Discipleship is the ministry of training people to follow
Jesus Christ. Jesus, the master discipler, invited everyone to follow Him and
selected twelve men for leadership training. As He ministered, His disciples
watched Him and learned. They learned from His example and from His teaching,
and they became like Him as they adopted His doctrine, His lifestyle, His
values, and His goals. Jesus wants you to be His disciple too. He wants you to
follow Him and to be like Him.
A study of Jesus’ life shows, above all else, that He
passed on to His disciples a relationship with Himself and with His Father in
heaven. In order to be a disciple, you must know Jesus Christ and love Him. This
is why Jesus asked Peter in John 21:15-17, "lovest thou me more than
these?" The qualification for training others to follow Christ is that you
love Him. You cannot teach someone else to love God if you do not love Him
yourself. You follow Christ when you love Christ.
Jesus did more than teach Sunday school and preach three
sermons a week. Seven days a week, at all hours of each day, He showed people
how to live. He often referred to His works as proof that His witness was true.
He healed, comforted, and cried over those who were hurt and ill. He lived a
public life of giving and caring. He spent time with people, touched them,
talked with them, and mingled with them. There could be no doubt that Jesus was
the Way, the Truth, and the Life. What an example to learn from!
Jesus personally tutored His disciples. Can you think of a
better way to receive quality, custom tailored instruction? I think not. Even
today, in all walks of life, people who are serious about being trained well in
a skill will pay the price for personal instruction. It is the proven way to
receive the best training. It was said of the disciples by their enemies that
they were astonished by the knowledge of these "unlearned and ignorant
men" who had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13). At another time, they were
credited with having turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6). These men were
well trained.
Jesus has, since then, ascended to the Father in heaven, but
discipleship continues throughout the world. Paul, the apostle, exhorted the
Corinthians to follow him even as he followed Christ (First Corinthians 11:1).
He exhorted Timothy in Second Timothy 2:2 to commit to faithful men the things
he learned from Paul. Likewise, every disciple is expected to pass on the
lifestyle of following Christ to others. With help from the Spirit of God,
training in a local New Testament church, and instruction from the Word of God,
you can be involved in the ministry of discipleship too. In Matthew 28: 17-20,
Jesus proclaimed the Great Commission to go, make disciples in all
nations, baptize them, and teach them to do everything He
commanded the disciples to do. It is God’s desire that you be a part of the
Great Commission.
World cultures are becoming increasingly controlled by
non-Christians. Consequently, laws are increasingly favorable toward ungodly
values, and increasingly oppressive to Christian values. Because laws generally
reflect the values of the people in a society, it is necessary that people be
won to Christ and that governments be controlled by Christian people. If the
trend of cultures toward ungodliness continues, Christians will suffer
persecution of injustice and immoral offense. The Bible foretells of the last
days becoming increasingly evil, however, this does not mean that we as
Christians should stop our ministries and hasten in the evil. Instead, we are
exhorted to fight for Christ and fervently reach into cultures to make disciples
for Christ.
In order to increase the influence of Christianity, it is
imperative to increase the numbers of Christians. Presently, the world’s
population growth, most of which is non-Christian, is out-pacing that of the
Christian population. Christ’s plan for discipleship is and always has been
the solution to maintaining a strong Christian influence in every culture.
Though many emphasize evangelism to reach and change the
world, discipleship is Christ’s emphasis. Discipleship involves evangelism but
includes much more. Discipleship trains new converts to be soul winners as they
learn to follow Christ. Also, though discipleship begins slowly with only a few
followers initially, it results in reaching far more people than evangelism
alone. Consider the following table.
Chart one. Comparing evangelism and discipleship.
Years
Win
Win
Train
one Soul/Day 20,000 Souls/Year
One Disciple/Year
1
365
20,000
2
2
730
40,000
4
3
1,095
60,000
8
4
1,460
80,000
16
5
1,825
100,000
32
6
2,190
120,000
64
7
2,555
140,000
128
8
2,920
160,000
256
9
3,285
180,000
512
10
3,650
200,000
1,024
15
5,475
300,000
32,768
20
7,300
400,000
1,048,576
25
9,125
500,000
33,554,432
32
11,680
640,000
4,295,000,000
If you were to disciple one person for a year, the following
year there would be two disciples, you and your disciple. By the end of the
second year, there would be four disciples ready to disciple. Notice that each
year, the number of disciples doubles. This is because you are training another
disciple to train disciples. By this means, within twenty-five years, you could
reach over thirty-three million people for the Lord. In thirty-two years, over
four billion people could be saved and discipled. By training one person a year
(a reasonable goal for yourself), millions can be reached. By comparison,
winning a soul everyday or even twenty thousand souls a year, besides being
unrealistic, does not have the potential to reach the world as does
discipleship. Of course, every possible means to win souls should be employed,
but discipleship must be a part of every ministry’s effort to reach the world
for Christ.
Obviously, in order for a discipleship ministry to reach its
potential, one hundred percent participation is required. Every participant must
disciple one person a year. Unfortunately, this does not occur. As Jesus said,
"Many are called, but few are chosen." Most people reject the
invitation of Christ to be saved. Of those who are saved, most live a carnal
life rather than pursue a Spirit-filled life as a disciple. Of those who are
disciples, few become leaders capable of training others to be disciples. And of
those who do become leaders, still fewer become leaders of leaders. This law of
diminishing returns is typical throughout society and not only among Christian
circles. Knowing this helps to keep the response to discipleship in perspective
and elevates the importance of those who continue to grow as disciples. It also
shows the importance of having a plan to train disciples because by providing a
ministry and plan for discipleship, disciples will not fail due to a lack of
opportunity.
The Spirit of God places in the heart of every born again
believer a desire to reach the world for Christ. Some become pastors, some are
sent to establish missions and churches, but most are called to reach their
families and neighbors. By employing Jesus’ plan of discipleship, everyone can
be a vital part to reaching the world for Him. Jesus’ plan includes the
participation of men, women, and children, singles, couples, and families.
God’s plan to reach the world begins with the family. The
family is God’s primary social unit for winning souls. Children are very
impressionable and moldable, and most professions of faith are made at an early
age. A strong influence in the home to live for Christ will more likely result
in children becoming disciples for Christ. Of course, this works the other way
as well. Children raised in a home that is indifferent or hostile to Christ will
more likely be indifferent or hostile to Christ. Parents thinking that children
should not be told what to think about religion are telling their children that
what you believe about Christ is not important. There is no way to escape the
fact that every home molds a child to the way of the parents’ thinking.
Children should be taught the Gospel, about its importance, and raised to
believe in Jesus Christ and to live for Him. God commended Abraham for being a
man who would "command his children and his household after him"
(Genesis 18:19). This fundamental principle is still God’s plan for all
families (Malachi 2:15 and Ephesians 5:23-25 & 6:1-3). It is obvious then,
that the Christian home is the beginning place for effective discipleship.
God’s plan to reach the world is discipleship in our homes
and in other homes. We must teach others to follow Christ, passing on the faith
diligently and thoroughly. Churches must equip members with skills of home
ministry and discipleship. You may feel inadequate to do such an important job.
Moses felt the same way when God called him to deliver his people out of Egypt.
But, God helped him and gave him resource. God is calling you now to deliver
your people out of Egypt, out of sin, and out of bondage. Will you follow Him?
