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Disciple-makers
Make Disciples
Colossians 1:28 (Christ)
... "whom we preach, warning
every man, and teaching every man in all
wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in
Christ Jesus:"
Since
disciples are the main results
expected from the Great Commission, we
inherently have disciple-makers. Disciple-makers
have what we call "vision". Their efforts
have purpose and direction with a result in mind.
That result is the multiplication of disciples in
their sphere of influence. Their method is
producing discipling laborers for the work of the
ministry.
Disciple-makers are a workforce to make it all
happen. They are the sub contractors, hands-on
workers, lay people who have a focus. If you have
ever met one, a disciple-maker, you have been impressed
with his/her quality of life and clear direction and
meaningful discussion. He/she isn't perfect, but
he/she is real, sincere and in touch with Spiritual
wisdom.
This
step may be a big one for some who are reading this
article. This step is the crux of multiplication.
Without this step we would only progress to a point of
addition. Paul was a disciple-maker.
See the principles below.
Try reaching the world with addition. If we could
reach 10,000 persons a day, it would take 600,000 days
to reach the present population of the world.
Impossible!! Say we reach one person a year and
teach everyone we reach to reach one every year, how
long would it take?... 34 years.
I
must say that, thankfully, we are not alone in this
ministry. God does way beyond what we can
accomplish. Thank you for addition and thank you
God for the moving of the Holy Spirit that works way
beyond the scope of our imagination. He has a
master plan and we are only a part of it. But we
are a part of it. Jesus multiplied his ministry
and taught his disciples to do it; Paul did it and we
should do it.
We
can't forget that the Holy Spirit gave the church (the
body of Christ) the job of overseeing ourselves and our
flock.
Acts 20:28 "Keep
watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the
Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the
church of God, which he bought with his own blood."
The
following proposal is an attempt to describe a
disciple-making ministry model.
Results Expected
Resources
Concept
Chart
Leadership
Disciple-making Ministry Concept
by Al Moir
The Scriptures give us specific principles for ministry. However,
the opportunities to minister in our community are uniquely
different. The following paper outlines the direction of ministry we
intend to take.
AIM
We aim to honor God by being involved in Christ’s Great
Commission by carrying out the "basic ministry" of
evangelizing, establishing and equipping people
for the work of the ministry. Our focus therefore will be directed
toward God, His Word and people, under Christ’s
guidance.
Matthew 28:19-20
18 And
Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth.
19 Go
ye therefore, and teach all nations (make
disciples in most translations),
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway,
even unto the end of the world. Amen.
RESULTS EXPECTED
The basic result expected in our ministry is "disciples". Though
all believers are disciples (or followers) of Jesus Christ, some
have become as John explained, "disciples indeed."
John 8:31
31 Then
said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye
continue in
my word,
then are ye my disciples indeed;
John 13:34-35
34 A
new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another;
as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By
this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,
if ye have love one to another.
John 15:7-8
7 If
ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall
ask what ye
will,
and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein
is my Father glorified, that ye
bear much
fruit;
so shall ye be my disciples.
Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)
says, "Go make disciples of all
nations…." The command is unmistakable, "disciple-makers"
are the ones who are accomplishing this great goal of "making
disciples". Whatever else we produce, "disciples"
should be the result. It takes a disciple to know one and to
produce one.
"Converts" will be the natural result of raising up
disciples. Disciples will be taught how to witness to and
disciple others in their sphere of influence.
Matthew 4:19
19 And
he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
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RESOURCES
Prayer is a
primary resource for our ministry. A continual
emphasis of prayer sets up circumstances and causes unusual,
impossible things to happen in our ministries. God is pleased to
show himself at work in our ministry by interrupting our normal
patterns and causes us to trust Him and grow in our relationship
with Him..
The primary tangible resource is the
Word of God. No
other authority, other than God Himself, takes precedence over its intrinsic truth. It stands
alone and speaks for itself on all matters of teaching, judgment and
settlement of disputes. We are all subject to its truth and have no
right to interpret it for our own benefit.
