CAPSTONE PROJECT:

WHAT ARE THE NECESSARY COMPONENTS FOR THE DISCIPLESHIP PROCESS OF A

MISSIONAL CHURCH?

Submitted to Dr. Bruce Coats

of the
SUM Bible College & Theological Seminary

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirement of the Course
CPTS6323 Capstone Project
in the Graduate Program in Christian Leadership

By
Kristen Lucas Smith, BA

Stockton, CA
May 2014

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................3
Statement of the Problem.....................................................................................................4
Statement of the Methodology.............................................................................................6

II. LITERATURE REVIEW...........................................................................................................7

a. Matthew 28: 18-20..........................................................................................................7
b. History of Discipleship....................................................................................................8
c. Example of Discipleship................................................................................................12
d. Purpose of Discipleship.................................................................................................18

III. ANALYSIS OF THE STRUCTURE OF DISCIPLESHIP PROCESSES..............................21

A Model of Discipleship-MOST Analysis.........................................................................21
Metro Praise International.................................................................................................22
Mission of Discipleship.....................................................................................................24
Objectives of Discipleship.................................................................................................25
Strategies of Discipleship..................................................................................................27
Tactics of Discipleship.......................................................................................................29

IV. PLANNING FOR THE DISCIPLESHIP PROCESS.............................................................30

Content of the Discipleship Process..................................................................................31

V. CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................37

VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY.............................................................................................................38-40

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 WHAT ARE THE NECESSARY COMPONENTS FOR THE DISCIPLESHIP PROCESS OF A
MISSIONAL CHURCH?

Introduction

According to a Gallup Report in May 2013, "Over three-quarters of Americans (77%) say

religion is losing its influence on American life."1 Christianity has been looked upon as just

another religion and over the years, its salt has lost its savor. When Jesus commanded believers

to go and make disciples, it was to make an impact in the world. The responsibility Jesus had

when He was sent to this Earth was the main ingredient: Great Influence. He handpicked twelve

disciples to show them the Kingdom life and how to bring Heaven down to Earth, and it has

infiltrated down from generation to generation of the Good News to present. However, there is

just a remnant of those who fully work in His power by duplicating this power to others. Just as

in the time of Jesus, he had twelve who were true disciples and then there were the multitudes

who followed Him. Unfortunately, the modern day church has become preoccupied with

programs instead of processes to disciple people into Kingdom living.

Francis Chan says, “We expect our church leaders to create some sort of disciple-maker

campaign where we sign up, commit to participating for a few months, and then get to cross the

Great Commission off our list. But making disciples is far more than a program. It is the mission

of our lives. It defines us. A disciple is a disciple maker.”2 Over time the Church has become

spectators of God's power instead of the influence of power to change the neighborhood, a

community, a city, a nation and even the world. Rather than going to church to be a spectator

1
Most Americans Say Religion Its Losing Influence in the U.S.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/162803/americans-say-religion-losing-influence.aspx (Date accessed April 1, 2014).
2
Francis Chan. Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples. Published by David C. Cook Distribution.
Colorado Springs, CO. (2012).

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who watches the pastor, choir or other people do ministry, church at its best is a preparation for

all of us to go onto the playing field of life and to join the Jesus team. Scott Thuma and Warren

Bird who wrote, The Other 80 Percent: Turning Your Church's Spectators into Active

Participants address different approaches for dealing with this 20/80 problem (20% of the people

do 80% of the work while most of the rest do nothing) and various strategies by which a church's

leadership might begin to address the issues of member mobilization and discipleship.3 There is

so much injustice in the earth that as Jesus came to make the crooked things straight, that is our

job as the Body of Christ.

Statement of Problem

Many people accept a relationship with Jesus Christ, and they join a Christian church

with enthusiasm in their hearts and also have high expectations. Then they suddenly disappear

into an abyss soon after being baptized and make it to the forgotten list accompanied by so many

others. The focus tends to be on the next new convert. In the Bible it says, "Jonathan son of Saul

had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and

Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell

and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth" (2 Sam. 4:4). As a nurse in the Bible who

was careless and dropped the baby due to her rushing, becomes a reflection of how new babes in

Christ tend to be treated in the church today spiritually. As a baby needs to be taught how to eat,

drink and walk like a human being, so does a new convert in a spiritual way. Without this

knowledge, a new convert can be crippled spiritually and lean on their own theology and how to

connect with God and to others. The results of this failed process can be serious for the new

convert and the church. Doug Foltz argues about different viewpoints addressed in his article:

3
Scott Thuma and Warren Bird. The Other 80 Percent: Turning Your Church's Spectators into
Active Participants. Published by Jossey-Bass. San Francisco, CA. (2011).

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 "While my hope is that people's viewpoints are wrong, and the church in this country is
doing a good job of discipleship, I do believe that Mike is telling the truth when he says
that the western church is pretty poor at making disciples. Whether it is our
individualism, our lack of community, or just not knowing what a disciple is..the church
has done a poor job over the last fifty to one hundred years. What is the answer to this
problem? Slow down."4

As the Body of Christ, we need to slow down and see God's children and nurture them in

the Word of God. There needs to be a true conviction to not let anyone mature on their own.

