction, example, accountability, and opportunity (Hemphill, 1994). This reality likely account for the fact that 60 percent of all Americans attend church at least once a month, but of those only 12 percent read their Bibles. Dr. Hemphill also calls attention to a national survey conducted by the Church of God which revealed:

·                    25 percent of church members admit they never pray

·                    35 percent never read the Bible

·                    60 percent never give to missions

·                    70 percent never assume responsibilities in the church

·                    85 percent never invite anyone to church

·                    95 percent never win anyone to Christ

Finally, discipleship leaders, teachers, and mentors must be patient regarding their disciples’ development levels and skills. Understanding this will influences expectations and scheduling in discipleship ministries. In fact, the research conclusions from both Stanford University and Princeton University regarding development levels and skills help us understand the need to be patient with developing disciples in discipleship ministry. As a result of these studies repetition must be employed until the new behaviors are ingrained. All of this means the discipleship mentors must exercise real patience with the disciples (2 Tim. 4:2). I think we all would agree the Lord Jesus was exceedingly patient with the twelve apostles!

Dr. Hemphill also observed a positive relationship between instruction and discipline to Christian obedience. Actually instruction and discipline lead to obedience. The motivation to obey comes from God’s love for us and our love in return to Him (1 Jn. 4:18-19; Jn. 14:15; 15:10). Then we obey because we are convinced He has the very best in mind for us (Jeremiah 29:11). Believers, like children, require nurturing and admonishing (Eph. 6:1-4). Instructing growing believers would involve teaching solid and basic, biblical doctrine (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The churches today need to renew their emphasis on teaching sound doctrine. Biblical teachings should not be deemphasized, but reemphasized often as the basis for proper living.

As it is with raising children, discipline is also required for healthy spiritual development. Discipline is an act of love and care that promotes responsible and obedient behavior (Heb. 12:6, 7, 11). Sinful behavior among believers must be confronted in a healthy church in a manner that is loving, instructive, and filled with pastoral care. By following biblical principles for discipline, responding immediately with appropriate disciplinary measures, providing corrective instructions, and modeling genuine compassion, growth will be observed among believers (Hemphill, 1994).