II Peter 1:20-21
20 Knowing
this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For
the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but
holy men of God spake as they were moved
by the Holy Ghost.
II Timothy 3:16
16 All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and
is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:
Therefore, it is important for us to know what the
Bible
says and what it does not say, to obtain accurate perceptions of God’s purpose for us. We are all,
therefore, under compulsion to grow in the knowledge of God’s Word,
to experience His goodness through it, delight in it as we hear
it, read it, study it, memorize it and meditate on it.
I Peter 1:23
23 Being
born again, not of corruptible seed, but of
incorruptible, by the
word of God, which
liveth and abideth for ever.
Psalm 1:2
2 But
his delight is in the law of the LORD;
and in his law doth he
meditate day and night.
Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the basic "people
resources" of this ministry are the "equippers" and "laborers."
They focus their efforts and gifts to accomplish our ministry "aim".
The "equippers" are responsible for the development of these
"laborers", and together, they are responsible for "disciples".
Then each person, within the aim functions effectively with his/her
providentially assigned gifts.
Ephesians 4:11-12
11 And
he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some,
evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For
the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry,
for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till
we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge
of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of
the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That
we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro,
and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the
sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they
lie in wait to deceive;
15 But
speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all
things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 From
whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by
that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual
working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the
body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Romans 12:3-8
3 For
I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is
among you, not to think of himself more highly than
he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God
hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
4 For
as we have many members in one body, and all members have
not the same office:
5 So
we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one
members one of another.
6 Having
then gifts differing according to the grace that is
given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy
according to the proportion of faith;
7 Or
ministry, let us wait on our
ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
8 Or
he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth,
let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth,
with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with
cheerfulness.
I Corinthians 12:4-11
4 Now
there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 And
there are differences of administrations, but the
same Lord.
6 And
there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God
which worketh all in all.
7 But
the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to
profit withal.
8 For
to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another
the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9
To another faith by the same Spirit;
to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10
To another the working of miracles; to
another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to
another divers kinds of tongues; to another the
interpretation of tongues:
11 But
all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit,
dividing to every man severally as he will.
See attachment I, II, III and IV for definitions of
Convert, Disciple, Disciple-maker and Equipper. (To be
written)
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CONCEPT
It should be our conviction that the ministry of the body of
Christ should focus its efforts in ministry on eternal things, i.e.
God himself, God’s Word and people. We will
endeavor to build people up under Christ’s headship with God’s Word,
prayer, through God’s power for His Glory. Person
to person.
The main distinctive is to focus our ministry efforts according
to
Ephesians 4:11-16 above.
The leadership will endeavor to equip
the people to make or to contribute to the making of
disciples, who will in turn labor in evangelism, disciple-making
and other related ministries.
Each person, as he/she is willing, should progress from one stage
of growth to another through three or four phases, (i.e. convert,
disciple, laborer/disciple-maker and Equipper) until the person(s)
finds his/her particular niche in the body and to function in the
"work of the ministry."
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Each stage has a benchmark whereby we can evaluate the progress
of each person in training. The circled titles describe the
benchmark as a profile and the titles below the steps describe a
phase/activities to accomplish the goals. The first phase,
"evangelism" produces converts, the second phase of
"establishing" produces disciples, the third phase of
"equipping" produces Laborers and the fourth phase of
"exporting" produces equippers who can reproduce the ministry
somewhere else or with new people.
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
This process cannot be forced, but must be carried out in love
and patience. It is understood that trainees have the
prerogative/option to continue or opt out of the training as is
necessary. At all costs unity and the very best for every person
will be the guiding factors.
PHASE 1 - EVANGELISM
Objective: Gathering a pool of manpower for Discipling.
Baseline: Convert
Activities: Evangelism resulting in converts.
The evaluation of this phase is based on the profile of a
"Convert."
