DISCIPLESHIP.

A. DEFINITION AND THE NEED FOR DISCIPLESHIP

What is discipleship?
It is a process whereby men and women are brought into a personal
relationship with Jesus and then their whole lives redirected in
obedience to Him.
Jesus summed up discipleship in Luke 6:40 “everyone who is fully
trained will be like his teacher.”
Why is there no discipleship ministry in church today? Discuss.
THE NEED FOR DISCIPLESHIP

It is not enough to just get converts. The objective is to help the new
convert progress to the point where he is faithful, mature and dedicated
disciple.
The biblical process was the concept of multiplying disciples Mathew
28:19 “go therefore and make disciples…”
Multiplying disciples is a scriptural approach to helping fulfill Christ’s
Great Commision; Mathew 9:37-38 and it works helping to do
something about training workers.
LeRoy Eims – Art of DM, P.26 contends that when you start spending
time with another Christian for the purpose of having a ministry in his
or her life – time together in the word, prayer, fellowship, systematic
training – something happens in your own life as well.
Therefore we need to invest in the new believers. Select a few people to
determine to spend time teaching them the basic fundamentals of
Christian life – Bible study , prayer, outreach and various ministry skills.
 B. PHASES OF DISCIPLESHIP.
There are three phases of disciple making:
1. Evangelism
2. Establishing
3. Equipping
1. Evangelism
Evangelism or witnessing is the act of preaching the gospel with the
intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ.
Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as
evangelists, whether they are in their home communities or living as
missionaries.
(refer notes on evangelism)

2. Establishing
i). Definition
This is the process by which a new or immature Christian is helped by
one or more to grow in faith. Christians to become stabilized and
grounded in the basis of the Christian life.
ii). Profile of an established Christian has different facets:
a) Knowledge
 Assurance of salvation
 Assurance of forgiveness
 Assurance of answered prayer
 Assurance of victory 1 Corinthians
 Importance of Christian fellowship (Hebrews 10:24,25)
 Importance of water baptism
 Ministering of the holy spirit
  Humility and divinity of Jesus
b) Character
 Separation from the world (john 17:15,16)
 Self control
 Purity of mind (Mathew 5:27) (important ones for
Christians)
 Love for others (distinguishing feature for a Christian)
 Devotion to God (Luke 14:25-33 (Supreme devotion to God
even at the expense of our lives).
 A desire for scripture and prayer (a desire to have fellowship
with God).
 Desire to give
 Humility
c) Skills
 How to have a meaningful quiet time
 How to memorize scripture
 How to share his testimony
NB: It is not enough to just get converts. The objective is to
help the new convert progress to a point where he/she is faithful,
mature, and dedicated disciple. In order to do this you must know
what his needs are.
 They include:
o Assurance of salvation
– He needs to know that he truly been born again.
– He has new life 2 Corinthians 5:17
This is evidenced by :
A changed attitude toward Jesus Christ ( 1 john 5:11-12)
A changed attitude towards sin (1 john 1:9)
 o Acceptance –love and acceptance must be communicated to
him (1 Thessalonians 2;8, 10-11, 17-20). Tender Loving Care
is what they need (TLC).

iii) Basic needs of a growing Christian

Protection
– from false cults
– Variety of attacks by the enemy
– Old friends enticing him into old paths etc.
– Satan wanting to destroy him
– God’s word in follow up is vital. He must be protected with the
word of God.
Fellowship
– This helps them to feel part of us. This only happens through the
ministry of the Holy Spirit as He lowly warms our hearts together
in love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23.
He needs food
– Spiritual food is the WORD OF GOD. We give this food in two
ways:
1. Teaching him the Word of God.
2. Teaching him to feed himself from the word of God. This will
help him to be independent on others for the rest of his life. This
way he can grow into a full disciple.
This is done by taking a portion of scripture that speaks to your
heart, meditating in it, and developing practical steps towards
making it an integral part of your life:
What does the passage say to me?
Where am I falling short?
 Give specific examples
What am I going to do about it?
Scripture must be applied to life (2 timothy 3:16-17)
Assignment: Read About The Discipleship Wheel Illustration in:
[Link]
FOUR METHODS OF ESTABLISHING (FOLLOW –UP)
1. Personal contact:
Visiting a new believer and having fellowship face to face
Dealing with his needs and problems in the new life is of
paramount importance.
Example on how to follow:
Romans 1:11 for I long to see you, that I may impart you some
spiritual gift to strengthen you.
Paul in his second and third missionary journeys were follow-up
visits.
Acts 15:36 - …go and visit and see how they do…
His purpose was to strengthen the believers.
2. Letter writing:
Sharing what you have by writing because there is no personal
contact as supplementary.
Eg.
Luke 1:4 He wrote to Theophilus
Acts is also a second letter to Theophilus
New Testament books - letters written to encourage Christians in
their lives.
NB: very important avenue but with a cost to be paid, takes time
and money. But the benefits are worth the pain.

