My Personal Plan to Develop Disciples

This paper will be discussing my personal plan to develop disciples who make

disciples, within a ministry setting. It will begin by defining a disciple and what I feel is

important in this journey. I will then talk about my past experiences with traditional

Christianity and how they, along with this class, have encouraged me to make sure that

people actually have the opportunity to be discipled so that they can become part of a

healthy body of believers. I will discuss my vision and the importance of knowing God’s

Word (commands). I will then talk about my core values focused on people knowing

God’s Word, having a church that is centered around Christ, and having people that focus

on prayer and on building a relational community of believers. After this I will discuss

different important terms to understand and ways that we can see fruit of discipleship

within the church and how we will know if things need to be changed in order to better

implement this.

Every follower of Jesus Christ is called to go make disciples and to teach them all

that Christ commanded (Matthew 28:19-20). A disciple is one who follows Christ’s

commands share the gospel, grow in obedience to Christ and in an understanding of His

Word, and who uses their gifts for the kingdom. They are also one who teaches others to

do the same. Believers must continue to grow in Christ and to be transformed by Him

(Romans 12:2). When a person accepts Christ they become a new creation (2 Corinthians

5:17). However, this is only the beginning of a life long journey of growing in Christ and

closer to Christ. Disciples must learn to surrender everything to Christ and obey Him in

everything. They must, as Dempsey put it be willing to “know Christ, grow in Christ, and

go for Christ.”

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Today traditional Christianity has a very big problem with actually being disciples

who make disciples for Christ. If you ask many young adult believers who discipled and

mentored them in the faith, they won’t be able to think of someone. This is truly

frustrating because now the next generation of believers does not know what discipleship

should look like or how they can also disciple others.

While we were talking about this topic my wife told me that she remembers,

when she was a teen, asking her youth pastor exactly how she could better share her faith

with others. She was hoping for some scriptures and some encouragement, because she

felt like when she did share her faith, it never really made a difference in people’s lives.

However, her pastor didn’t really have an answer for her at all. It is perplexing that we

are commanded by Christ to go and make disciples, and yet no one has ever shown us

how to do this. Obviously, going to college for ministry helped to give us a better

definition of what a disciple was and how the process worked, but when I talk with other

young adult and teen youth leaders, it is clear that many Christians have no idea what this

really means.

I believe that my first youth volunteer position, as well as this class, have helped

me to have a clearer picture of what my vision for ministry is. When I first began at that

church, I began to build friendships with my young adult and older teen youth leaders. I

found that they based many things off of emotions and the things they had been taught

instead of on the Word of God. Through these relationships I was able to see one young

man begin to earnestly study the Scripture and in doing so grow closer to God and begin

to disciple others to follow Christ. I also noticed that the youth became hungry to hear the

Word of God preached as opposed to hearing shallow motivational speeches.

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Through this experience I have realized that God has given me a vision to

bringing people to a better understanding of the Word of God. I desire to teach people the

gospel and how to use it effectively in their lives. I want young people to understand the

truth of God’s Word, and to know how to use the Bible in their life. This course has

helped me to understand what a true disciple of Jesus Christ is and has reemphasized the

importance of Christ’s command in Matthew 28:19-20 to go and make disciples,

baptizing them and teaching them all of Christ’s commands. We are not told to simply

tell people about Jesus, help them get saved, and leave them to figure Christianity out on

their own. We are called to disciple them and it is only through being obedient to Christ’s

commands that we are truly his followers.

As stated before, I want people to know God’s Word and to learn how to obey the

things that Christ has commanded us through applying Scripture to our every day lives. 2

Timothy 3:16-17 says “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,

correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly

equipped for every good work.” God has used this verse in my life to show me the

importance of knowing and following His Word as well as teaching others to know and

follow Him as well. When people are taught the Word of God and begin to study and

learn it for themselves, it can be used to train people in righteousness. It can also correct

that which is not of Christ and can teach believers what Christ’s commands are. This is

why I believe that it is important for people to be taught the Word of God and for them to

study and know it as well.

It can be very frustrating to see a big church of Christians, who cannot tell the

difference between the Word of God and what is false. In Acts 17, Paul went to the

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people of Berea and began to preach the gospel to them. In Acts 17:11 it says that the

Berean’s were of “noble character” because they “examined the Scriptures” to make sure

that everything Paul said was true. This shows the importance of testing everything that

people say by the Word of God, to make sure that it is the true Gospel. By studying and

learning the Scriptures, a person can be able to see what is true from what is false.

In ministry, I value a body of Christ that is centered on Christ. I desire for people

to know the true Gospel, not the “easy, sugar coated Gospel”, but the truth that Jesus

taught. I want people to know the Word of God and to be devoted to growing in Christ as

well as in sharing this “good news” with other people. I also believe that ministry should

be focused on people, instead of just numbers and programs. It is important that people

grow in their relationship with Christ so that they can mature out of their infancy and be

able to stand up for the faith that they hold to.

