Our Approach to Making Disciples
Document Introduction
The Purpose: For the Sake of Jesus’s Name
The apostles understood their 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 begins with the worth of the risen Christ. The church proclaims the gospel and makes disciples because Jesus deserves to be trusted, loved, obeyed, and proclaimed among all peoples. Everything we do flows from this conviction: the name of Jesus must be honored in every household, neighborhood, city, and nation.
The Mission: The Obedience of Faith Among All Peoples
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). Scripture shows that the earliest churches lived this out through a simple and relational pattern. God places every believer within natural relational networks—friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors—and these become the first fields where the obedience of faith takes root. Disciple-making is helping people trust Jesus (evangelism), obey Jesus (discipleship), and help others do the same (leadership development). This is the apostolic pattern—the obedience of faith spreading from person to person and place to place for the sake of Jesus’s name.
Learn How to Make Disciples
Making Disciples Who Make Disciples is a practical series designed to help ordinary believers live out this mission. It includes 12 lessons for all believers and 6 additional lessons for small teams preparing to start a new gathering.
Jesus gave 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). Yet many Christians lack a simple, holistic plan to pursue that mission. God places every believer within natural relational networks—friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors—and these become the first places where people begin to follow Jesus. To live this out, we follow a simple and concrete approach that reflects the pattern Jesus gave his apostles. Disciple-making means helping people trust Jesus (evangelism), obey Jesus (discipleship), and help others do the same (leadership development).
The Center: Love God and Love Others, and The Ongoing Commitments
At the center of disciple-making is loving God and loving others—the two greatest commands. As we listen to God, depend on him, and obey what he says, our love for him grows and begins to shape how we love others.
Two practices continue throughout the disciple-making process:
Identify our natural networks of relationships.
Pray for ourselves and others.
We do not complete these practices and move on. We continue identifying people and praying as we serve, share the gospel, gather in biblical community, and help others grow as disciples and leaders.
The Pathway: Five Interconnected Movements
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.
Together, these movements help people take steps toward knowing and following Jesus and prepare them to help others do the same. The sections that follow provide a more detailed explanation of the center and the ongoing commitments, and the five movements of this disciple-making pathway.
The Center: Love God and Love Others, and the Ongoing Commitments
Before considering the five movements of the disciple-making pathway, we begin with the center and two commitments that continue throughout the process. Loving God and others shapes why and how we make disciples. Identifying our natural networks helps us recognize the people God has already placed around us, while prayer keeps us dependent on God as we seek to help them know and follow Jesus.
Love God and Love Others: Jesus identifies loving God as the greatest command. We are to love him with our whole being—with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This love includes genuine affection and devotion to God and expresses itself in worship and obedience. It should shape our thoughts, desires, emotions, choices, and actions throughout our lives (Deut. 6:4–9; Mark 12:29–30; John 14:21). Jesus identifies loving others as ourselves as the second greatest command. We seek their good with the same concern we give to our own needs, considering what will help rather than harm them and expressing love through our words and actions (Lev. 19:18; Mark 12:31; Rom. 13:8–10). In disciple-making, this love moves us to care for practical needs, speak truth, forgive, serve, share the gospel, and help others grow in Christ. We grow in loving God and others as we listen to God through his Word, respond to him in prayer, and obey what he says. Through Scripture, God teaches us what is true and how to live. Through prayer, we depend on him and seek his will. Obedience puts his Word into practice.
Identify Our Natural Networks of Relationships: God has already placed people around us through our families, friendships, work, school, neighborhoods, and other parts of everyday life. Rather than thinking only about reaching strangers, we begin by noticing the people we already know. F.R.A.N.—friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors—gives us a simple way to think about these relationships. As we pay attention to the people around us, we can pray for them, notice their needs, care for them, share the gospel, and help them take steps toward following Jesus.
Pray for Ourselves and Others: Prayer continues throughout the disciple-making process because we depend on God to work in us and in others. We pray for ourselves, asking God to help us obey and give us love, wisdom, courage, and perseverance. We pray for non-Christians by name, asking God to work in their hearts and open opportunities for the gospel. We pray for Christians to grow in faith and holiness, and for God to strengthen leaders, raise up new leaders, and establish healthy churches. Prayer prepares us to recognize and respond to the opportunities God provides.
For Reflection and Discussion
How are you listening to God through his Word, responding to him in prayer, and obeying him in everyday life? Where do you most need to grow in loving God and others?
Who has God already placed in your natural networks, and which relationships need greater attention and intentionality from you?
Who are you regularly praying for, and how could your prayers for yourself, other Christians, and non-Christians become more intentional?
1. Serve to Meet Practical Needs
Our goal is to create natural opportunities for the gospel as we serve others in love. Jesus met physical and spiritual needs and showed compassion toward people (Mark 10:45; Luke 19:10). Serving others is one of the simplest ways to express Christlike love, especially toward non-Christians in our networks. We do not need special programs; we can begin with the ordinary needs already present in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and extended families. As we serve, we stay attentive to the Spirit and ready to respond when he opens doors (Acts 8:29).
The B.L.E.S.S. Rhythm
Begin with Prayer: Ask God whom to bless and pray for their needs and openness.
Listen: Pay attention to their real struggles, hopes, and concerns.
