Being A Disciple-Maker

Being A Disciple-Maker

Text: 2 Timothy 2:2 "the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others."

It is important that the Church operate from a clear vision and established values that keep everyone in tune with the overall direction of the congregation. Jesus told His disciples that two things were important: Follow Me ... Make Disciples. BE A DISCIPLE (a follower of Jesus) ... and BE A DISCIPLE-MAKER.

We are called not only to be followers of Jesus but also to be disciple makers. He called you and me, not only to be disciples but also, to go and make disciples.

Summary I: Follow Me ... Make Disciples.

The mission of "the Church," as a group of followers of Jesus, is to "make disciples of others."

DISCOVER: the command is to go - to reach out - not to stay inside the church buildings.
DELIVERANCE: conversion through evangelism.
DEVELOPMENT: training and equipping (Eph. 4:11-12).
DEPLOYMENT: moving out into mission.

Think Steps to Discipleship, Not Programs.

The tendency is to mistake activity for progress.
The first step in Disciple-Making is to EVANGELIZE.
The second step in Disciple-Making is to EDIFY.
The third step in Disciple-Making is to EQUIP.
The fourth step in Disciple-Making is to EMPLOY.

DISCIPLESHIP QUESTION: How do we move someone from where they are to the next step in their spiritual journey.
- To focus the church on making disciples is to change the way we think about doing Church.

Disciple-making is not one of the things a church does; it becomes THE ONE THING the church does.
Our potential to make an impact on people’s lives and upon our community is directly related to our willingness to NARROW OUR FOCUS.

Summary II: Making Disciples Involves Creating a Church with Outsiders in Mind.

Millions of outsiders see what the church does as being irrelevant, yet most churches continue to do business as usual.

Jesus told us to focus on who we’re trying to reach, not on who we’re trying to keep.

"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." (Mark 4-7).

If we are going to "make disciples," we have to deliberately create environments that will appeal to the unchurched.
Key Question: Are we committed enough to discipleship that we are willing to change our programming so that the unchurched will feel comfortable in our services and activities?

If You Want Your Life to Have a Lasting Impact, Learn to Teach Others to Do What You Do!

True discipleship is about serving and being involved - NOT JUST SITTING IN A CLASSROOM OR SANCTUARY.
Jesus model of disciple making:

teach them what to do (EDIFY),
show them how to do it (EQUIP), and
then watch them do it (EMPLOY).

REPLACEMENT PRINCIPLE: Every disciple have a disciple, every worker train a worker, every leader recruit a leader.
Three Steps to Develop a coaches heart.

Break it Down: Be able to verbalize (in writing) the essential steps of ministry.
Hand it Off: Move from player to coach.
Let it Go: Kingdom-mindedness requires that we constantly let go of one thing in order for God to give us something else.

No matter how long we’ve served in a ministry we have to work on our own discipleship. If we plan to have a big impact on our community, we are going to have to sharpen our skills at being disciples AND at making disciples. A question that we need to ask ourselves every week is: "What did you see hear, or experience this week that makes you feel we have successfully fulfilled our mission?"