Making Disciples Workshop - 9.19.25

Outline:

Introduction:

Welcome everyone. Thanks for joining us for our Leadership Workshop. I’m so grateful all of you are taking time to invest in God’s Kingdom, specifically here through The River Church.

Before we get into the time of equipping, let’s eat first. That’s biblical. In the Scriptures, discipleship is often happening around meals, so we’re gonna do that too.

In just a moment, I’m going to pray, but before I do… let me call your attention to the Workshop handout. You’ll be using this handout all night, so put your name on it. Also, while you’re eating, I want to make two requests…

Let’s make the conversation intentional. Easy question: What’s God been speaking to you this week? Can be anything.

Take the self-assessment on your worksheet. Self-assessments are great development tools. Be honest. The goal isn’t perfection. The goal is growth through self-awareness and equipping.

Let’s pray…

Father, thank you for this time. We’re so grateful that you call us to partner with You in building your Kingdom. Give us Your heart. Give us humility. All for Your glory. Bless the food. Thanks for providing it. In Jesus name, amen.

Group Activity: Hallmark Gift Bags

I’d like to start with a group activity. Many of you know that I used to manage a Hallmark in San Diego. I’ve always loved gift-wrapping, but one thing I was taught to do is how to prepare a gift bag with tissue paper. And I’d like to teach all over you to do the same.

It’s a simple process. You watch me do it. Then, you do it. Want to give it a try?

Prepare the bag - stuff the bottom.

Prepare the paper - cross the tissue paper.

Pinch the middle and flip.

Flare and flower.

The tissue paper should look like a flower (or for us tough guys - a flame) blooming out of the bag.

Do you feel like you could do it?

Do you feel like you could teach someone the same?

Good. I think you know where I’m going with this… but first, let’s review why we’re here. Let’s do a refresh on leadership development.

Refresh on Leadership Development:

So, what is leadership development?

At The River Church, leadership development is “the discipling of leaders.” This is a core value conviction. We have 5 core values that guide everything we do. And core value number 1 is relational discipleship, “We are a warm, authentic family that enjoys growing to gether.” And, honestly, EVERYTHING we do is filtered through relational discipleship. This is who we believe God has called us to be.

Leadership develop is Ephesians 4:11-14 in action…

Ephesians 4:11–14 CSB

And [Jesus] gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit.

Leadership development is equipping the saints for the work of the ministry/mission. And according to Mac, Jesus believed, “people were his mission.” Therefore, leadership development involves being in relationship with people to equip them for what God has created and called them to.

3. Ultimately, leadership development is part of our obedience to the Great Commission.

Matthew 28:18–20 CSB

Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

If Jesus (with ALL AUTHORITY - He can say ANYTHING) said the MOST IMPORTANT thing we can do (in regards to our mission) is MAKE DISCIPLES… and if leadership development is the DISCIPLING of leaders… then leadership development is obeying the Great Commandment.

I hope you guys are seeing that what we’re doing tonight (and throughout the year) isn’t the simple replication the world’s sucessful corporate strategy. It’s not about creating tiers of important people and moving up the ladder. This is about relational discipleship.

So, what does leadership development (or relational discipleship) look like? As Paul was writing to one of his closest friends… but more importantly, one of his best disciples, he said this…

2 Timothy 2:2 ESV

and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

Before we get started, pray, read this passage 3 times, and then circle/underline/write notes about things that the Holy Spirit shows you about this passage. I’ll give you a few minutes to do this…

Okay, what stands out to you?

Here’s what I need us to notice about discipleship… [Fill in the blanks]

Discipleship happens in relationship.

Discipleship happens in community.

Discipleship requires reproduction.

With that, take a moment to grade yourself on how well you make disciples [Self-Assessment]. From A-E, with A being a rockstar and E being “no mastery.”

Group Discussion time: Who discipled you?

But, I want to qualify that… The name you use must be someone who not only invested in you, but - by definition (biblically) - did so in a way that you not only grew, but you also reproduced - you taught what you learned to other faithful people who could teach others as well.

If you did not teach someone what you learned, that’s really not discipleship. That’s information transfer. At best, it’s education. That’s not bad… it’s just not discipleship.