While I do not agree with most of his viewpoints, Bill Maher said something that completely

makes sense:

"New rule: If you're a Christian who supports killing your enemies and torture, you have
to come up with a new name for yourself..."Capping thine enemy" is not exactly
something Jesus would do...I'm not even judging you. I'm just saying logically, if you
ignore every single thing Jesus commanded you to do, you're not a Christian. You're just
auditing. You're not Christ disciples. You're just fans."5

Maher makes a good point that we have to demonstrate and follow all of what Jesus

commanded us to do, so that we can look more like him and not the world. Out of all the ways to

relate to a new believer, discipleship is not one of the most general of church growth strategies.

Matt Steen states, "Intentional discipleship through philosophy of doctrine does not help the

church grow exponentially. However, it will deeply impact the spiritual life of the congregation

and can last throughout future generations."6 As Mike Breen indicates in his article, "If you are

good at making disciples, you'll get more leaders than you'll know what to do with. If you make

disciple as Jesus made them, you'll see people come to faith who didn't know Him."7
4
Doug Foltz. http://plantingchurches.org/2012/02/3-reasons-why
missional_communities_are_not_the_only_discipleship_model/ (Date accessed April 7, 2014).
5
Bill Maher, "New Rules," Real Time with Bill Maher, 213, HBO, May 13, 2011,
http://www.hbo.com/real-time-with-bill-maher/episodes/0/2013-episode/article/new-rules.html (access April 12,
2014).
6
http://pastors.com/discipleship-and-the-missional-church/ (Date accessed April 11, 2014).

7
http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/154332-mike-breen-why-the-missional-movement-

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 Statement of Methodology

The goal of this paper was to answer the following question, “What are the necessary

components for the discipleship process of a missional church?” The desired outcome was to

construct a detailed discipleship process that will be used as a tool to introduce the fundamental

truths about a relationship with God and others, and how to incorporate spiritual disciplines that

will cultivate a new convert's daily connection with God.

In order to determine this, I considered literature from other people's research on

discipleship. I did a textual analysis on things in print on one church's approach. The discipleship

model I researched was from Metro Praise International in Chicago, Illinois. There are two forms

of analysis that I used analyze them. One consisted of the 'MOST' analysis which is an acronym

for Mission, Objective, Strategy and Tactics. It is a simple framework tool for analyzing or

planning the detail of what an organization does. In a researcher role, it helps one frame ideas,

starting from the high-level mission of the organization and digging right down to the detail of

individual tactics. 8 The second analysis was the Textual analysis which is the method of

communication researchers use to describe and interpret the characteristics of a recorded or

visual message. The purpose of textual analysis is to describe the content, structure, and

functions of the message of discipleship contained in texts. 9

This study was to heavily emphasize on the processes of discipleship by using different

strategies and tactics. I researched academic journals to study the purpose of discipleship, and
will-fail.html (Date accessed April 3, 2014).
8
David Straker. MOST Analysis. http://syque.com/quality_tools/tools/Tools78.htm (Date April 11,
2014).
9
Frey, L., Botan, C., & Kreps, G. (1999). Investigating communication: An introduction to research
methods. (2nd ed.) Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

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also studied topic-related books that provided other research to work in the background for the

literature review. The next section provides a review of literature on the importance of

discipleship in the Church and the impact it has on future generations.

Literature Review

Matthew 28:18-20

One of the main Scriptures in the Bible that discusses discipleship is this, "Go and make

disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy

Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:19-20). This

particular Scripture is the "Great Commission" and it has given a better vision of discipleship.

Jesus' purpose was to equip and teach His disciples what He knows. Disciple-making was a

command, given by Jesus, and it is not an option for those who follow Him. As the apostle Paul

describes our faith walk with Jesus, he uses metaphors of training and competition, and he

explains the hardships that accompany the lifelong learning process of following Jesus. Paul

mentions in Philippians, "I have learned to be quite content whatever my circumstances" (Phil.

4:11).

According to Bill Muehlenberg, he points out in his blog the following observation of the

American church and the evangelism techniques used, “We have a herd mentality and tend

emphasize evangelism more than discipleship, I hear this statement…55 people being saved

here, 120 saved there, and of course I rejoice. But I have to ask, where is the discipleship? Is that

being followed up on? What happens to all these new converts?”10 The process of growing in

Christ has its growing pains, and it is critical in nurturing the new convert as they continue

learning how to obey Christ. Over time, it has become unethical and unbiblical in disciple
10
http://billmuehlenberg.com/2010/04/21/on-making-disciples (Date accessed May 21, 2014).

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making when we do not follow the model that Jesus showed us. When we see herds of people

saved and no follow up, then we are not fulfilling the Great Commission.