Because it is important for people to grow in their relationship with Christ they

need to develop a desire to spend time in God’s Word and in prayer. Spending quality

time in prayer is an important part of knowing Christ more deeply, because this is the

time where you talk to God and spend time in His presence. Paul talks about how it is

important to “pray continually” in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. In the Gospel’s Jesus spend lots

of time in prayer, talking to his father. He spent time early in the morning (Mark 1:35)

and late at night (Luke 6:12; Matthew 14:23) because he knew the how important this

time was to His relationship with the Father. Just as people spend time with one another,

in order to know each other more, Christians must spend time with God so that they can

know Him more deeply.

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Another value that I hold is building genuine relationships with people within the

body. The early church was focused around relationships. In Acts 2:42-47 Luke talks

about how the early body of believers met together daily, both in the temple, and for

meals and how they shared everything together. Paul also talks about how the body

should build each other up in love (Ephesians 4:16). A great way to do this is through

small groups, because it is an opportunity for people to live life together outside of a

Sunday morning service.

In order for a church to be unified in their vision and goals for ministry, there are

some things that everyone must understand the meaning of. It is important for people to

know that the church is not simply a building where people come to be fed, but a body of

believers that grows together as everyone works together (Ephesians 4:16). If people

desire to go to church without ever being involved in ministry, they are not being

Disciples of Christ and therefore the body of Christ cannot be healthy. The church is a

body of disciple making disciples who are committed to growing in Christ and using their

spiritual gifts within the body of Christ. They are also sharing the gospel and discipling

young believers to be strong disciples as well.

I know that in many churches, the Pastor is the head. He does most of what

happens in ministry and every decision must go through him. However a Pastor is meant

to be one who teaches and mentors other believers to discover and use their gifts for

God’s kingdom. When a church plant is started, much of what goes on revolves around

the pastor. However, as the pastor’s team grows, he begins to find people who are gifted

in different areas and gladly hands off part of the load to them. I do not think that they

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should be so focused on their authority or how they can do all the work for the kingdom.

Their job, instead, is to train other people to be disciples.

The saints are all believers within the body of Christ. Each believer needs to be

committed to learning the good news of Salvation shown through the Gospel message.

Believers must be willing to build each other up in the faith and must hold each other

accountable, in love, to obeying Christ’s commands. They must also share the true gospel

that shows we are saved by God’s grace, through faith and not by anything we have done

(Ephesians 2:8-9). They must understand that there is nothing we can ever do to earn

God’s favor, but that it is a free gift that he has given us. We must not only portray God

as a God of love, but be truthful with all aspects of Him. People must know that without

believing on Jesus, they are separated forever from God in hell. They must also know that

there are sins, in Scripture that we are told not to do and must hold to them. It is not okay

to “be” a Christian and to live a life in sin; believers must be set a part.

As Disciples of Jesus Christ we are called to evangelism, or the spread of the

Gospel through preaching and through witnessing personally to those who surround us,

such as family, friends, and co-workers. As a body of believers, we must desire to be a

missional church. This is an important part of the disciple making process, because

without people moving from the first stage of discipleship to the infancy stage where they

accept Christ as their savior, there would be less and less people to disciple. And if the

discipling process involves people growing a passion to share others with Christ, then we

cannot be disciples unless we are willing to evangelize.

As a church body we should also be willing to evangelize in the community

through outreaches. This can be as simple of handing out bottles of water on a busy city

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street or leaving groceries for people in need. We must be intentional about loving the

people around us and on building friendships with neighbors, co-workers, and the

community, in order to lead them closer to Jesus. Evangelism can also be done on a

personal level, by living as one transformed by Christ (Romans 12:2) and by sharing the

gospel message of salvation through Jesus Christ with our family and friends.

DISCIPLES

LEADERS/LEADERSHIP

My Vision in ministry is to focus on teaching people the Word of God and in

training them to be disciples who actually follow the commands they have received.

Teaching the Word of God will be accomplished by preaching the sermons exegetically

as well as through making it a part of the ministries of the church such as Sunday School

and through youth and children’s ministries. Another great way to focus on teaching the

Scripture is through implementing small groups. This is a great place for people to talk

about the Scriptures read and to help one another apply the Word of God to their every

day lives. It is also a place for them to be encouraged and rebuked by Scripture in a

loving way. Small groups and Sunday School classes are also a great way for people to

learn to follow Christ’s commands and to be held accountable by other believers to

follow through with their growth plans.

Because disciples use their spiritual gifts for the kingdom of God, the church

structure would involve everyone working together, using their particular gifts for the

kingdom. This is the model that my current church uses. If someone is good at finances

than they can be a part of that committee. Those who are good at teaching can be

involved in teaching classes, small groups, or even doing a Sunday sermon on occasion.