PHASE 2 - CONSOLIDATION
Objective: Consolidate the pool of manpower.
Baseline: Disciples
Activities: Heavy followup, light evangelism.
Bible Studies/Scripture Memory
Prayer/Quiet Time
Fellowship
Retreats
Seminars
Team Training
The evaluation of this phase is based on the profile of a
"Disciple."
PHASE 3 – MULTIPLICATION – 4 Deep
Objective: Increase significantly the number and quality of
disciple-making laborers through multiplication.
Baseline: Laborers/Disciple-makers
Activities: Heavy evangelism for the neophyte and heavy man to
man.
Bible study and the basics
Planning sessions together
Ministry accountability
"How to" sessions
Fellowship
Ministry together
This is by far the most comprehensive phase, incorporating all
the previous phases simultaneously. This phase is the most critical
for the equippers successful multiplication of his ministry but also
it is the time of proving for new laborers. This is the II Timothy
2:2 phase when Paul exhorted Timothy to entrust to faithful men the
things he had learned from Paul.
19 Go
ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:
and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of
the world.
1. Jesus speaking, 2. to the 12 disciples
3. to Teach all nations,
4. & Teach them to go. . .
(that is, "as you go, make disciples")
II Timothy 2:2
2 And
the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses,
the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to
teach others also.
1. Paul,
2. Timothy, 3.
Faithful men, 4. Others also
* Paul again four deep, (a II Timothy 2:2 example)
Acts18:24-26
26 And
he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto
them, and expounded unto him the way of God more
perfectly.
27 And
when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren
wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he
was come, helped them much which had believed through grace:
28 For
he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly,
shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.
1. Paul,
2. Aquila and
Priscilla, 3. Apollos, 4. Jews
* Paul again four deep, (a II Timothy 2:2 example)
I Thessalonians 1:6-8
6 And
ye became followers of us, and of the Lord,
having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the
Holy Ghost:
7 So
that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia
and Achaia.
8 For
from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in
Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your
faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to
speak any thing..
1. Paul
2. Thessalonians 3. Macedonians & Achaians
4. Went Everywhere
Multiplication is a method whereby
enormous results can be
accomplished in a short period of time with reasonable effort.
It is the straight line that connects where we are to where we want
to go. (If each of us could multiply 33 times we would reach the
world.)
The evaluation of this phase is based on the profile of a
"Laborer/disciple-maker."
PHASE 4 - LEADERSHIP
Objective: Start new ministries
Profile: Equippers/Leaders of Disciple-makers
Activities: Planning/Team
Communication/Training
The Use of the 4 phases
Encourage and exhort
The evaluation of this phase is based on the profile of an
"equipper/Maker of Disciple-maker."
At this point new ministry opportunities may be targeted because we
have the resources to lead them. Supervisory care is still needed
for accountability and direction.
Top
LEADERSHIP
A person’s function in the ministry will correspond to his or her
growth in maturity as a Christian. Careful selection of leadership
for the ministry is significantly important. The stages recognized
are as follows:
Convert (No spiritual leadership involvement)
+ New believers _______________Initial followup.
+ Growing Christian ____________ Intensive Training
Disciple (limited leadership involvement)
+ Disciple Trainee ______________Intensive Training –
Evangelism
+ Ministering Disciple ___________Intensive Disciple -
Discipling
Disciple-makers (Resource for Leadership)
+ Evangelizes/disciples __________Ministry Leader
+ Specifically Gifted ____________ Specialized Ministry
Leaders
+ Experienced Elders ___________ Leader of Ministries
Builder of Disciple-makers (Has responsibilities for
Ministry Direction)
We need everyone to build this spiritual house that God has purposed
for us. Our challenge is to keep our objectives clear and our
efforts on target under His direction
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MORATE
M inistry Objective - What do we want to accomplish?
O pportunity - What or who is the target?
R esources - What or who are those who can accomplish
this?
A ctivities - What are the activities to engage in?