History of Discipleship

In order to understand how to lead like Jesus Christ did on this earth, we will need to

examine the word "disciple" in its purest form. Francis Chan has a great way of bringing the

definition alive by stating in his book, Multiply:

"The word disciple refers to a student or apprentice. Disciples in Jesus' day would follow
their Rabbi (which means teacher) whenever he went, learning from the Rabbi's teaching
and being trained to do as the Rabbi did. A disciple is a follower, but only if we take the
term follower to heart. Becoming a disciple of Jesus is as simple as obeying His call to
follow."11

As one becomes a disciple, it is not a one-time event, but a lifelong commitment to Jesus

and a desire to think, behave, and speak like Him. In our microwave mindset of the modern

church in America, we tend to think that once a person accepts Jesus, then it is like they will

suddenly get all the knowledge and wisdom through osmosis, and this is not the case. Though the

new believer is immediately forgiven for all their sins, and receives God's grace, the process of

learning about Christ is continuous. Let's compare this to a newlywed couple who have just said

"I do" to each another. Of course the ceremony is an outward sign of their commitment to one

another. However, there is still some learning that needs to take place inwardly that take time and

patience.

As the couple spends time with one another, they will slowly transform to becoming one

and start to think alike, and maybe even say the same thing every once in awhile. In the church

11
Francis Chan. Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples. Published by David C. Cook Distribution.
Colorado Springs, CO. (2012).

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today, there are a high percentage of new believers who are not guided by a mature believer. This

consequently can lead them to becoming uneducated in the Word of God, unmotivated to pursue

the things of God and ultimately results in them being spiritually immature. In Galatians, it says,

“My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you"

(Galatians 4:19). This Scripture describes that the ultimate goal is to form new believers in

Christ's image and it will not always be appealing to their own ideals however, it will help them

grow spiritually.

Timothy Buckheit argues that discipleship consists fundamentally on identity formation.

As Christians engage in these practices, they develop a unique identity as pilgrims on a collective

journey towards an eschatological destiny from that transformed identity flows to action; namely

missional participation.12 Our job as believers is to find our identity in God so that we can help

others find out who they are as well. Everyone is on a search to find this place of Utopia. They

know that this world is not the answer to true fulfillment. They are in search for the place where

they originated from, which is Heaven. Once a new believer finds out who they are in Christ then

it becomes easier to know how to obey His commands and walk in authority. Stanley Hauerwas

states, "We are not Christians because of what we believe but because we have been called to be

disciples of Jesus. To become a disciple is not a matter of a new or changed self-understanding,

but rather to become part of a different community with a different set of practices."13

Discipleship is a way of bringing out the best in someone who is hungry for more out of

life. In the book of Hebrews it says, "But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live

God's holy best. At the time, discipline is not much fun. It always feels like it's going against the

12
Timothy E. Buckheit 2013. "Pilgrim practices: discipleship for a missional church." Christian
Education Journal 229-233. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed April 7, 2014).

13
Stanley Hauerwas. 1991. "Discipleship as a craft, church as a disciplined community." Christian Century
108, no. 27: 881-884. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (Date accessed April 3, 2014).

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grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves

mature in their relationship with God" (Heb. 12:11). For example, prayer training sessions and

practicing on how to pray to God for yourself and for others would be good to help a new

convert. It shows them how to understand what it looks like, feels like and also the results that

come out of living a spiritually disciplined life.

Dan Gannon makes a good analysis about different models in the church by stating these

following points:

"The membership model is one in which the ministries of the church are focused on
maintaining the membership, whereas the discipleship model is focused on the Great
Commission mandate of making disciples. In the membership model, the highest good
is making happy members. In the discipleship model, the highest good is making and
becoming more authentic disciples of Christ."14

Allen and Mary Moore state in a journal article this statement, “A lifestyle of discipleship

is not a simple recipe. It is not a concept complete with directions which can be followed in all

times and places. It is simply following God's lead in our everyday lives toward a vision of the

Kingdom of God."15

As Chris Shirley mentions in his book, It takes a Church to Make a Disciple that the main

point of the Church is discipleship, "The local church is a biblically-ordained and relevant

vehicle for transformation discipleship. He also suggests that the church was given the primary

responsibility for making disciples."16 Shirley also states, "There is an identity crisis in
14
Dan Gannon. 2001. "Power Surge: Six Marks of Discipleship for a Changing Church." Stone-Campbell
Journal 4, no. 2: 288-290. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (Date accessed April 3, 2014).
15
Allen J. Moore, and Mary Elizabeth Moore. 1982. "The transforming church: education for a lifestyle of
discipleship." Impact no. 9: 51-69. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (Date accessed April 2,
2014).
16
Chris Shirley. 2008. "It takes a church to make a disciple: an integrative model of discipleship for the local
church." Southwestern Journal Of Theology 50, no. 2: 207-224. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials,
EBSCOhost (accessed April 5, 2014).

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contemporary Christianity that is forestalling spiritual growth in the lives of believers, and it is

eroding the health of the local church."17 Serious evangelists and disciple makers need to

emphasize the lordship of Jesus. Otherwise we continue the scandal of millions professing faith

without living it. In his book, Mere Discipleship, Lee Camp bluntly asks, “Could it be that ‘Jesus

is Lord’ has become one of the most widespread Christian lies? Have Christians claimed the

lordship of Jesus, but systematically set aside the call to obedience to this Lord?"18

Shirley also says, "Although the word discipleship does not appear in the New Testament,

the concept is implied through Jesus' command in the Great Commission to make disciples. The

suffix "ship" is derived from the Old English "scipe" meaning "the state of", "contained in" or

"condition.”19 Discipleship is a process where it can be developed on a daily basis. Jesus and His

disciples were together most of the time and Jesus was able to pour His life into them, and also

correct them along the way. The disciples were accountable to their Master Teacher and lived a

disciplined life by observing Jesus and how He lived.