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Those who are good at organizing and planning events can be a part of putting together

different events that support our vision and goals. This way many different people play a

part in each ministry of the church and everyone has the opportunity to use their gifts.

As a body of believers we will come up with ideas for events, both within the

church to increase the relational community of the body as well as outside the church to

reach out to those who are hurting and to those who do not know Christ. Our budget will

be discussed and decided on by the leadership team and multiple people will be involved

in making sure that this happens and that it is all recorded correctly.

As far as curriculum, it is preferred that small groups and other classes take their

material directly out of Scripture. If it is possible to go along with the Sunday service in

order to talk more in depth about what is being learned and how to apply it, that would be

amazing. As far as Kid’s church curriculum and youth group, whatever they do must line

up with our vision to teach people to be disciples making disciples, who know God’s

commands (Scripture) and know how to stand up for the truth of God’s Word.

For small groups we will encourage everyone to be a part of these groups because

they are a large part of how a healthy disciple making church is made and sustained. This

is because these are the times where believers can become the body of Christ. Through

small groups people can build relationships with one another and hold each other

accountable to their growth in Christ. This is also a place where people can pray together

and study and discuss the Word of God together. Small groups will then encourage

people to build friendships outside of church and to be missional to the community.

The Pastor and leadership staff would talk about small groups often and would

allow people to give testimonies to what God was doing through this time. They would

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also be involved in the teaching being presented in these groups and in how they relate to

a culture of disciples making disciples. They would also encourage people to join small

groups, because it is away for everyone to become a part of the community and makes it

harder for people to “slip through the cracks” and feel forgotten. More mature believers

would be encouraged to build friendships with and disciple younger believers in the faith.

It is true that many times, you can walk into a church and have no idea what their

actual vision and values are. This is why it is important to “be” what you value. This

means that as a church that values disciples making disciples, visitors would be able to

see what we value by how we interact with one another and with them. They would see it

throughout our service, in our worship and sermons and so on. They would also see our

emphasis on Christ instead of on ourselves, through the words that we speak and the way

that we act. They would also see our emphasis on the Word of God and on how we share

the actual gospel, even when it is challenging and convicting.

As far as communication, the leadership team would work together daily and

weekly, making sure that everything needed to be done is done. They will also spend

time together building friendships and talking about what we are going to do to better

implement our vision. The team would also spend time in prayer and Bible study

together. Obviously the amount of time spent together would differ depending on

people’s schedules, jobs, etc., but it is important that they make time at least monthly to

spend time talking about how the body of Christ is working together to follow Christ’s

commands.

Obviously, if a body of believers are being healthy disciples, the fruit would be

evident. First there would be people coming to know Christ and becoming a part of the

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church. Secondly there would constantly be people growing in their faith, to a point

where they focus on younger believers and helping them to grow in their faith. Thirdly

there would be people growing to a point where they are sent out to share with more

believers and continue the process, either within our church, or in a new church plant. On

top of this people would be using their gifts for the kingdom. This means that, the

healthier the church is, the more people would be using their gifts and therefore involved

in some way within the church. It also means that people would be involved in small

groups and in becoming missional together with the community.

As far as numbers, theoretically a healthy church would be continually expanding

because disciples would mature to a point where they would reach out to bring in more

disciples. This would also mean that more mature believers could be sent out to make

even more church plants within their community, extending the body of believers across

whole regions. I would like to see a couple hundred people regularly attending church,

small groups, and being involved in the ministries of the church…from clean up to

leading a small group to praying for the service to anything else that they are gifted in.

The best way to measure success would be to see people constantly winning

others to Christ and then to be able to measure their growth over a couple years and see

them mature to the point where they begin winning others for Christ, as well as being a

part of a body that builds each other up and uses their gifts for the kingdom. If the church

does not see this disciple making process occurring, it would be wise to revisit the way

that it is doing ministry and being missional in order to better serve the body and to create

a model that builds a healthier church community.

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Through out this plan, I have discussed the importance of having a church

community that is filled with disciples who make disciples. I talked about my vision that

people would know the Word and commands of God so that they could stand up for their

faith and recognize when people speak outside of God. I also talked about the importance

of having a church that focuses on community and prayer, as well as a body that is

centered on Christ. I discussed my understanding of a pastor and leadership team and

their role of discipling others to be active members in the body of Christ. I also talked

about the importance of believers knowing the Scriptures, using their gifts and of

becoming missional. I then talked about how small groups and other ministries are

important parts of building relationships and strengthening believers. These are also

important times where people can grow into the person God has called them to be and be

encouraged to “go” for Christ. I then finished off by talking about how seeing people

constantly coming to know Christ, seeing those growing in Christ, and seeing people

going out to plant new churches for Christ are all ways to measure the growth and health

of a church where disciples make disciples.

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