Thessalonian Faith

Personal Discipleship

Jesus said

Make Disciples

Which is:

Helping people grow in their
knowledge of, relationship in and service with the Lord Jesus Christ,

resulting in,

“self-initiating, reproducing, fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.”1

By taking:

“the things that you have heard me say among many witnesses,
entrust these to faithful men who will be qualified to teach others as well.” (2 Timothy 2:2)

The purpose of every ministry is to fulfill the mission2, the vision3 and the tradition4 of the Church.  To accomplish this purpose, God has provided His Holy Spirit5, His Holy Word6, Spiritual Gifts7 and Spiritual Leaders8.  Because Jesus commanded His followers to make disciples, the fundamental responsibility of every ministry must be to contribute to making disciples of Jesus.

Jesus Commanded 

Jesus approached the disciples and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, as you are going, make disciples of all people, baptizing them into the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obediently do everything I have commanded you; and listen, I am always with you, even to the end of time.” (Matthew 28:18-20, MSV)

Jesus Called

“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” And at once they left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.” (Matthew 4:18–22)

A Disciple (Mentee/Apprentice) is … 

A person actively knowing, being changed by, and following the Lord Jesus Christ.9

A Disciplemaker (Mentor) is …

A mature, competent disciple of Jesus who intentionally Engages, Encourages, Equips and Enlists others so they also effectively impact their spiritual, social, and geographical communities for the kingdom of God.

Personal Discipleship is … 

  • The process by which (a process, not a program, class or meeting)
  • a disciple of Jesus with a life worth emulating (qualification)
  • commits himself/herself for an extended period of time (commitment)
  • to a few individuals who have become disciples of Jesus (focus)
  • for the purpose of aiding and guiding their growth to spiritual maturity (purpose)
  • teaching and equipping them to likewise commit themselves to the next spiritual generation. (goal/result) 10

Personal Discipleship in action:

  1. Framework
  2. Strategy
  3. Implementation
  4. Resources
  5. Launching Multipliers

Footnotes:

  1. Greg Ogden, Transforming Discipleship: Making Disciples a Few at a Time (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2003), 37. ↩︎
  2. Make disciples, Matt. 28:18-20 ↩︎
  3. Present every man complete in Christ Jesus, Eph. 4:13; Col. 1:28 ↩︎
  4. Strengthening the souls of the disciples, Acts 2:42-47; 14:21-22 ↩︎
  5. John 14:16-17; 16:8-15; Eph. 1:13-14 ↩︎
  6. 2 Tim. 3:16-17 ↩︎
  7. 1 Cor. 12:7-12; Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Pet. 4:10-11 ↩︎
  8. Eph. 4:11; Heb. 13:7, 17; 1 Pet. 5:1-3 ↩︎
  9. Based on Matthew 4:19 and the books, “Leading the DiscipleShift: Becoming a Disciple-Making Church” (NavPress, 2013) by Brandon Guindon, Lance Wigton, Luke Yetter; and Real-Life Discipleship Training Manual: Equipping Disciples Who Make Disciples. (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2010) by Jim Putman, Avery T. Willis Jr., Brandon Guindon, and Bill Krause). ↩︎
  10. Based on 2 Timothy 2:2 and the book, “Discipleship” (Moody Press, 1979, 1987, Allen Hadidian) ↩︎