David Sutton implies his theory, "Issues of a disciplined life and accountability arise

regularly. However, the relationship of disciplined life and accountability to discipleship and the

gospel is not always so evident."20 I agree with Sutton that a disciplined life and accountability

are key components to being effective in the church. George Barna says, "Almost every church

in our country has some type of discipleship program or set of activities, but stunningly few have

a church of disciples."21 Considering Barna's viewpoint, there is a need to build up disciples and
17
Ibid.

18
Lee Camp. Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World. Published by Brazos
Press.Grand Rapids, MI. (2008).
19
Ibid.
20
David H. Sutton. 1988. “Discipline and Discipleship: Accountability in the Life of the Church.” Journal
For Preachers 11, no. 2: 26-31. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed April 8, 2014).
21
George Barna. Growing True Disciples. Published by WaterBrook Press. Colorado Springs, CO.

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not the church programs. Senior Pastor Bill Johnson elaborates on the importance of

discipleship by stating:

"If you want to follow me, pick up your cross, and this is fascinating to think about it
because the cross of Jesus was enough. The cross of Jesus took care of everything so why
would you go after the cross and still need to pick up your cross. See there's no
redemptive value in your suffering all that was accomplished but everything we do in
picking up our cross to follow him is not a redemptive act it's a discipleship act. The
disciple like his master. A pupil according to description when he is fully trained will be
like his master. A disciple, the issue being a follower of Jesus is modeled in illustrated by
going low, by humbling ourselves, washing the feet of others as Jesus did."22

An Example of Discipleship

In the Scriptures, there are some great examples of discipleship. The analysis review will

highlight the ultimate example which is Jesus Christ and His disciples who were reflected in the

New Testament in the Book of John Chapter 15. The final results of His work have lasted

through generations and ultimately catapulted God's sending method through discipleship. Jesus

being the True Vine teaches a great point on staying connected to Him and His Father.

Jesus the True Vine

As discussed earlier about the works of Jesus and His time on this earth, His disciples

were there to learn from the Master Teacher. His main priority was to recruit and train disciples.

He did not fit the mold of the religious leaders and go to the Temple to preach the Good News

however; He went out to connect with sinners, the sick, and people who were thirsty for the

(2001).
p. 20.
22
ibetheltv, "Disciples of Jesus - Bill Johnson, Bethel Church" YouTube, Online Video Clip,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-vgrAAEj64 (Date Accessed April 21, 2014).

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Living Water. In the book, A Passionate Life by Mike Breen and Walt Kallestad state

"Discipleship is not religious activity or something we do in church on Sundays. It involves

every part of our life. Not just our "spiritual" life."23 Jesus' model of discipleship was a simple

question to all of humanity, "Do you want to be whole?" (John 5:6) The religious leaders in

Jesus' day knew the Scriptures but didn't know how to be examples on how to live whole. They

knew the date but ignored the application. We need both Bible knowledge and a righteous

lifestyle because they support the other.

As we look at the life of Jesus and his relationship with his Heavenly Father, it is evident

that His main purpose was to bridge the gap between us and His Father. All throughout the

Gospels the use of parables was very popular in how Jesus communicated with his disciples,

religious leaders and to the masses. Jesus was very connected to His Father through prayer and

relied solely on His Father and the Holy Spirit. The Law was the foundation of the faith. Jesus

came to show mercy and grace towards human kind, so that God's creation would recognize that

we now have full access to producing lasting fruit from the True Vine.

In this section, I will be discussing the historical context and the Scriptures related to

John 15:1-8. We will take a journey into the parable that Jesus uses to make a vivid picture of our

spiritual connection to God and Jesus talking to His disciples. This particular passage is one of

the best demonstrations of God's love, power and Divine direction. Jesus plays a big role in

being a True Vine supplier to nurture the branches. Humanity are the branches that produce fruit

for God's glory or they get cut off and pruned so that there can be room for more good fruit to

grow. The analogy of this passage will be divided into is an extended metaphor and opens up the

symbolism that represents something other than the natural meaning. Jesus was a great teacher to

23
Mike Breen & Walt Kallestad. A Passionate Life. Published by Cook Communications Ministry.
Colorado Springs, CO. (2005), p. 88.

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connect his disciples to something that they can tangibly see and relate to as the audience that He

was addressing.

As it is connected to the Old Testament, the Vine is a familiar symbol of Israel in the

Psalms and the Prophets (Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 2:21, 5:10, 12:10, Ps. 80:8-16; Ezekiel 15:18,

17:1-24 and Hosea 10:1). Based on Jewish traditions and growing vineyards to make wine, it

was something that was common in that time of history. The Old Testament imagery included

among other ideas fruitlessness, degeneracy, and removal of branches, burning, and destruction.24

This process could be paralleled with the relationship with God and His children.

