Our Approach to Making Disciples
Document Introduction
The apostles understood their entire calling through the lens of Jesus’s name. Paul wrote, “Through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles on behalf of his name” (Rom. 1:5). Mission, therefore, begins not with human need but with the worth of the risen Christ. The church proclaims the gospel and forms disciples because Jesus deserves to be trusted, loved, obeyed, and announced among all peoples. Everything we do flows from this conviction: the name of Jesus must be honored in every household, neighborhood, city, and nation.
Because Jesus deserves the obedience of faith from all peoples, he gives his church a clear mission: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19–20). The scope of this command can feel overwhelming, yet Scripture shows—and history confirms—that the earliest churches lived it out through a simple, relational, reproducible pattern. God places every believer within natural relational networks—friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors (FRAN’s)—and these become the first fields where the obedience of faith takes root. Disciple-making is the process of helping people trust Jesus (evangelism), obey Jesus (discipleship), and help others do the same (leadership development). This is the apostolic pattern we seek to recover—the way the obedience of faith spread from person to person and place to place for the sake of Jesus’s name.
To live this out today, we follow a simple and concrete approach that reflects the pattern Jesus gave his apostles. At the center is loving God and loving others—the two commands Jesus identified as greatest and from which all obedience flows. These loves are formed and sustained through the Word, prayer, and fasting, the practices God uses to shape our desires, align us with his will, and give us strength and courage to honor Christ and serve others faithfully. From this center flow five interconnected movements—a clear and repeatable pathway for making disciples within our networks:
Serve to meet practical needs.
Seek to find receptive people.
Invite to discover the Christian message.
Gather to grow in biblical community.
Equip to develop new leaders.
These movements form one living system—each strengthening and depending on the others. If even one practice is neglected, the whole system slows down or stalls. But when all five are active and rooted in love for God and love for others, sustained by the Word, prayer, and fasting, ordinary believers experience the same dynamic the early church did: disciples are formed, leaders emerge, and the obedience of faith spreads across households, neighborhoods, and cities for the honor of Jesus’s name.
For Reflection and Discussion
Clarifying Our Motives: When you think about making disciples “for the sake of Jesus’s name” (Rom. 1:5), what most shapes your motives right now—love for Jesus, concern for people, fear of failure, pressure to perform, or something else? Where do you sense the Spirit inviting a shift?
Clarifying Our Calling: Which part of Jesus’s Great Commission feels most overwhelming to you right now—going, making, or teaching—and why?
The Center: Love God and Love Others
When Jesus was asked to name the greatest commandment, he identified the deepest orientation of a faithful life: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind… and love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37–40). Jesus taught that all obedience, maturity, and mission flow out of these two loves. Loving God is not limited to private devotion, and loving others is not an optional outcome of faith. Together, they form the center from which every aspect of discipleship grows.
Because love for God and love for others stand at the center of the Christian life, they provide a clear and biblical lens for examining our habits, relationships, and responsibilities. The goal is not vague self-assessment, but honest attentiveness to how God is shaping our loves and where those loves are misdirected or neglected.
Loving God: Love for God is expressed through worshipful obedience and sustained dependence on him. Scripture, prayer, repentance, and occasional fasting are not ends in themselves, but means by which our hearts are trained to value God above competing desires. Through these practices, God exposes sin, reshapes our priorities, steadies us in trials, and teaches us to trust him in decisions and emotional strain. Loving God means bringing our whole lives before him and learning to order our desires, thoughts, and actions around who he is and what he has spoken.
Loving Others: Love for others flows directly from love for God and gives that love visible expression. This love begins with those closest to us and extends outward into every relationship God has entrusted to us. Loving others involves patience, forgiveness, truthfulness, service, and perseverance, especially when relationships are costly or slow to change. In everyday life, love takes shape through faithful presence, integrity, humility, and a readiness to seek the spiritual good of others rather than personal convenience or approval.
Jesus did not present love for God and love for neighbor as separate commands competing for priority. He presented them as inseparable realities that define faithful life under God’s reign. When these loves are held together, they give coherence to spiritual practices, shape relationships, and sustain mission. Discipleship grows strong and durable when wholehearted love for God overflows into faithful love for others.
For Reflection and Discussion
Loving God: How are your current spiritual practices shaping what you love, trust, and depend on most—and where do you see neglect, drift, or divided loyalty?
Loving Others: How is your love for God shaping the way you speak, serve, forgive, and act toward the people God has placed closest to you right now?
1. Serve to Meet Practical Needs
Our goal is to create natural, relational entry points for the gospel as we serve others in love. Jesus met physical and spiritual needs, revealing the Father’s compassion (Mark 10:45; Luke 19:10). Serving others is not a burden—it is a joy and one of the simplest ways to express Christlike love. And while we gladly care for fellow believers, this model especially helps us engage non-Christians, showing them God’s kindness and mercy in ordinary, tangible ways. We do not need special programs or projects; we simply begin with the everyday needs already present in our neighborhood, workplace, and extended family. As we serve, we stay attentive to the Spirit—ready to respond when he prompts us, just as the Spirit sent Philip to walk alongside the Ethiopian’s chariot (Acts 8:29).
