It’s fair to say that most churches see “making disciples” as a core part of their mission. I would hope that’s the case, anyway, given the Great Commission that Jesus gives His disciples in Matthew 28:18-20:
Jesus came near and said to them,“All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
But what a lot of pastors and church leaders may secretly (or not-so-secretly) struggle with is how this functionally happens as a part of local church ministry in the 21st century. Practically speaking, how does discipleship actually happen?
Different pastors and discipleship ministry leaders may answer this question in their own ways, and that’s good! Discipleship can happen in a variety of ways across different contexts.
When we’re partnering with churches in their discipleship efforts here at Rooted Network, we talk about four principles of discipleship strategy.
Let’s dive into them.
1. Discipleship Is Intentional, Not Accidental
Discipleship doesn’t really happen by accident. We don’t drift into spiritual maturity. Even once we’re saved and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, sin can still easily entangle and we often do not choose the narrow road, opting instead for self-indulgence and sinful pursuits, despite our faith in the risen Christ.
An effective discipleship strategy accounts for the sinfulness of even the saved Christian’s heart, and builds intentionality into the life of the believer. We are not saved by our efforts—praise God—but following Jesus requires effort! It is good to have a deliberate plan for following Jesus, rather than assuming that weekend worship service attendance will form us into the likeness of Christ.
What does this look like? It could look like having a Bible reading plan, a prayer journal and a list of items to regularly pray for, and time set aside for Christian community outside the worship service each week.
2. Discipleship Is Specific, Not Vague
Some Christians, especially (but not only) those who may be new to the local church, sometimes think, “Well now that I follow Jesus, I just need to grow spiritually.” But what does that even mean? What does that practically look like? Sure, it’s true, but it’s almost too vague to even be helpful.
Generalities and vague sentiments like those can sometimes do more harm than good, leaving us stuck and unsure of how to proceed in our attempts to become more like Jesus. We may be willing to grow and change, but unsure of what it looks like to do that in everyday life.
Specificity, on the other hand, is a gift to those who want to become more like Jesus. Clear steps presented in trusted community can serve as a guide to daily change that results in Christlikeness. Now of course it is important to not let this turn into some kind of legalism that has us trying to check items off a list to earn God’s favor. We are accepted by God in Christ. Our small, specific steps of faithfulness and obedience flow out of our faith in Christ as our sure salvation.
We are busy people in a world that wants an ever-increasing amount of our time and attention. This means that if we want to change and become more like Jesus, we need to be intentional and specific about how we’re going to do that.
What does this look like? It looks like working through a daily Bible reading plan instead of “trying to read my Bible more.” It looks like a weekly appointment serving at a food pantry instead of vague hopes of “helping the homeless” whenever we eventually get around to it.
3. Discipleship Is Experiential, Not Only Informational
Learning is important. Knowing God is vital to the life of the disciple. How can we love God and help others love Him if we do not first know Him? And to know God requires some amount of effort on our part—reading the Bible, reading other Christians who know God well, and learning from others in community. But anyone who has followed Jesus for some time knows that while discipleship requires acquiring information, it does not stop there. True, fruitful discipleship is experiential—it requires acting out our faith, not just learning more about the God who is the object of it.
The knowledge of God we stock in our heads must make its way to our hearts, which must lead us to love others by the works of our hands and our feet. An intimate knowledge of the God of the universe that does not lead to practically loving our neighbors and serving our communities is deficient and perhaps not as intimate as it seems.
What does this look like? It looks like taking time to pray in our everyday lives instead of just talking about prayer. It looks like mowing our elderly neighbor’s lawn instead of just reading about the importance of loving our neighbor. It looks like buying a friend’s coffee and having a good conversation even though we have vehement disagreements about politics or faith.
4. Discipleship Is Sustainable, Not Sporadic
A discipleship strategy that depends on one gifted leader—a charismatic senior pastor, a key discipleship coordinator, or otherwise—is a house built on shifting sand. Not because that key leader isn’t great, but because that leader could leave at any time for any number of reasons. When we are interested in creating discipleship strategies that are sustainable, we should ask, “If this pastor or that leader left, could we reproduce this discipleship strategy with church members and other key people?”
The goal of any discipleship strategy is to form disciples who make disciples. We want to multiply disciples in our churches, not just add them.
What does this look like? Frankly, it looks like intentional investment and leadership development of lay leaders and other non-central people in the church community. People leave churches all the time for all kinds of reasons, good or bad, so if a discipleship strategy in the local hopes to be sustainable, it needs to rely on a myriad of leaders who have been developed by the discipleship staff of the church to multiply discipleship efforts in the community.
Four Principles, One Strategy
These are the four principles of an effective discipleship strategy that we work to help churches implement through Rooted Network. Intentionality gives our discipleship direction. Specificity gives it clarity. Experience gives it depth. Sustainability gives it longevity. Which of the four is the weakest in your church? How might you need to grow and improve?
Reach out to one of our Rooted Network coaches for a completely free coaching conversation to help discern how you can grow and set a trajectory to do it!