The passage of John 15:1-8 was just a part of Jesus' teachings to his disciples. The

disciples were being prepared mentally and spiritually for Jesus' transition. In John 14, Jesus sets

up his teachings about leaving a Helper when He goes away. The Holy Spirit would teach the

disciples and give them clarity of God's direction for them. Jesus never left one detail out about

what the disciples needed to know to produce joy in their hearts. The relationship between Jesus

and his disciples was very intimate in the sense that it wasn't a master/slave relationship but it

was a brotherhood or for better words, friendship just as David and Jonathan had. The disciples

knew everything which brought trust to the relationship that they had before He left this earth.

The main purpose of the book of John is to show the real meaning of the relational God

that exists even though He is not seen in the physical realm.25 Just as in Genesis, God desired to

have fellowship with His creation. Even though sin came in this world, Jesus was the answer to

bridging the gap between Him and His people. God's love for the people was so prevalent when

He sent His Son Jesus Christ. In this context, this particular portion of scripture identifies the

24
Carl J. Laney. "Abiding Is Believing: the Analogy of the Vine in John 15:1-6," Bibliotheca Sacra, 1989.
25
http://biblegateway.com/resources/commentary/john-declares-purpose-writing/ (Date accessed May 21,
2014).

14
connection between the God, His Son and humanity. There are also specific instructions that

Jesus mentions in the process of being a part of the True Vine.

This passage about the True Vine was at the end of Jesus' ministry here on earth. At that

time, the Jews were looking for a political redeemer to come and save them but God sent the

Messiah for ALL humanity, not just the Jews. John was one of the twelve disciples, and he was

able to hear first hand of the connection between God and His people. The audience is expansive

and it was written for those who didn't have an opportunity to hear the teachings of Jesus at that

time. It is evident to see how Jesus connected His Heavenly Father with those who believed in

Him as He discussed prayer.

According to the book of John, “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, can ask

anything and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). The prayers themselves are a fruit of faith in

God and what He can do, and they produce fruit based on His will. The Word is living and as the

words are spoken through faith, it produces fruit because the Word is an incorruptible seed and it

keeps producing after its own kind. MacArthur says, "The healthy, fruit-bearing branches

represent genuine Christians." He argues, "We are not saved by works, but works are the only

proof that faith is genuine, vibrant, and alive. Fruit is the only possible validation that a branch is

abiding in the True Vine."26

A disciple can learn a lot when you are under the knife of inner turmoil and persecution

all around them. When they stay connected and abide in the vine in spite of outside weather

conditions they will bear fruit. Walter Wink expresses his personal testimony of how God

showed him his production of fruit staying connected to the vine by saying, "I realized later that I

was free in the process at any point something in me stayed with the process, simply because

26
John F. MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 168.

15
God was in it. This too, was a way to abide."27

My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

God is exalted through our fruitfulness and tangible fruit on earth is a reflection of the intangible

fruit in Heaven. The fruit of the Spirit is everlasting (2 Pet. 1:5-9). Persevered fruit is effective

prayer in Jesus name and believing and following his Word (v.7), obedience and commitment

(v.10) and one can experience joy (v.11); as one loves God and one another (vv. 12-14), then you

will glorify God to be a witness to others (vv. 16,27). This verse brings glorification to the Father

who is the gardener taking care of the vine and branches and He is exalted with fruit is produced.

The word "abide" appears 6 times which Jesus was bringing emphasis to stay in constant

communion with Him and with one another. Author William Bronsend who wrote Abiding Love

states, "We love because God first loved us. Loving is the highest form of abiding, of being

present for another."28 God is love, and when it exudes out of our pores, He is glorified.

This illustration of the True Vine and its branches is the deep connection of Jesus and the

disciples abiding in Him after He has left His earthly ministry. Jesus' words are the true

connection just as we see in Ezekiel, in the Old Testament that describes "eating" on God's words

and meditating on them day and night. If we abide in Him, He will abide in us, and we will

produce much fruit and it will be long lasting. He does mention about pruning, and that is a

warning to us as believers that we can be thrown to the side for not believing or doubting the

Word of God and will not have any fruit in our lives.

Prayer is a key element to abiding in God and His son. When we spend time in His

presence and not rely on our own efforts then He can fill us up. When we remain in Christ then

His desires become our desires. Like in Psalms it says, "As you delight in the Lord, He will give

27
Walter Wink, "Abiding, Even under the Knife," The Christian Century, 1994. EBSCO
ATLASerials, Religion Collection. (Accessed April 15, 2014).
28
William Brosend. "Abiding Love," The Christian Century, 2000.

16
you the desires of your heart" (Ps. 37:4). This is true to the extent that we become one with God

and His Son and we take on their image. Anything that we ask in prayer WILL be answered

because we have thoughts like them.

The last point I would like to make is the fact that there is a group of believers who say

yes to God vocally, however, they just give lip service and are not truly connected to God. In

Romans 8:31-39, it talks about God's love never being separate from the believer, and I know

that He does not disown any of His children. It is similar to being married to a spouse and the

vows were made, and you could be in the same house with someone and have their presence, but

not have the depth of the heart and emotions. The backslider has missed the mark of what the

Kingdom life is all about. It is about connecting to our Heavenly Father through His Son Jesus

Christ so that others may be drawn to Him from the fruit of your life and what you give to

society.