So, spend a few minutes sharing who discipled you. If no one fits that definition, then say, “No one.”

Goal: Before we move on, let me throw this out there as a goal. We want to be a church of super-multipliers. A super-multipliers is someone who can show their discipleship has reached the 4th generation.

Now, let’s take a moment to review what leadership development looks like structurally and systematically at TRC? I don’t want to use too much time with this, but simply review it so we have an understanding of the relationship between our leaders and how we can support the discipleship efforts in our church.

Let’s look at Structure (kinda like an org-chart):

Here at The River Church, we’re what’s called an elder-led church. Meaning, the pastors, under the guidance of the Holy-Spirit, with counsel from their leaders, and in relationship with the Body of believers, lead our church. Currently, we have 3 elders/pastors: Me, Josh, and Jon.

These pastors are also part of what we call an Executive Leadership Team (ELT for short). This team is comprised of both pastors, directors, and other key staff or leaders. Additionally, there is a board of directors that govern the legal and financial matters of the church.

I can already see people falling asleep, so I’ll speed up.

Ministry-wise, each ministry is ran by a Director. This person oversees and shepherds the ministry.

Under them, we have Coaches - leaders of leaders.

Then, we have Team Leaders - who are leaders of team or group members. The difference between team members and group members is team members usually refer to Sunday-based ministries that serve our church. Group members can refer to things like Life Groups.

Okay, I’m done with structure: Any questions?

Really quick, here’s what leadership development looks like systematically. This is what we “do” for leadership development. Three quick layers:

Prepare: applications, onboarding, and training (like the Mac Lake books).

Equip: Workshops and Huddles (like what we’re doing right now). Additionally, the weekly comms form falls into this category. Basically, on-going support and discipleship for our leaders. We don’t want to just put you in a role, we want to invest in your spiritual gifts and calling.

Inspire: This is our annual Leadership Seminar, where we gather, celebrate, and cast vision for what God is doing in our leaders.

Quick Discussion Question: How does Structure & System help us equip the saints?

By God’s grace, and the ELT’s hard work, we built all of this out (sometimes called a Leadership Pipeline) in 2021. That summer is when we began to experience significant growth in our church. I don’t mean to imply that leadership development is why we grew. I believe it’s a contributing factor; rather, I believe God saw we were willing to care for people by investing in leaders, so he brought more people.

That beings said… here’s the potential trap…

The pipeline is built.

The boxes are checked.

The widgets are turning.

Now, let’s hit the cruise control.

And when that happens, everything dies…

Why? Because leadership is not about building the program. It’s about the discipling people. The how, what, when, where, and who will eventually stagnate and die if we don’t understand the why. That’s why I’m introducing to you our Leadership Vision. And here’s how it fits with what we already have…

Introduce Leadership Vision:

Here’s the why (the vision) behind our Leadership Development. This is why we do it! [Print this out]

1. The Conviction

Leadership development is the discipling of leaders, which is really the good stewardship of the people He’s given us. Jesus modeled this for us — He equipped others instead of doing all the ministry Himself, and He asks us to do the same. Intentional leadership development ensures our leaders share a common vision and core values while fulfilling this calling. By raising leaders who multiply leaders, we protect the ministry from burnout, build sustainability, and steward God’s work for generations to come.

2. The Picture of the Future

If we are faithful, then in three years The River Church CT will have:

A sustainable leadership pipeline at every campus, especially Glastonbury and East Hartford, that produces leaders through leaders — not just through Pastors and Directors.

A network of interconnected hubs supporting multi-generational disciple-making, both in traditional and nontraditional forms. [More on this later]

A culture where leadership development is a normal rhythm of discipleship, not a special project.

A community of believers of all abilities who are spiritually mature, multiplying, and expanding — able to meet the current and future needs of the church.

A church known as a hub for sending and supporting leaders throughout New England, where multiplication is happening rapidly and exponentially after a cultural shift toward discipleship-driven leadership.

3. The Rhythms & Practices

To get there, we will:

Pray continually for leaders and disciples intentionally at every level of ministry. [Stop and pray?]

Emphasize making disciples (“developing leaders”) as our top priority, following Jesus’ model.