Eat: Share a meal or coffee to build trust and connection.
Serve: Meet practical needs that emerge as you share life.
Story: Share your story and God’s saving story when an appropriate opportunity arises.
This B.L.E.S.S. rhythm comes from Dave and Jon Ferguson’s B.L.E.S.S.: 5 Everyday Ways to Love Your Neighbor and Change the World.
Two simple questions often create natural openings: “How can I help you with that?” and “How can I pray for you?” These questions help us notice practical needs, discern spiritual openness, and serve people with genuine love.
We will serve more faithfully when we create simple rhythms for it. A household or church might set aside time for neighbor care, shared meals, encouraging texts, prayer, or a monthly service project. These small commitments keep us attentive and ready for the doors God opens.
For Reflection and Discussion
What is one simple way you could serve a non-Christian in your network this week?
2. Seek to Find Receptive People
Our goal is to identify people who are receptive to God and his message so we can help them hear and respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus taught his disciples to look for people who would welcome them and receive their message (Luke 10:5–6). As God opens hearts, receptive people can become bridges through whom the gospel reaches households, workplaces, and relational networks (Acts 16:14).
Scripture gives several examples of these “bridge people.” 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 later became a gathering place for believers (Acts 16:14–15, 40).
We seek receptive people by praying, listening, serving, and gently testing openness through conversation. We notice who is spiritually curious, relationally connected, or willing to read Scripture. When someone is receptive, we walk with them patiently, help them involve others when appropriate, and trust that God is at work.
For Reflection and Discussion
Who in your network shows signs of openness right now, and what have you seen that makes you think so?
3. Invite to Discover the Christian Message
Our goal is to help spiritually receptive people understand the heart of the gospel clearly and simply. To do this, we use a tool called The Path to God, which reflects major elements of the apostles’ proclamation of the gospel. It helps people see 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 can simply invite someone to read and discuss Scripture with you. For a one-on-one approach, ask, “Would you meet with me for about an hour to study the basic truths of the Christian faith?” For a small-group approach, invite family, friends, or neighbors to gather around a simple meal, read Scripture, and discuss what it reveals about God and humanity. We also invite non-Christians into our house churches, where they can hear the gospel, see Christian community, and observe the bread and cup being explained. God’s Word, prayer, and fasting help give us courage, wisdom, and perseverance when we feel afraid or inadequate.
For Reflection and Discussion
Who could you invite this month to read Scripture with you, one-on-one or in a small group?
4. Gather to Grow in Biblical Community
Our goal is to gather new believers into authentic Christian community as a natural fruit of evangelism and discipleship. When people come to faith, they gather to grow together in obedience, fellowship, worship, and mission (Acts 2:42–47). Our house churches and gatherings seek to function as spiritual families marked by grace, accountability, and love.
Our gatherings are simple and relational. We 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. These gatherings are not performances; they are families gathered around Jesus.
Our Gatherings Aim To:
Enjoy fellowship with God and one another.
Take the Lord’s Supper in the context of a meal.
Explain and apply God’s Word.
Pray for one another’s ministries, needs, and families.
Encourage, correct, and comfort one another through the Word and spiritual gifts.
Share the gospel with unbelieving guests through word and practice.
Sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs that exalt Christ and strengthen faith.
Together, these practices help believers grow, strengthen one another, and participate in Christ’s mission. Over time, they help form a healthy Christian community where disciples mature and help others follow Jesus.
For Reflection and Discussion
What prevents more people from embracing the idea of simple churches that share fellowship, take the Lord’s Supper in the context of meals, study God’s Word, and pray?
5. Equip to Develop New Leaders
Our goal is to raise up new disciple-makers and church planters through intentional, ongoing equipping and coaching. Multiplication does not happen automatically. It grows as mature believers walk with others, strengthen their faith, shape their character, and prepare them to serve and lead.
As disciples mature, we help them reproduce what they have learned. Jesus sent his followers to continue his mission, and Paul instructed Timothy to entrust what he had learned “to faithful people who will be able to teach others also” (John 20:21; 2 Tim. 2:2). One of the primary ways we equip others is through coaching—regularly meeting with someone to help them follow Jesus through listening, questions, Scripture, prayer, and practical next steps.
Coaching Strengthens Believers to:
Walk closely with God through the Word, prayer, and fasting.
Evangelize clearly and compassionately.
Disciple others with Scripture and accountability.
Raise up new leaders from their networks.
Start or strengthen new churches over time.
Coaching can happen one-on-one or in groups. Men should coach men, and women should coach women, especially when the focus includes heart issues, habits, and personal struggles. In every setting, we keep calling one another back to repentance, faith, and obedience as Christ forms his character in us.
For Reflection and Discussion
Who is someone you could begin equipping through an intentional coaching relationship?
Conclusion: A Call to Repentance and Faith
Often the first step in making disciples is not to do more but to repent and trust Jesus to guide us. We confess where we have ignored his command, neglected prayer, avoided people, withheld service, or acted from fear. Then we turn to God in faith, trusting that Christ’s death and resurrection are sufficient to forgive us, change us, and send us.
As we repent, believe, pray, serve, and share, disciples make disciples, churches plant churches, and the glory of Christ spreads through households, neighborhoods, and nations.