Purpose of Discipleship

Discipleship is the number one tool needed to keep the Word of God in its most organic

state for God's power to move through the Body of Christ. It is God's ordained plan to bring

vitality to the new believer. Some Christians struggle with the idea having a relationship with

God and with others. The hurt and pain in life can either draw us closer to the Father and His

children or away from them."Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; The

old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Cor. 5:17) When discipleship is present in the Church, then it

gives an opportunity for a new believer to leave their old thinking and actions and follow the

more mature believer to a life of wholeness. As Christ Ambassadors, we have a mandate to

demonstrate our lives to those around us. Our intimacy with God can flow to others because we

have spent quality time in prayer that allows us to be a part of the Body of Christ. Ultimately our

17
goal should be to evangelize to the lost and help new believers in their process to transform into

mature Christians over time.

Intimacy with God

The most important thing that needs to be demonstrated to a new believer is their daily

spiritual walk with God. The process of discipleship should begin with teaching them how to

spend time with God alone. Sometimes we assume that once a person professes their faith, then it

is automatic for them to go and spend time with God alone. It just doesn't happen that way. The

process of spending time alone with God as we call “silence and solitude” is something that is

learned. There should be a point in our lives that we hunger and thirst for His presence and

meditation on His Word.

Intimacy with God can be hard at first for a new believer and also difficult for the most

mature Christian. This is because it is not something that is natural to spend time alone. We are

always encouraged to spend time with our spouse, our family, our church family and our co-

workers. Life tends to be filled with building intimacy with others more than building intimacy

with God. Jesus knew that He did not belong on this earth, and that is why it was so important to

connect with His Heavenly Father. There was a longing in Him to receive direction, love and

encouragement in His earthly ministry.

As Jesus led the disciples, he demonstrated what it meant to connect with his Heavenly

Father and also taught them for instance when they asked Him, “How do we pray?" This

question arose because He first demonstrated prayer and taught them how to pray. Prayer is to

get an increased amount of clarity and understanding of how to abide in God, and the fruit

produced that only comes forth by living a disciplined spiritual life. Jesus would go away from

everyone and pray so that He could commune with His Father. When the disciples asked Him

18
how to pray in Luke 11:1-4, it was because they had seen religious prayers in the past, but they

knew that Jesus' prayer was genuine, and that can only be learned.

“One day he was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said, '

Master, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples. So He said:

When you pray, say,

Father, reveal who you are.
Set the world right.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil" (Luke 11:1-4).

Just as Jesus taught His disciples, new believers as well should be taught the purpose and

practice prayer with their teacher. The Scriptures tells us in, “Be cheerful no matter what; pray all

the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to

Christ Jesus to live" (1 Thess. 5:16-18). This means that this is our spiritual lifeline and we

depend on this to stay spiritually alive in Him. Without prayer a new believer will never be able

to grow in their walk with God. They will go from church to church trying to hear a fresh Word

from others instead of connecting to their Heavenly Father.

The Body of Christ-True Vine

As stated before, He met with His disciples to talk about the analogy of the True Vine and

being connected before his ministry came to an end and began with us. He told them before that

He was going to leave a Comforter, the Holy Spirit to help them. I believe that we grieve the

Holy Spirit when we don't invite Him to help us lead in an ethical manner. As we connect with

19
the True Vine, it produces Jesus' character and His power and that makes lasting fruit. Most of

our decisions can leave an eternal destruction on a person's soul. I believe it's not worth the

gratification to exercise our power in one moment that can put a negative dent in eternal things.

In the next section, we will look at an analysis of a model of discipleship from Metro Praise

International using the MOST and Textual analysis.

ANALYSIS OF THE STRUCTURE OF DISCIPLESHIP PROCESSES

A Model of Discipleship-MOST Analysis

First let's start off with defining what the MOST analysis stands for: Mission, Objective,

Strategy and Tactics. It is a way to evaluate how strong a business or organization is. James

Lawther explains the different parts of the analysis in this way: This is what the organization is

there for, the thing you do for your customers. It is invariably written down as a mission

statement. As an example, the mission of this site is to help you improve your operation.

These are the ways that your objectives are met. A strategy will take you from A to B. 

From where you are now to fulfilling your objective. One of my strategies to increase leadership

is to provide thought provoking material. The things that are done to achieve the strategy, or in

this case writing a post about MOST analysis and adding a YouTube video. The whole thing is a

pyramid, one mission, a handful of objectives, several strategies and multiple tactics.29

Metro Praise International

Metro Praise International is located in the heart of Chicago, Illinois. This ministry was
29
James Lawther. What Can a Three Year Old Teach You About Strategy?
http://www.squawkpoint.com/2012/06/what-can-a-three-year-old-teach-you-about-strategy/ (Date accessed April 21,
2014).

