We speak of the time that Jesus told His disciples to make disciples as the Great Commission. It is great because it is a clear call in how a follower of Christ is to spend their life energy. It is a Commission because it was an enlistment and job description so that we would never live in doubt or fear about what the main thing truly was – just make disciples!
As a Church Planter, it is vital to have a clear vision. It is just as vital to have a clear method or process of discipleship that is Biblical and helps the people that you reach to know which direction to go and track their spiritual journey in a way that keeps them from getting stuck. Many times our discipleship progress is sacrificed on the altar of evangelistic zeal. Don’t get me wrong, they go together like ham and eggs. Yet, each of us as church planters can tend to be all about the lost at the expense of those that are won for Jesus. We must help young disciples grow if we are to be a multiplying church.
Over the next few weeks I am going to write week by week about the process that we have begun to use at WindCity Church in Casper, Wyoming. I do not offer it as a formula for any church but rather as a series of helps for you or your church plant to consider as you develop your own process.
To get you thinking about discipleship, here are a few questions to consider as you develop, modify or tweak your own model:
1. Does your church have clear entry points into the flow of growing as a disciple?
2. Do you have a support system to train disciple-makers to help multiply your effectiveness and broaden your reach?
3. Can you communicate your discipleship process as part of your vision easily?
4. Can you communicate the process easily in under 2 minutes (broad strokes)? Have you communicated it enough so that your leaders can do so as well?
These are all questions that are big works in progress for me but they challenge me to be intentional about making disciples.
[Admin Note: This is part 1 in a 7 part series. You find the others in the series here.]