Disciples Who Make Disciples
How did Jesus define what a disciple is? Jesus intended that his command to “go and make disciples of all nations” would be lived out by all his future followers.
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Note: This is third in our “Discipleship DNA” series that covers what we consider core values for discipleship.
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Our third core value at Pattern is “Disciples Who Make Disciples.” To Jesus, disciples-who-make-disciples was the normal, healthy experience for believers. Like in nature, healthy things reproduce. But when we, personally, do not reproduce new followers of Jesus through our followership to him, it is a red flag that something is abnormal and needs careful attention.
Making disciples isn’t something that can take place in a large setting or on a large scale. Like in a factory where the right components are lined up in rows, we have passively expected leadership to properly “assemble” new disciples by truckloads of information and inspiration. But the life of Jesus is not manufactured impersonally, it is reproduced in a very personal way through the Holy Spirit and by a small community of believers.
Making disciples must be a relational endeavor centered around an invitation to a journey of discovery. Although this journey begins with sowing the gospel, our expectation is not necessarily for a quick “sinner’s prayer,” but for a willingness to discover more about Jesus. And then we pour out extravagant time with these seekers, making space for the Holy Spirit to reveal, convict, and heal as we look at Scripture together. We also pour out extravagant prayer to accompany this endeavor, and the Holy Spirit answers our prayers when he reproduces the life of Jesus in someone new. Let’s all commit to take the time to invest in disciples who make disciples!