The B.L.E.S.S. Rhythm
Begin with Prayer: Ask God whom to bless and pray specifically for their needs, openness, and good.
Listen: Listen carefully to understand their real struggles, hopes, and concerns.
Eat: Share a meal or coffee to build trust and genuine connection.
Serve: Meet practical needs that emerge as you listen and share life with them.
Story: Share your story—and, most importantly, God’s saving story—naturally when trust opens the door. (Bless, Ferguson & Ferguson)
Two Universal Entry-Point Questions
We often feel overwhelmed or unsure about how to approach people, especially when it comes to spiritual conversations. But most people welcome friendly interaction far more than we think, and simple conversations often open the door to meaningful connection.
“How can I help you with that?” This opens doors naturally. Help with yard work, rake leaves, shovel snow, carry groceries, give a ride, help with childcare, clean out a garage, move furniture, or run an errand.
“How can I pray for you?” A gentle way to discern spiritual openness. Pray on the spot or follow up later in the week.
Create Rhythms of Service and Hospitality
We will serve others more regularly when we make space for it. Families and individuals can set aside simple weekly rhythms that keep their hearts open, their schedules available, and their minds attentive to the Spirit’s leading. Ideas include:
Saturday Morning Neighbor Care — a weekly block of time to help neighbors with yard work, small repairs, errands, or simple needs.
Sunday Afternoon Encouragement — write encouraging texts, pray for people by name, and check on people facing a challenge.
Friday or Saturday Dinner With FRAN’S — share a meal with non-Christians, new acquaintances, or neighbors, creating relational bridges for the gospel.
Monthly Service Project — choose one need (a widow, a single parent, a struggling family) and serve together as a household or church.
These simple commitments keep us joyful, attentive, and ready for whatever doors God opens—and ready to step into them with the gospel.
For Reflection and Discussion
Attentive to the Spirit: Where do you sense obstacles—busyness, fear, distraction, or self-protection—keeping you from noticing the people God has placed right in front of you?
Love in Action: What is one simple way you could serve someone in your network this week—yard work, a meal, a ride, a listening ear, or a practical task?
2. Seek to Find Receptive People
Our goal is to find people receptive to God and his message that they can be saved through Jesus Christ. We seek because God works through relationships. Jesus told his disciples to look for “persons of peace”—people who welcome you, listen to your words, and show the kind of openness the New Testament describes as receiving the messenger and having a heart prepared by the Lord (Luke 10:5–6; Acts 16:14). As God opens hearts, these receptive individuals often become bridges through which the gospel flows into households, workplaces, and entire relational networks.
Biblical Examples of “Bridge People” to Networks of Others
The Samaritan woman shared her testimony, and many in her town believed (John 4:39–42).
Cornelius gathered his household and friends to hear the gospel (Acts 10:24–48).
Lydia believed, and her home became a gathering place for believers (Acts 16:14–15, 40).
In each case, God opened one person’s heart, and that person’s network became an entry point for the gospel.
How to Identify Receptive People
Pray daily for God to reveal open, relationally connected individuals.
Notice who is spiritually curious, hospitable, or influential.
Engage with sincerity—listening, serving, and praying for them.
Invite them to read Scripture or discuss faith.
Encourage them to involve others in their network.
How to Walk with Receptive People
Continue praying with and for them, asking the Spirit to guide your next steps.
Help them gather others to study The Path to God or other biblical resources.
Support them as they host or co-lead gatherings in their homes or relational spaces.
Coach them toward maturity and multiplication, helping them see themselves as missionaries in their own networks.
We seek receptive people with patience and hope, trusting that God is already at work long before we arrive and that he often uses simple relationships to open spiritual doors.
For Reflection and Discussion
Recognizing Receptivity: Who in your network seems most open to you personally right now? How might you gently test that openness through prayer or conversation?
Walking with Openness: What would it look like to help a receptive person share what they’re discovering with others?
3. Invite to Discover the Christian Message
Our goal is to help spiritually receptive people grasp the heart of the gospel clearly and simply. To do this, we use a simple tool called The Path to God, which mirrors the apostolic approach to evangelism. It helps non-Christians understand the core truths of the Christian message—who God is, what sin is, what Christ has done, and how to respond in repentance and faith. You do not need to have all the answers or deliver a polished presentation; you simply take turns reading the document together and let Scripture do its work.
Evangelistic Presentations
a. One-on-One Approach: Print The Path to God and ask: “Would you meet with me for about an hour to study the basic truths of the Christian faith?” You might meet in your home, at a coffee shop, or on a lunch break.
b. Small-Group Approach
Pray for guidance about whom to invite.