3. Sending another person:

We must understand the value of fellowship and encouragement. The
issue of spiritual gifts is also expressed here. We need each other in
all areas even in follow up.
Bible example: 1 Thess 3:1-2 Timothy was sent to Thessalonica on
Paul’s behalf.
Sending materials to study privately or in a group.
4. Prayer:
You can combine this with the rest and you can do it often as you
like.
Eg.
1 Thess 1:2-3 The Thessalonians
Col. 1:9-11 The Colossians
Eph 3:14-19 The Ephesians
Exhort: to urge and encourage
Confirm: to strengthen and make secure
Acts 14:21-22
Acts 18:23

3. Equipping
a. Definition of Equipping:
The process by which a Christian is trained to become a disciple
maker in which he uses the ministry gifts the Lord has given him.
b. Profile of a “Ministering Disciple”
 i). Knowledge:
A priesthood of all believers
The importance of the great commission
Priorities
How to discern the will of God.
ii) Qualities of a spiritual leadership:
Character
- Integrity
- Proper motivation for service 1 peter 5:1-3
- Faithfulness – true to our words.
- Faithful in small tasks- Luke 16
- Humility
- Willingness to serve others
- Same attitude as Christ -Philippians 2:
- Ability to trust God in large and small matters
Skills
Ability to share the gospel effectively
Ability to follow up new believers
Ability to function as a servant leader
c. Principles of Equipping
i) You can only trained people who willing to be trained
Discipling FAT
Faithful
Available
Teachable
Discipling FATA people
Faithful
Available
Teachable
Able
 Do not throw your diamonds to the pig; on the other hand
do not prejudge a person –give them time.
ii. Help the individual develop his own personal
convictions regarding his involvement in spiritual
indiscipline such as: Elijah and Elisha getting into ministry
willingly. Three times asked to choose to leave but three
times he refused.
2 Kings 2:1-6, the person must first learn to serve verse
21. Elisha showed his total commitment to serve Elijah.
Moses and Joshua in numbers 27:15-23. Moses shared his
authority with Joshua who then took over his work
(Joshua 1:1-2) he learnt to do it by training –on- the-job.
So this was not a new idea in Jesus’ days.

N.T biblical examples of discipleship:

In the gospel
Those who linked themselves to john the Baptist were identified as his disciples
matt 11:2, Mk 2:18;6:29, Luke 5:33; john 1:35, 37.

The Pharisees liked to think of themselves as Moses’ disciples, john 9:28 and they
were disciples of their own who followed them and their interpretation of the
Torah matt 22:16, mark 2:18

Disciples were expected not only to study the law but also to study a specific way
of life which could only be done through constant fellowship with a master.

Jesus and his disciples:

The bible speaks of Jesus’ choice of the 12 and says that He choose them to be
with him, mark 3:12-19. Jesus’ approach to training disciples was not academic but
relational. His goal was not simply to pass on knowledge to them but to help them
become like him Luke 6:40.
Jesus also called men to be full participants in Hia mission – Mark 1:15,17; luke
5:10. “come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” carryinh the good
news to all. Jesus sent out the 12 or 70 out by twos Mk 6:7-13 ; luke 10:1-20 He
expects them to be fully involved in service to others as well.

Paul :

He writes to the Corinthians to follow his example as he follows the example of

Christ .

Reminds timothy of the intimate acquaintance he gained of Paul’s life and

teaching. 2 Tim 3:10-11

Timothy is : to hold firm to the pattern of sound teaching- 2 timothy 1:13

to repeat the pattern in his own ministry 2 timothy 2:2

watch his life and doctrine closely 1 timothy 4:16, 1 timothy 4:12

MAJOR PRINCIPLES OF DISCIPLE MAKING

1. PRINCIPLE OF PRIORITIES

2. THE PRINCIPLE OF SELECTION

3. PRINCIPLE OF ASSOCIATION

4. PRINCIPLE OF INSTRUCTION

5. PRINCIPLE OF DEDICATION

6. PRINCIPLE OF DEMONSTRATION
7. PRINCIPLE OF DELEGATION

8. THE PRINCIPLE OF SUPERVISION

9. THE PRINCIPLE OF MOTIVATION

10. THE PRINCIPLE OF REPRODUCTION

PROBLEMS OF DISCIPLE MAKING

a. Too many people to work with – set high standards
This will eliminate those who are not serious
b. No one to work with- pray that the lord will give you people or
at least one person
c. Not enough time ; too busy. Re-evaluate priorities
d. Not sure what to cover – make a list of topics you want to
cover, use materials (you don’t have to invent the wheel.) there
are available materials
e. Not sure who to choose to disciple
“FAT” person
f. Unfaithful disciples- confront and challenge them
g. Feeling of inadequacy 1 timothy 4:12-16 - make progress.
People are not looking for perfection, but for people who are
able to make progress.
h. Criticism of playing favorites.