Maintain a leadership development pipeline aligned to our growth rate.

Personally disciple and model “leadership that equips others” in every ministry.

Consistently celebrate stories of leader growth and reproduction in gatherings, huddles, and leadership environments.

4. The Outcomes & Fruit

We will know we are multiplying leaders through:

Testimonies at all levels of the pipeline — stories of people stepping into their calling, pursuing dreams through ministry, and discipling others.

Increased engagement and attendance at leadership development events.

Growth in volunteer-to-leader ratios, proving leaders are identifying gifts and equipping saints.

Salvations and baptisms, showing that leadership development is fueling mission and disciple-making.

A visible “Leadership Pipeline” showing reproduction of leaders, with backups identified for every role.

The emergence of Super-multipliers — leaders who are reproducing disciples to the third and fourth generation.

5. The Reinforcement Plan

We will keep this vision in front of us by:

Sharing it consistently at team trainings, huddles, workshops, Seminars, and ELT meetings.

Modeling it daily, as leaders who equip others and challenge our teams to do the same.

Posting a simple vision statement in visible spaces: “We disciple leaders to love Jesus, build community, and bring joy.”

Highlighting leadership wins every month and tying each success back to Jesus’ model of equipping the 12.

Living it out prominently in every ministry context so it is caught as much as it is taught.

6. The Metrics & Proof of Success

We will track:

Movement in the leadership pipeline, with new leaders consistently identified, equipped, and released.

Engagement: attendance at leadership events and active participation in mentorship/discipleship.

Pipeline health: every leader has a “next in line” being developed.

Stories of reproduction: leaders developing leaders, documented quarterly.

Kingdom impact: salvations, baptisms, and testimonies of transformed lives.

Super-multiplication: leaders who have discipled to the second, third, and fourth generations.

As you can see… this is really about discipleship. That’s why it matters. That’s why we do it. We are building a culture of relational and reproducible discipleship!

Group Activity:

Memorize the TRC Vision. “Loving Jesus as we build community and bring joy.”

Memorize the Leadership Vision, “We disciple leaders to love Jesus, build community, and bring joy.”

Collaboratively come up with ways to memorize these simple, but important powerful vision statements for our church.

One more thing before we finally get to the Equipping part… Many of you know that there are weekly comms forms that go out to our Directors and LG Leaders. Moving forward, every month, there will be an expanded form that goes out with additional questions. Please take the time to fill these out.

Ideally, I’d love for you to fill one out every week, but it’ll be very important to the leadership development process that you at least do the monthly ones.

By the way, these comms forms aren’t a meaningless task. I hate busy work. But, as our church grows, this is something that helps me stay in relationship with you, so please use it. It’s also accountability, which sounds bad (as if you’re doing something wrong), but is GOOD when it comes to leadership. Why? As my friend Joel Wayne (pastor of Chapel Pointe) says, “Spiritually mature leaders invite accountability.”

Making Disciples:

For our Workshops, we like to review the competencies you learned in the “Leading Others” book. These are shared values we want in the DNA of our leadership team; therefore, we don’t want you to forget them after you complete the book. We want you to practice them and grow in these competencies!

And Workshops are places we get to do that! So, for the Making Disciples Module (module 1), let’s review what the objectives were…

Module Objectives:

Practice sharing your life with people so that they know you care about them.

Identify any fear or challenge you face in making disciples.

Identify factors that influence a leader to neglect the disciple-making process with the group or team.

Practice active listening that makes an individual or group of people know they are being heard and understood.

Have a soul-to-soul conversation with someone to get to know them on a faith level.

Now, let’s…

Define discipleship:

Off the top of your head, how would you define discipleship?

Let me share Mac’s definition in Leading Others: Leaders know the general spiritual condition of team/group members and take appropriate steps to train them in following Jesus.

Finally, let me add how we would supplement that definition at TRC:

Considering 2 Tim 2:2, we’d also say discipleship is a leader showing a learner how to follow Jesus in a way that the learner one day becomes a leader to another learner.

Additional, we believe discipleship is a direction, not a destination. Meaning, you never stop being discipled. You’re always growing in your likeness to Christ. You’re not finished after you complete a class or program. Now, your discipleship relationships might change… like one day someone who discipled you might change into a peer-to-peer relationship instead of a disciple-maker to disciple relationship.