Invite family, friends, or neighbors to join you.
Set a regular time and place—often around a simple meal.
Read Scripture together and discuss what it reveals about God and humanity.
Continue afterward with The Discipleship Series to help new believers grow.
Evangelistic Invitations
We also invite unbelievers to our house churches, where they hear the gospel, see the bread and cup explained, and witness Christian community in action. Word, prayer, and fasting give us courage, wisdom, and perseverance when we feel afraid or inadequate.
For Reflection and Discussion
Taking Initiative: Who could you invite this month to read The Path to God with you, either one-on-one or in a small group?
Dependence in Witness: What fears hold you back—and how could prayer and fasting help you move forward?
4. Gather to Grow in Biblical Community
Our goal is to gather new believers into authentic Christian community, because church planting is simply the fruit of evangelism and discipleship. When people come to faith, they gather to grow together in obedience, fellowship, and worship (Acts 2:42–47). Each house church or small group functions as a spiritual family marked by grace, accountability, and mission. Most gatherings can be simple: share a meal, remember Jesus with the bread and cup, read and discuss Scripture, pray for one another, and plan how to love and reach others.
Our Gatherings Aim To:
Enjoy fellowship with God and one another through the Father, Son, and Spirit.
Take the Lord’s Supper in the context of a meal.
Explain and apply God’s Word using The Discipleship Series.
Pray for one another’s ministries, needs, and families.
Minister through the Word and spiritual gifts—encouraging, correcting, and comforting.
Share the gospel with unbelieving guests through word and practice.
Sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs that exalt Christ and strengthen faith.
The atmosphere is simple and relational—not a performance, but a family gathered around Jesus.
For Reflection and Discussion
Community and Growth: How could your home or group become a place of deeper fellowship, prayer, and the Lord’s Supper?
Witness in Community: What simple steps could make your gatherings more welcoming to those who do not yet believe?
5. Equip to Develop New Leaders
Our goal is to raise up new disciple makers and church planters through intentional, ongoing coaching—because without it, the mission stops with us. If we do not actively coach others to make disciples—individually and collectively—the next generation of disciple makers and church planters will not emerge as it should. Multiplication does not happen by accident. It happens when mature believers intentionally walk with others, strengthening their faith, shaping their character, and preparing them to lead. Without this commitment, the mission stalls within a single generation.
As disciples mature, we help them reproduce what they have learned. Jesus trained his followers to do what he did (Luke 9:1–6; John 20:21), and Paul instructed Timothy to entrust the gospel “to faithful people who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim 2:2). Spiritual maturity naturally moves toward multiplication. By “coaching,” we mean regularly meeting with someone to help them follow Jesus—listening, asking questions, opening Scripture, and praying together about real life.
Coaching Strengthens Believers To:
Love God and Love Others.
Serve to meet practical needs.
Seek to find receptive people.
Invite to discover the Christian message.
Gather to grow in biblical community.
Equip to develop new leaders.
Coaching Rhythms
Individual Coaching and Prayer: One-on-one conversations between men with men, and women with women, focusing on heart, habits, and mission.
Group Coaching and Prayer: Collaborative gatherings for training, encouragement, and prayer, where leaders share stories, challenges, and best practices.
In coaching, we keep calling one another back to repentance, faith, and obedience—trusting Christ to form his character in us.
For Reflection and Discussion
Reproducing Faithfully: Who has poured into your life, and how could you begin investing in someone else?
Multiplying Wisely: What simple rhythms (meeting, prayer, reading, follow-up) would help you coach others consistently?
Conclusion: A Call to Repentance and Faith
This is our approach to making disciples within our networks: a Spirit-led life ordered by love for God and love for others, expressed through the five movements of serving, seeking, inviting, gathering, and coaching. These movements do not replace devotion to God; they give visible shape to it. When love for God is renewed and love for others is embraced, disciple-making becomes a natural and sustained rhythm rather than a forced program.
The first step is not to “do more,” but to repent and believe. We begin by turning honestly to God and naming where our loves have become disordered—where we have neglected the Word and prayer, withdrawn from people, avoided obedience, sought comfort over faithfulness, or trusted ourselves instead of Christ. Repentance means more than regret; it means reorienting our hearts back toward God as our highest good and others as those we are called to love for his sake.
We then reaffirm our trust in Jesus, believing that his death and resurrection are sufficient not only to forgive our sin but to transform our desires. We ask the Father to renew our love for Christ, fill us with the Spirit, and align our lives with what he values most. From that renewed center, the five movements take shape as faithful expressions of love—love that serves, seeks, invites, gathers, and helps others grow.
As love for God deepens and love for others expands, repentance leads to obedience, obedience leads to witness, and witness leads to multiplication. Disciples make disciples, churches plant churches, and Christ’s glory spreads through ordinary people who have learned to love God wholeheartedly and love others faithfully.