As we begin to close out this series on discipleship, it only tracks that we tackle what is the last, and possibly most difficult, step in discipleship. That step is the task of making other disciples. Jesus’ mandate in Matthew 28 to go and make disciples, baptize, and teach others is not just for your pastor to follow in their work in your church. That mandate is given out to all of Jesus’ followers. I stated earlier that it was the mission statement for the church, and it still is, but you’re the church. That means that it is not only the mission for the abstract organization that we call the church, but it’s also the mission statement of your life. You cannot be a fully formed disciple who is following God’s will and growing in the likeness of Christ if you yourself are not making disciples.

This is actually the genius of Jesus’ discipleship plan. The entire program of how Jesus made disciples is self-replicating. If it is followed thoroughly enough, then it is constantly making new disciples who are making new disciples, who are making new disciples, and on and on. This even mirrors the way that God created humanity. “At creation, God’s first expectation of Adam and Eve to produce others in their, and thus in His image (Genesis 2:8b), marked the beginning of Christian discipleship.” ^[1] You were literally made to create more disciples, so let’s get to actually equipping you to do it.

The first step in discipling someone else is ensuring that you are spiritually ready to. In discipling another, we are pouring into them just like Christ did with His own disciples. If you are going to lead someone in becoming more like Christ, then you yourself need to know fairly well what Christ looks like. You have to be spiritually fit, too. Cox and Peck make the point that we cannot give someone what we do not possess. ^[2] Part of discipling another is, in a very real way, ensuring that you are discipling yourself. You may need to think about if you are spiritual ready to take on such a task. Use the discipleship process outlined previously to think about where you are in the process. If you’re still a spiritual infant or child, then you’re simply not ready to make other disciples yet, and that’s ok. We all need time sometimes to develop. Just how an empty vessel cannot pour into and fill another, people who are spiritually empty, that is spiritually unhealthy, cannot disciple and fill another. You cannot give someone what you do not possess yourself. It’s important to understand that you need to be spiritually fit and filled enough to pour into another.

The next thing to keep in mind is that all of discipleship happens in the context of a relationship. This has been said multiple times in this series, but it cannot be stressed enough. It is through authentic relationships that those who are spiritually mature Christians form others into disciples. “Remember, discipleship happens when we are in relationship with other believers where real teaching, authenticity, accountability, shepherding, and training are part of our lifestyle.” ^[3] It is always tempting to try and formalize the process of one disciple making another into a disciple. It works well for churches working in the context of a large ministry system, but it doesn’t work in the context of a one on one personal relationship. That means if you want to make disciples, you need to find someone to make into a disciple. While serving at church is certainly something a disciple should be doing, it is not how they make more disciples unless the context they are serving in is making relationships. Who is there in your life that you see could become a disciple? Who do you already have a relationship with that you could pour into?

Finally, the last important measure is that you can’t try too hard. It’s a strange thing to say since I have been saying how intentional the process needs to be when it comes to discipleship, but at this stage you simply need to be intentional about simply growing your relationship with the other person. There is no blueprint that you can follow to morph someone into a disciple. “The spiritually mature understand and care about the mission of God. They have His heart. They can’t help but make disciples. They can’t help but enter into relationships with people because they have become relational people.” ^[4] Spiritually mature disciples do not need to be reminded to make other disciples and they do not need someone to hold their hand in doing so. They are at a level where they know what to do. They are intentional about helping others grow and mature to their next stage of development.

I leave you with this important fact, that you are the most important part of any discipleship process at your church. The fact is that your church, the actual organization and all its programs, do not make disciples. Everything that they do is to support you in making disciples, because it takes both the church and its people to make disciples. “Spiritual parents understand the strategic purpose of the church. They know that the mission to reach the world works in two ways. Some tasks are individual—person to person, one on one, each person making disciples as they go. Other parts can be accomplished only with the body of Christ, the church as a whole.” ^[5] It doesn’t matter how great or amazing the systems and programs that your church has created if you don’t do the work to make disciples, too. In many ways, Jesus’ grand mission is relying on you just as much as it is relying on the church. It’s time to step up, reach out, and build more disciples.

 

^[1] Cox and Peck, “Christian Education as Discipleship Formation,” 245.

^[2] Cox and Peck, 259.

^[3] Putman, Real-Life Discipleship: Building Churches That Make Disciples, 140.

^[4] Putman, 141.

^[5] Putman, 142.