First Church discipleship Strategy

Our discipleship strategy is built of Jesus’ strategy.

40 "A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.” ()

When Jesus told the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, they knew what he meant: He had taught them by His example, and they understood the principles and priorities they had seen in His behavior. They were to win others to the faith and make more of what they were.

Jesus modeled both a strategy and a lifestyle. When a disciple was fully taught, he would be like his teacher, said Jesus ().

So when someone asks, “Did the disciples disciple?” we can respond, “Of course they did. How could they do anything other than what Jesus taught them? They did exactly what they knew.”

Jesus had a very intentional strategy. Whether it His resisting the devil in the wilderness (); or in His refusal to meet an immediate felt need at the expense of a greater, larger goal (); and His statement that he acted only when the Father acted (). Jesus took His instructions from heaven and would not be turned away from his Father’s agenda.

Whether it His resisting the devil in the wilderness (); in his refusal to meet an immediate felt need at the expense of a greater, larger goal (); and his statement that he acted only when the Father acted (). Jesus took his instructions from heaven and would not be turned away from his Father’s agenda.

This is all we are seeking to do. Take our instructions from Jesus and to not be turned away from His agenda!

Neither can we doubt that Jesus kept his goal in view. Read the following passages (; ; ; ; ) what kind of statements does Jesus give His disciples?

Read the following passages (; ; ; ; ) what kind of statements does Jesus give His disciples?

Hull, B. (2010). The Disciple-Making Church: Leading a Body of Believers on the Journey of Faith (Updated Edition, pp. 29–30). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

_______________ _________________ statements.

No less than five times did he give the disciples Great Commission statements.

Spreading the gospel filled his thoughts even as early as his encounter with the woman at the well (), when he called the fields ripe for harvest to the attention of his disciples.

Aware of the need, Jesus lamented, "Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. 38 "Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”” ()

His immediate response was to expand the worker base: "Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, to send them out to preach,” ()

By preparing others for greater responsibility, Jesus could multiply His influence. Five months after their calling, the Twelve went out two by two, without his physical presence (). Later they would lead the seventy on ministry tours. But in each case they reported back to him for evaluation and recommendation. He instilled in them a sense of accountability built on relationship as the learning process continued.

GET THAT. There was a sense of accountability built upon their relationships. May God give us grace to develop these kinds of relationships that lead to an ongoing learning process.

Jesus could not focus all His efforts on the seventy—it was just too large a group to deal with successfully. Instead He formed close relationships with the Twelve. The disciples provided a variety of personalities, gifts, and quirks, and by focusing on a group of that size, Jesus could teach them to work together and through differences; but the numbers would never become unmanageable. Today’s disciples have discovered that a small group remains the best discipling tool. Hence the forming of our Care Groups and why the soft but steady encouragement for everyone to plug into a group.

Slowly Jesus led the disciples toward taking over His ministry, gradually releasing more and more responsibility as they moved from one stage to the next. He had selected these men on the basis of character and gifts. Already they had placed Christ before:

Self, possessions, and even family (), and...

They would willingly sacrifice and take up their mission ().

Through these dedicated few He could work, expanding the ministry in a way no one man could. This decentralization would become more relevant after His ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

The Early Disciples’ Model

By the kinds of churches the apostles built, we know they did disciple. We’ll look at the three dominant examples in Acts and the Epistles: the first church, at Jerusalem; the mission church, a conglomerate of congregations Paul planted on his first two missionary journeys; and the discipling church, founded at Ephesus. The apostles’ principles were established in the first church, expanded in the mission church, and matured in the discipling church.

Hull, B. (2010). The Disciple-Making Church: Leading a Body of Believers on the Journey of Faith (Updated Edition, p. 30). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.