The Disciple Making
CHALLENGE
Congress of Apostolic Ministries
May 26, 2014
Introduction
Matthew 28:18-20
Then Jesus came to them and said, “…go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded
you. And surely I am with you always, to the
very end of the age.” (NIV)
Introduction
The word discipleship is never found in the bible.
Jesus didn’t say “go and develop discipleship programs”
He said “go and make disciples”
Introduction:
In many churches we have created a dualism, where we
distinguish between Jesus as Saviour and Jesus as Lord.
Jesus is both Lord and Saviour – you can’t have one
without the other!
Introduction
“The biggest threat to the church today is fans who call
themselves Christians but aren’t actually interested in
following Christ. They want to be close enough to Jesus
to get all the benefits, but not so close that it requires
anything from them.”
Kyle Idleman in Not a Fan
Introduction
“Most people in most churches think they are following
Jesus….but the reality is this: they have invited Jesus to
follow them. They call Him Savior, but they’ve never
surrendered to Him as Lord. And I was one of them.
Trust me, I didn’t want to go anywhere without Jesus
right there behind me. But I wanted Jesus to
follow me, to serve my purposes, to do my
will.”
Mark Batterson – in All In
Introduction
John 6: 53 “…unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink His blood you have no life in you.”
John 6:66 “From that time many of his disciples
turned back and no longer followed him.”
I. Every Believer A Disciple:
Luke 9:23-25
“Jesus said "If anyone would come after me, he must
deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good
is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet
lose or forfeit his very self?” (NIV)
I. Every Believer A Disciple:
Self-denial means that:
• We adopt a biblical world view rather than a me
centered world view.
• His purposes supersede our purposes.
• We live counter-culturally by adopting
Kingdom values & lifestyle.
a
I. Every Believer A Disciple:
Self-denial means that:
• We live with an attitude of “Nevertheless not my will
but thy will be done.”
• We give Jesus the right to say “no” to our wants
and desires.
I. Every Believer A Disciple:
I. Every Believer A Disciple:
“From this day
forward, I am a slave
to Jesus Christ.”
Bill Bright (1921 – 2003)
I. Every Believer A Disciple:
“…in every generation a few do follow Jesus. They deny
themselves, they take up their cross, and they follow
him. They lose their lives and save them – and along
with their own, the lives of many, many others.”
Eugene Peterson, in The Jesus Way
I. Every Believer a Disciple:
Following Jesus isn’t about making a decision – it’s
about dying.
Jesus doesn’t call us to a moment of surrender He calls
us to a life time of surrender.
I. Every Believer a Disciple:
Galatians 2:20
“I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I
but Christ lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh, I
live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave
himself for me.”
I. Every Believer a Disciple:
When he came there was no light
When he left there was no
darkness
William Milne – Missionary
I. Every Believer a Disciple:
Jesus didn’t die to keep us safe. He died to make us
dangerous.
Faithfulness is not holding the fort. It’s storming the
gates of hell.
I. Every Believer a Disciple:
The complete surrender of your life to the cause of
Christ isn’t radical. It’s normal.
It’s time to quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive
safely at death.
I. Every Believer a Disciple:
John 12:23-26
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the
ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it
dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life
will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this
world will keep it for eternal life.”
II. Every Disciple a Disciple Maker:
Matthew 4:19
Jesus said “Come follow me and I will make you fishers
of men.”
The purpose of all disciple making is to make
disciples that will make disciples.
II. Every Disciple a Disciple Maker:
“Jesus devoted most of His life on earth to these few
disciples. He literally staked his whole ministry upon
them. The world could be indifferent toward Him and
still not defeat his strategy. It even caused Him no great
concern when his followers on the fringes of things
gave up their allegiance when confronted with
the true meaning of the Kingdom…”
II. Every Disciple a Disciple Maker:
“One must decide where he wants his ministry to count
– in momentary applause of popular recognition or in
the reproduction of his life in a few chosen men who will
carry on his worked after he is gone. Really it is a
question for which generation we are living for.”
Robert Coleman – Master Plan of Evangelism
II. Every Disciple a Disciple Maker:
II Timothy 2:2
“And 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.”
II. Every Disciple a Disciple Maker:
Dawson Trotman's Calculations
4 disciples x 4 people for 6 months = 8 disciples
8 disciples x 8 people for 6 months = 16 disciples
At the end of 5 years = 1024 disciples
At the end of 16 years = 2,000,000,000 disciples
II. Every Disciple a Disciple Maker
II. Every Disciple a Disciple Maker:
Matthew 5:1-2
“When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he
climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him,
the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet
place, he sat down and taught his climbing
companions” (MSG)
II. Every Disciple a Disciple Maker:
“Whatever he had
and whatever he
was, he made that
accessible to others”
II. Every Disciple a Disciple Maker:
One of the keys to effective disciple making is giving
those you are disciplining access to our lives.
Effective disciple making moves from a client-provider
model to an empowered-disciple model.
II. Every Disciple a Disciple Maker:
II. Every Disciple a Disciple Maker:
II Samuel 18
Because Absalom had no sons he build a monument to
himself.
A lot of Christian leaders – have no spiritual
sons or daughters – because they have never
made disciple making a priority.
III. Every Church a Disciple Making Community
When it comes to disciple making -- there are really just
two questions that every Pastor needs to ask
themselves:
1. Do I have a plan for making disciples?
2. Is my plan working?
III. Every Church a Disciple Making Community
“….most of pastors have been educated and trained to
build, serve and lead the organization of the church.
Most of us have actually never been trained to make
disciple.
However, the call to make disciples still never wavers
and never changes. Make disciples.”
Mike Breen – Building a Discipling Culture
III. Every Church a Disciple Making Community
Churches don’t make disciples – disciples make the
church.
If you have disciples in your church you will reach lost
people, because that’s what disciples do!
III. Every Church a Disciple Making Community
1. Make Disciple Making a Priory
2. Get Informed and Get Equipped for Disciple Making
III. Every Church a Disciple Making Community
III. Every Church a Disciple Making Community
III. Every Church a Disciple Making Community
III. Every Church a Disciple Making Community
3. Eliminate a Client/Provider Mentality
4. Use the Right Metrics to Measure Success
5. You Will Reproduce Who You Are
III. Every Church a Disciple Making Community
6. Equip Parents to be the Primary Disciplers of Their
Children
7. If you make Disciples you Will Develop Leaders
8. Develop a Disciple Making Process not a
Program
III. Every Church a Disciple Making Community
9. Create an Atmosphere of Accountability
10. Be Patient – Making Disciples Takes Time
Zechariah 4:10 "Who despises the day of
small beginnings?”
Conclusion:
Disciple making is the global task that Jesus calls His
church to.
Disciple making is not new – it’s not hip or trendy, in
fact it is often messy and arduous.
Conclusion:
On the day of Pentecost, the Father sent the Holy Spirit
to empower the church to meet this challenge of
Discipling nations!
Application
1. Are you a Disciple?
2. Are you a Disciple maker?
3. Is your church a Disciple Making Community?