T imetable - When will we do these activities?
E valuation - How did we do? Are we accomplishing our
Ministry Objective?
Measures of a
Disciple-maker?
This measure is important because a
disciple-maker is the first echelon of workforce of the church. It makes
sense, if disciples are the "product" or
"result expected" from the
church, then these rare people are the beginning workforce of the
church.
We could use the following to identify whether
or not
a person is growing in the ministry of discipling.
1. He/She continues
to grow in the qualities of a
"Disciple". 2.
He understands
and is growing in skill in the vision
and process of multiplying disciples. 3.
If
married, he/she leads a scriptural home,
meeting needs of his/her family.
They distinguish their roles biblically and
are a biblical
examples in their marriage to
their children and others. 4.
He/She has led at
least 2 people to Christ and is
continuing to witness to others and is
in the process of mentoring other
believers toward discipleship.
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Top
Relationships for Discipling
by Skip Gray
Issues:
Healthy interpersonal relation relationships are the home
ground for one-to-one discipling. These relationships can
flourish when you are at peace with God, with yourself, and
with others.
FOR MOST PEOPLE,
AN IDEA MUST be simple to be really helpful. In no area is
this more true than in building interpersonal relationships.
Building and maintaining
healthy, dynamic, mutually satisfying relationships with
others is a lifetime venture, so it is important that we
master a few simple tools and use them consistently over the
long haul.
The first tool is making peace
with God. The right place to begin in considering your
"horizontal" relationships with other people is your
"vertical" relationship with God. Let God be all that he
wants to be and can be in your experience, by virtue of his
love, his grace, his power, and his perfect control over
your life.
In the last third of his letter
to the Christians in Rome, the apostle Paul has a great deal
to say about our interpersonal relationships. But it is
significant that earlier in the letter he says, "We have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (5:1).
In recognizing and accepting out peace with God, we have the
right basis for good relationships with the people around
us.
MAKE PEACE WITH
YOURSELF
Here are three
practical suggestions that may help you develop in personal
peace. You can think of them as the ABC's of inner peace.
A—Accept
yourself unconditionally. Accept yourself in the same
way you have experienced acceptance from the Lord. He made
peace with you when he died for you on the cross, and he is
eager for you to be at peace with yourself-with your own
inner man or woman. Since he no longer condemns you, it is
absolutely pointless for you to go around feeling guilty or
condemning yourself-carrying the weight of guilt which has
no basis.
Accept yourself. Thank the Lord
for making you the way he did, and rejoice in the fact that
your background, training, personality, and temperament are
everything he wants. He has put all the ingredients in your
life so you might become the person he wants you to be.
B—Be your
own man or woman. Take care not to let other people
play "Holy Spirit Jr." in your life. The fact that many
sincere Christians around you eagerly urge you to fling
yourself into their frenzied routine of Christian activities
does not necessarily mean you should follow their
example. What have they become as a result of their
activities? Ask yourself, "Does God want me to become like
them?"
Make sure you're doing what God
wants you to do, and not merely what sincere friends urge
you to do. In
Luke 5:15–16, the Lord Jesus was surrounded by a
multitude of needy people. Yet he withdrew to the
wilderness, because of his need for time alone with God in
meditation and prayer.
C—Consider
Christ. We are told to direct our undivided attention
to the incomparable person of Christ in
Hebrews 12:2–3. One good reason for avoiding the hectic
crush of busyness in our lives is to make time for
contemplating the Lord, something that is so evidently
lacking in much of our personal, family, and community life
today.
Let me stress that the focus of
our meditation needs to be Jesus. "Let us fix our eyes on
Jesus" (Hebrews
12:2). You will never know yourself as you should until
you know him. And not knowing yourself, you will never
be yourself-your own man or woman.
MAKE PEACE WITH
THE WORLD AROUND YOU
Your place in the
world could be pictured as a series of concentric circles.
