Many people who call themselves Christians easily find themselves in the routine of attending church on (some) Sundays, maybe a small group, and perhaps even serving on a ministry team. And in this pattern, they begin wondering if there is more to their relationship with God than just showing up on the weekend.
What if spending time in close relationship with Jesus and other people actually helps to encourage a deeper walk with Him? Jesus commands His disciples in Matthew 28 to “go and make disciples.” He says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The early church began because Jesus discipled the 12, then they went and discipled others. Soon, thousands were following Christ and believing the gospel.
So how do we walk in obedience to Jesus’ command to make disciples?
Be with Jesus to become like Jesus.
In order to be one who disciples, we must first become a disciple. That means spending time with Jesus. Being committed to reading, meditating, and memorizing the Word of God. Carving out time in prayer. And denying ourselves to live for Him. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
And as we are with the Lord, being sanctified into His likeness, bring others into that. The disciples spent time with Jesus. They walked with Him, ate with Him, journeyed with Him. As you do all of these things with Him, too, invite others to join you in that.
Do what Jesus did.
One pastor that has greatly influenced my life says, “If you want to do what Jesus did, you have to do what Jesus did.”
Many times, we strive to see and do the miraculous things Jesus displayed.
Or we desire to show grace and mercy and love to those around us.
Or we crave a life of peace.
Yet we aren’t willing to take the time to do what He did: spend time alone with the Father.
“He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray” (Matt. 14:23). Whenever Jesus did ministry (and His ministry was incredible!), He took moments to get away from the crowds to be alone with His Father. If we want to see God move in our lives so that others experience Him, we also need to get alone and spend time with the Lord. It is in these private moments we are filled up so we can then go out and do His Kingdom work.
Abide in His Word.
As we mentioned before, spending time with God is one of the best ways to become more like Him, and thus be able to love like He loves. One way to do this is to abide in His word.
Jesus actually says that we are His disciples if we abide in His word. The mark of a disciple is one who is continually staying in His word. How can we truly know God and share Him with others if we don’t know what His word says?
Love One Another.
Along with making disciples, another commandment Christ gave was to love one another. He says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). So not only are we considered His disciples if we abide in His word, but others will know that we are His disciples by how well we love each other.
Make Disciples Who Make Disciples.
Jesus’ disciples learned from Him, then they went and made more disciples. From there, the church grew because the disciples continued this cycle of teaching and growing. In the modern Church, discipleship seems to have taken a back seat to large services where, yes, the word of God is taught, but true discipleship isn’t happening.
A simple way to do this is to find a few people, invite them into your walk with God, and then, after a time, encourage them to find their own people and do the same. Soon, from what started as a few people will grow into thousands of others not only becoming disciples but making disciples.
How ShareFaith Can Help Your Church Be Disciple Makers.
One of the great ways for people to deepen their walk with God is to be in a community of believers. This is where individuals can find people to disciple them and they, in turn, can find others that they can disciple.
If you desire for your church to grow in the disciple-making process, ShareFaith is here to partner with you. It is our mission to help your church reach its goals. We, too, desire to see disciples making disciples. We have many resources, including church website builders to help you engage and equip the disciples in your church. ShareFaith has a robust suite of children’s ministry resources to help your leaders disciple the next generation. Along with these tools, there is an entire suite of software and services to help your church accomplish the Great Commission.
Our heart is to serve churches so they can do what they are called to do. Contact us today to get more tools to engage and grow disciples.