Multiplying Disciples-Makers in our Current Reality
Rev Karl Teichert
Christ’s Call
Jesus Christ’s last words to His disciples were to go and make disciples as he modeled for them of every person everywhere. This discipleship process included the public witness of baptism and teaching to obey all the scriptures. Christ promised to never leave them by sending the indwelling Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. Those disciples would reproduce new forms of churches that would have a lasting transformational impact on their communities and nations. This same command to multiply disciples of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit extends to us today and for generations to come until Christ’s return!
Our Current Reality
The challenge today is that a declining number of believers are being adequately equipped and effectively mobilized to share Christ and reproduce disciples of Jesus of non-believers around them. Discipleship is often limited to Sunday morning preaching, fellowship groups, and occasion courses. While these are important, the intentional empowering of every Christ follower to help others come to faith in Christ and mature in God’s Word outside the four walls of the church is vitally needed.
Multiplying Disciple-Makers
To complete Christ’s great commission, every believer should be equipped to multiply disciple-makers among every social network, affinity group, and community. The focus is on a few to multiply and reach many. As disciples grow in God’s Word through small discovery groups, they are empowered to reproduce new groups to impact more unreached people. The Kingdom of God moves toward brokenness and lostness. As people’s brokenness is addressed, permission is given to address their lostness.
New Bible discovery groups are started with those who are spiritually open and others from their relational network are invited to join. Prayerful kingdom conversations help identify those open to the gospel. The Bible discovery groups encourage open discussion of relevant passages about what the scripture says, how each person will obey the truth, and who are they going to tell what they have learned. Personal application and sharing of meaningful insights are essential outcomes of every group Bible discussion.
The goal of this disciple-making process is to produce a movement of the gospel, growing disciples, and new churches among every segment of society. Prayer and intentional mentoring are fundamental at every step in the journey. Leaders are developed at every level to ensure healthy church growth.
Next Steps
The Evangelism / Church Planting Commission of TEASA exists to assist Christian leaders and organizations to multiply healthy disciple-making churches in every small community. The Church Planting Alliance of Southern Africa (CPA) is the vision-driven network under the commission to provide relevant training, coaching, and collaboration efforts to accomplish this great commission goal. Please visit www://ocafrica.org/contact/ to request more information about disciple-making multiplication and church planting training/coaching in your area.
References
Addison, S. (2012). What Jesus Started: Joining the Movement, Changing the World. InterVarsity.
Bosch, D. (1991). Transforming Mission. Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission (20th anniversary). Orbis Books.
Farah, Warrick (2020). Motus Dei: Disciple-Making Movements and the Mission of God. Published in Global Missiology, www.globalmissiology.org
Hirsch, A. and Frost, M. (2004). The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st-Century Church. Baker.
Parks, K. (2017). “Finishing the Remaining 29% of World Evangelization” Lausanne Global Analysis 6(3). Available online at https://www.lausanne.org/content/lga/2017-05/finishing-the-remaining-29-of-world-evangelization.
Smith, S. (2016). “Four Stages to ‘No Place Left’ in Our Generation” Mission Frontiers 38(5), 40–43. Available online at http://www.missionfrontiers.org/issue/article/four-stages-to-no-place-left-in-our-generation.
Trousdale, J. (2012). Miraculous Movements: How Hundreds of Thousands of Muslims are Falling in Love with Jesus. Thomas Nelson.
Watson, D. and Watson P. (2014). Contagious Disciple Making: Leading Others on a Journey of Discovery. Thomas Nelson.
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