You live in the very center. The circle closest to you is
your immediate family, and in the next circle are your close
friends. Then come circles that include those who work with
you, your neighbors, your acquaintances at church, and so
on. Much further out are circles with all the people in your
ethnic group and your country. The circles go all the way
out to the edge of the human race.
Your potential for influence in
this structure is drastically reduced once you get beyond
the few circles closest to you. Does that frustrate you? It
shouldn't, because frustration leads to resentment and then
to bitterness, an acid that destroys its container (you) and
contaminates everything else it touches. This bitterness is
a major hindrance to personal relationships.
The Bible teaches us, "If it is
possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with
everyone" (Romans
12:18). So come to terms with your particular world.
Accept others as unconditionally as you are learning to
accept yourself. You can never relate well to another person
if he doubts (rightly or wrongly) whether you accept him.
You may not always agree with
others. Their beliefs, moral standards, and opinions will
differ from your own, and there may be occasional
controversy. No matter. Paul encountered controversy more
than once. But let this be for you-as it was for Paul-the
exception and not the rule. And when controversy does arise,
"let the other guy start it"
LIVING IN PEACE
IS NOT ENOUGH
One final word:
Making peace with God, with yourself, and with others really
only sets the stage for your real mission in life-living to
love.
When Paul was trying to
disentangle the Galatian Christians from the web of
legalistic snares created by some counterfeit Christian
leaders, he began his summary argument by saying,
You, my brothers,
were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to
indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in
love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love
your neighbor as yourself." (Galatians
5:13–14)
Paul then gave specific
practical instructions in how to "love your neighbor as
yourself"—in how to have meaningful interpersonal
relationships with those in the various circles around us.
He wrote that if a man stumbles
on the road of life, we are to help him get up again, not
forgetting that it might have been we who fell instead of
him. "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are
spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or
you also may be tempted" (Galatians
6:1). In other words, we are to take the initiative
in helping people who have problems, needs, sin. We pray. We
love. We remind them of God's grace and forgiveness. We
freely forgive if the transgression was directed toward us.
We do everything possible to restore them to fellowship with
God and with the people around them.
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Paul also said that if someone
is carrying a burden, we are to offer to help him carry
it, just as the Lord Jesus would if he were there in
person. "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you
will fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians
6:2). Carrying burdens is what real love is all about.
Of course, there are many kinds
of burdens. There are physical burdens. There are financial
burdens. There are emotional burdens-a sense of emptiness,
loneliness, frustration; the sense of having lost the way,
of not being sure what life is all about, of discouragement
of despondency.
Your time, your energy, your
interest, your care-your very life and love will help others
carry these burdens.
Paul also wrote that when
someone is a blessing in our life-when someone helps us with
his or her spiritual insight or teaching-we are to show
gratitude by returning a favor. "Anyone who receives
instruction in the word must share all good things with his
instructor" (Galatians
6:6). We can make a financial contribution, perhaps, or
give some other evidence of our love and appreciation by
meeting a real need this person has.
Paul concluded these practical
suggestions by saying,
Let us not become
weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a
harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have
opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to
those who belong to the family of believers (Galatians
6:9–10).
As help for other people, our
turn will come in the Lord's good time to be on the
receiving end of someone else's kindness.
These suggestions in
Galatians 6 are practical and down to earth-where we
live. As you apply them, they will not only help you in your
relationships with the people around you, but also fill your
life with meaning and purpose such as you have never known.
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Ministry of
Multiplication
Small Group
Bible Studies and
Person to Person mentoring
Ephesians 4:11-13
Matthew 28:19-20
Doing an
Inductive
Bible Study
One of the most
incredible methods of Bible study is the Inductive Bible study.
How do you prepare your study?
Click
Here
How
to Lead
an
Inductive
Bible
Study
Leading an Inductive Bible Study is as
important as preparing your study.
Click Here
Disciple-making
Vision
The explanation of what a discipling ministry
is from Biblical examples
Click Here
Deep Seated Problem
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