Vietnam Evangelical Covenant Church – More and more churches around the world are returning to the command to make disciples given in the Great Commission. But if we are all aiming at the same goal, why do so many of our discipleship strategies miss it?
Paul told Timothy, “What you have heard me say… entrust to reliable men who will be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2). This is the heart of a discipleship strategy. Yet many churches have programs and still don’t see disciples being formed. Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB).
Here are 6 reasons our discipleship strategies miss the mark.
6 Reasons Discipleship Strategies Miss the Mark
1. We don’t actually HAVE a strategy
Many churches spend time planning everything from weekly services to special events like summer camps and evangelistic outreaches. Yet we don’t take time to develop a discipleship strategy. I like this line attributed to Winston Churchill: “However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” If you don’t like your results, change your strategy.
2. We don’t have a WORKABLE strategy
Sometimes churches keep doing what they have always done and expect new results. Results and plans are closely linked. You have to change what you do to get a different outcome. Have we ever asked, “What must change in the present to reach the future we dream of?”
3. We have an OUTDATED strategy
We have a strategy, but it was designed for a completely different era. Life today is very different from the past (in pace, concerns, biblical literacy and more), yet we are still using a traditional strategy built a century ago. Ed Stetzer has pointed out that many churches today are better prepared for the past than for the present.
4. We don’t really know what SUCCESS looks like
We can’t describe what a disciple looks like, so we don’t know when we have made one. I’m struck by the simplicity of Dallas Willard’s description: a mature disciple is someone who naturally does what Jesus did.
5. We let people BELIEVE there are two kinds of disciples
Bill Hull points out in The Complete Book of Discipleship that many Christians today accept and even encourage the idea of two classes of believers: those who pursue and practice discipleship, and those for whom simply believing is enough. There is only one kind of disciple: one who follows Jesus with all their heart, mind and soul.
6. We believe discipleship is a PROGRAM
We think discipleship is mainly about providing information and skills in seminars, when at its core it is a choice to follow Jesus. We think discipleship happens over a few days or years, while Hull reminds us that discipleship is not just for new believers; it is for every believer, every day of their lives.
Have you decided to be a true disciple of Jesus?
Adjusting Your Discipleship Strategy
An effective discipleship strategy isn’t measured by the number of classes or materials, but by the number of people transformed who go on to train others. Take stock: is our church producing disciples who make disciples?
Start simple: each leader walks alongside two or three people, reading God’s Word, praying and living out faith together. Jesus chose twelve and stayed with them.
Discipleship takes time, patience and example. There is no shortcut that replaces one person living close to and investing in another’s life.
Pray and ask God to show you whom you should walk with in this season, and start this week.
You may also like: 5 Reasons Christians Need to Become Disciples and Church Small Groups.
Prayer
Lord, help our church be faithful to the command to make disciples of all nations. Give us wisdom to adjust our discipleship strategy and willing hearts to invest in others’ lives. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Article: Quỳnh Vũ
Adapted from: Pastors.com
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