Any questions?

For each module, you might remember, there are two sections:

Character (heart) section.

Competency section.

And the heart section of module 1 or Making Disciples is…

Character: Compassion

Mac defines compassion as leaders know and feel the struggles others face and respond with comfort and support.

And he references…

1 Thessalonians 2:7–8 ESV

But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

What stands out to you in this passage?

How can we show this? We can practice it. So, I want to do an exercise. But before I do, I want to ask for two things in line with our definition of compassion:

Be honest, but led by the Spirit.

Facilitate a safe space for everyone so that we respond with comfort and support.

So, here’s my question: How has this last week made you feel with regards to the discussion around Charlie Kirk?

Thank you everyone. And can we take a moment to pray?

Okay, the heart part of this module was compassion, but the actual competency was…

Competency: Disciple-making

As we read earlier, Mac defines it as leaders knowing the general spiritual condition of team/group members and take appropriate steps to train them in following Jesus.

There was a lot to this module, but I want to review two main sections. Let’s start with…

The signs of soul neglect:

As leaders, it’s possible to lead groups or teams without really discipling people. When that happens, neglect creeps in — not because we don’t care, but because we slip into routine. And then… people stop growing… and people start leaving. People stay where they are value, invested in, and feel like they’re serving a purpose with their gifts.

Mac Lake highlights three clear warning signs that tell us discipleship isn’t happening the way it should. If you notice these in your group or team, it’s a signal to lean back into relational discipleship. The three signs are:

Lack of Transformation – When discipleship is neglected, people remain the same instead of becoming more like Christ.

Lack of Connection – Without intentional care, people only engage on the surface and miss soul-level relationships.

Lack of Passion – When mission drifts, people lose zeal and the fire of serving the Lord fades.

But this module doesn’t just talk about the negative, Mac also gives us…

Habits of disciple-making leaders:

“If neglect is the danger, then healthy habits are the safeguard. The good news is that disciple-making doesn’t have to be complicated — Jesus entrusted it to ordinary people. Mac Lake gives us five simple habits that any leader can practice to keep disciple-making at the center. These aren’t add-ons to our ministry; they’re filters for how we lead relationally every day. The five habits are… ”

Be a Model – Growing people grow people, so let your own walk with Christ lead the way.

Be Open – Invite others into your life by sharing your faith journey honestly.

Be Intentional – Use everyday moments in groups or teams to disciple others.

Be Prepared – Keep good questions ready to guide conversations toward faith and growth.

Be Challenging – Stretch people beyond knowledge into obedience that deepens their dependence on God.

Group Activity: So, if we are leading people who (all follow Jesus or at least desire to) and have varying opinions on Charlie Kirk, how do we exercise compassion and be a disciple-making leader, so that we put their eyes on Jesus?

Before we close, I have one additional disciple-making fear I hear often. Many people fear discipleship because they think they don’t know how to disciple. There are a variety of reasons for this, but at least at The River Church, here’s my encouragement:

You do know how to disciple. Because the only thing you need to do is teach someone else what you know about Jesus in a way they can one day teach what they know about Jesus. You don’t have to know what I know. You only have to share what you know.

That’s freeing for a lot of people. And it should be. When I worked at Hallmark as a manager, one of the workers didn’t know how to manage a store. But they knew how to make beautiful gift bags. And they taught me what they knew. And not only that, it happened in a way where I’m standing here in Connecticut 15 years later teaching you how to make gift bags. That’s discipleship. And you know how to do that.

Teach people what you know about Jesus.

So that they can teach others what they know about Jesus.

Response:

So, one final question:

Who am I discipling?

Write that name down on your handout. And… now… be intentional about it. Take the next 3 months to intentionally teach them what you know about Jesus, even if you only have 15-mins on Sunday morning. And do it in a way that they can do the same.

And I want to end by casting vision about the impact that relational discipleship can make…

Cast vision for Hub.

Josh’s drawing.

What is TRC all about? What are you guys doing in Glastonbury? The answer should be “Making disciples.”

Let’s pray…