20
chosen because of its phenomenal discipleship program. They are about reaching the lost for

Christ. Here is the breakdown of a MOST and Textual analysis that was done. The focus was on

books written by the Senior Pastor Joe Wyrostek on what his heart on discipleship. His first

book, Discipleship Based Churches is written from a hands-on approach to help a leader create

and maintain a church of disciples. Whether someone is planting a new church and need a

foundation or looking to re-launch an existing church with discipleship as the focus. 30

Disciples That Make Disciples is a militant call to radical Spirit-filled disciples to

advance upon the kingdom of darkness and turn the world “right-side-up” for Jesus Christ. This

book gives 12 challenging, inspiring, and anointed lessons that are firmly grounded in the Word

of God so that you can have all you need to be a generation shaker, world changer, and history

maker for the Glory of God!31 When a new believer comes into God's family, Welcome to Your

New Life: 7 Steps to Your Spiritual Growth is a great foundational book that explains the new

decision they made to accept Christ and also how to live and grow in Him.32 He also wrote

another book called, Helping Muslims See Christ in Christianity which is a very fresh,

informative, and bold look at the differences between Islam and Christianity. Whether one is

already a follower of Jesus or not, this book is a challenge and inform the beliefs in light of what

God has said to the prophets in the Bible. People will learn the difference between Islam and

Christianity’s view of Jesus, the Bible, and the Trinity.33  

Another portion of the ministry that is really important that Pastor Joe brings to light is
30
Joe Wyrostek. Discipleship Based Churches: How to Create and Maintain a Church of Disciples.
Published by MPI Publishing. Chicago, IL. (2012). Kindle Ed.
31
Joe Wyrostek. Disciples That Make Disciples: Twelve Lessons in Biblical Leadership. Published by MPI
Publishing. Chicago, IL. (2012). Kindle Ed.
32
Joe Wyrostek. Welcome to Your New Life: Seven Steps to Spiritual Growth. Published by MPI Publishing.
Chicago, IL. (2011). Kindle Ed.

33
Joe Wyrostek. Helping Muslims See Christ in Christianity. Published by MPI Publishing.Chicago, IL.
(2012). Kindle Ed.

21
the motives of the heart of the pastor. He mentions that having a discipleship process is not an

addition to the ministry however; it is the foundation of the ministry. He explains that most

leaders can get weary in the discipleship process and quit. This test below was given to

demonstrate how critical it is to look at the heart of a pastor and leaders involved as they pursue

this development of disciples within the church. This will be a great tool to use for seed churches

that we will plant in the future as we move forward in the process as well.

Discipleship Test for Your Church34

1. Does your pastor show consistent discipleship in his life? It has to start with the head.

2. Does your church have a “start and finish” discipleship program? Not membership or just

bible classes, does it possess a structured plan for individual spiritual growth?

3. Does your church require all to be in the discipleship process? Or is it optional, just for

the “spiritually elite” or those who think it is important?

4. Does your church have a way to keep everyone accountable to the discipleship process

and Christian living? Or does everyone do it as they see best- whatever is right in their

own eyes?

5. Does your church require discipleship before ministry positions? Or can anyone be a

leader with a few “training classes,” i.e., “greeter training?”

6. If you have small groups, are they mostly social or spiritual? Are they based in having

fun or growing in discipleship?

7. Does your church have a way to make disciples make disciples- everyone involved? Or

does it just depend on the leadership on Sunday and midweek services from the pulpit.

34
Joe Wyrostek. Discipleship Based Churches: How to Create and Maintain a Church of Disciples.
Published by MPI Publishing. Chicago, IL. (2012) Kindle.

22
 Their mission is simple; love God, love people, and love life. Based on Mark 12:30,

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul with all your mind and with

all your strength" (Mark 12:30). Then they are on a mission to love people also by, “Love your

neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30). In the text that was read about the mission, even though it is

rather simple it is very powerful. When a mission is filled with so many words it can be

confusing. Pastor Joe mentioned this in his book Discipleship Based Churches, the following

thought behind their simplicity, "It serves as the motto and it is easy to remember. Whenever

people see it on the website, on fliers, or in the announcements they can easily identify it and

understand it.35

The leadership then could make each phrase into different steps in the discipleship

process. In the "Loving God" step, people could be won to the Lord and be baptized. Then in the

"Loving God" step, people could be won to the Lord and baptized. Then in the "Loving People"

phase, the new believers are placed into discipleship based small groups where they grow in

community and friendship. The last part of the process of mission is the "Loving Life" step is

when the disciple begins to take classes pertaining to their life and spiritual growth- "parenting

classes, marriage courses, etc."

They have the following various objectives to fulfill their mission and live it out. To

guide each individual to put his full faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and to love Him with

all his heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love his neighbor as himself (Mark 12:30-31).36 To

build Christ's character in individuals, in marriages, and in families so that every believer may

reach full maturity in Christ in order to be able to teach others also (Colossians 1:28-29).37 To

35
Ibid.
36
Joe Wyrostek. Welcome to Your New Life: Seven Steps to Spiritual Growth. Published by MPI Publishing.
Chicago, IL. (2011). Kindle Ed.
37
Ibid.

