Disciple Making

A thoughtful and honest look at many churches today results in the realization that we’ve been good at one outcome: creating good “church people,” that is, people who are well-equipped to run, operate, and keep all of our church programs going. What kind of processes have led to that outcome? Here’s an example from one church: Spend the summer calling people to populate ministry teams at church. Provide a spiritual gifts assessment to measure an individual’s best place to get “plugged in” to one of the ministries inside the church. Highlight a “volunteer Sunday” at which each ministry in the church hosts a...Read more …

Ruth’s neighbor had been sick for a long time, grew quite reclusive, and had stopped responding to any of Ruth’s neighborly gestures. Ruth had all but given up trying to literally love her neighbor. That was, until one day, when her neighbor reached out to her. In total distress, she called Ruth and explained a pretty serious problem she was experiencing. Ruth’s response was kind and compassionate, and feeling like this was an answer to her own prayers, she was ready to help. As it turned out, this was a pivotal moment in their relationship–Ruth’s neighbor has needed daily help...Read more …

Our entire family watched as much of the Chicago Cubs as we could last summer as they chased after their first World Series victory in 108 years. I doubt that my youngest son, Joseph, even missed one! Baseball is his game—he’s played it (and watched it) for most of his seventeen years. Joseph’s also a man of few words. But when he does choose to speak, he either makes the rest of us laugh or comes out with a real gem. The case for process Like the time he and I were watching one of those history-making games and Joseph...Read more …

If the people of your church felt equipped to share their faith, do you think they would? A pastor from the Chicago area recently shared this story with us: I realized the need and wanted everyone in my church to be directly involved in the Mission of God. So, one Sunday morning I preached one of my best sermons! I urged my people on, I called them to action, I told them that they didn’t want to be the religious leaders walking by someone on the side of the road who needed their help, and I even laid on some guilt. At the...Read more …

Here’s a radio-minute that aired nationally this week on Q Place’s Walk the Way: This is Walk the Way, brought to you by Q Place, I’m Jeff Klein. And I’m Pam Klein. The young man stood up at the Easter sunrise service and began to share the story of why he wanted to renew his vows of baptism. The son of two Catholics, he was dutifully baptized, but, as he grew older, he often wondered if that was literally the only time he had been inside a church—no one ever took him or read him the Bible that he’d been given at...Read more …

Perhaps we’ve somehow made fulfilling the Great Commission too hard? Too complicated? Too institutional? Perhaps we don’t see our individual responsibility as followers of Jesus to make disciples? Perhaps we are not noticing all the people around us who are searching for God but have not found him in the church building on Sunday? Perhaps we have relied too much on a telling approach that appears transactional and prescriptive to many around us? Sent Jesus reminds us in John 17:18, “As you [the Father] sent me into the world, I have sent them [believers] into the world” (emphasis added). We...Read more …

Everyone seems to agree that a disciple is not simply a person who prays the prayer of salvation and then goes to a church service on Sundays, although in actual practice this may be the definition that is most common. Churches may be full of people who have prayed a prayer of salvation, but does that make them disciples? Or is there more to it? How we define a disciple matters. Jesus clearly told His disciples to go out and make more of them, and anyone who desires to share the Gospel needs a starting point. Here is a working...Read more …

Jesus is our model for creating God-honoring, life-changing community. Yes, he spoke to the masses, but Jesus’ primary ministry here on earth came via an invitation to twelve ordinary Jewish men. As you well know, Jesus invited them into community with him to learn and grow together as they followed him. Rather than mass-producing disciples, Jesus chose to invest deeply in a handful of people, developing committed followers. We’ve identified four simple steps–or stages–that will help you start groups for spiritually curious people, stages that mirror what Jesus did in building his first group of disciples. Preparation Jesus spent focused...Read more …