23
grow in the experience of Christian prayer as it is defined and practiced in the Bible, to the glory

of God (John 14:13).38 To develop every Christian's capacity for the worship and praise of God

(Hebrews 13:15).39

They also encourage every Christian to study, memorize and meditate upon the Word of

God (Psalm 119:11).40 To fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord as given in (Matthew 28: 18-

20).41 To give Christians the opportunity to confirm and exercise their spiritual gifts in

expressing God's love through the unity of the body of Christ (I Corinthians 12).42 To teach every

man how to delight in and meet the needs of his wife with the same sort of love that Christ gave

to the church when He sacrificed Himself for her (Ephesians 5:25).43 To teach every wife how to

love her husband and children, how to be discreet, pure in mind; how to manage her own home,

and how to adapt to her own husband so that the Christian faith cannot be spoken against by

those who know them (Titus 2:4-5).44 To turn the heart of every father toward his sons and

daughters in order to teach them scriptural principles on how to be successful persons, partners

and parents (Malachi 4:6).45

MPI Church recognizes that the Holy Spirit impresses upon parents their scriptural

responsibility for the education of their children. Therefore, they have established a means

whereby members can allow their children to attend Kings Kids.46 The establishment of a

church/home school program does not assume that this is the only right way to school the

38
Ibid.
39
Ibid.
40
Ibid.
41
Ibid.
42
Ibid.
43
Ibid.
44
Ibid.
45
Ibid.
46
http://mpichurch.org/infant-5th grade-kings-kids/ (Date accessed May 21, 2014).

24
children.47 It does recognize the diversity of the Body of Christ as individual gifts are bestowed

and it gives families in the MPI fellowship the option to educate their children at home.48 To turn

the hearts of children to their parents and teach those to honor and obey their parents so that it

may go well with them and that they may enjoy long life upon the earth (Malachi 4:6).49 To

demonstrate our love to the Lord and our loyalty to each other by giving only a good report of

each other unless we follow Matthew 18 in the spirit of restoring, rather than exposing (Galatians

6:1).50

To seek in-depth Christian fellowship (koinonia) and to encourage each Christian to

build up one another and make the church strong by sharing with each other what God is doing

in each life (I Corinthians 1:9-10). To explain and apply God's principles of finances in the

church and in each family so that God can provide specific direction and illustrate His

supernatural power (Malachi 3:10). To motivate women without husbands to a life of godliness

and faithfulness and to provide meaningful ministries and financial assistance for them when

they are older and without relatives who can support them (I Timothy 5). To have a service

ministry to persons with special needs especially the sick, elderly, widows, orphans, the poor, the

homeless, those away from home, and those in prison (Matthew 25:31-46).51 To minister to all

persons regardless of race, national origin, or economic condition (Ephesians 2:13-18). To build

the scriptural qualities of faith, hope and love into the lives of individual Christians and into the

corporate life of the church (I Corinthians 13:13).

Their discipleship strategy is very intentional on how to reach all people and different

47
Ibid.
48
Ibid.
49
Ibid.
50
Ibid.
51
Ibid.

25
walks of life. The 3 strategy techniques are: Connect, Mentor and Send.52 They believe that all

people should be connected to God by being born again according to John 3:3, remain connected

to Jesus Christ according to John 15:4, and be connected to a good Bible based church according

to Acts 2:46.53 They believe the best way to do this is by regularly attending services and joining

one of their life groups.54 They "connect" through their Sunday services and small groups.55 For

example, when people come to our service on Sundays, they are like the "crowd" that followed

Jesus. Then when they come to our small groups they become a part of our "community.”56

(Who?) We will connect to both the lost and those looking for churches. (Where?) At our Sunday

services and small groups. (How?) By inviting people wherever and whenever we can.

Simplified, "We will connect people to Jesus and the church through Sunday services and life

groups." 57

In addition, they believe in mentoring and that all people should be mentored by God and

made disciples in the following four ways: (1) Be teachable (2 Tim. 2:2), (2) Stay accountable

(James 5:16), (3) Act as a servant (Matt. 23:11), (4) Always hungering for God and His

righteousness (Matt. 5:6).58 They believe the best way to do this is by finding a mentor and

joining a discipleship class.59 (Who?) Born again believers who join the classes. (Where?) At the

church on Wednesdays. (With What?) The materials we write ourselves. (For How Long?) Seven

weeks for the 101 class and 12 weeks for 201 class. Simplified, "We will meet new Christians in

our 101 and 201 classes on Wednesdays for a total 19 weeks."60 One of the examples of how they

52
http://mpichurch.org/our-discipleship-strategy/ (Date accessed May 12, 2014).
53
Ibid.
54
Ibid.
55
http://mpichurch.org/mentor/ (Date accessed May 12, 2014).
56
Ibid.
57
Ibid.
58
Joe Wyrostek. “Connect, Mentor & Send," MPI Sermon Replay!” http://youtu.be/bngy5rKosq4 You Tube
Video, 1:02:30 (Date accessed May 21, 2014).
59
Ibid.
60
Ibid.

26
communicate their strategy on a weekly basis is one of the following: "Welcome to MPI where

we are "Loving God and Loving People! Our discipleship strategy is to "connect" you to our

church through life groups, "mentor" you in our Wednesday classes, and "send" you out to start a

small group in your community!"61

Lastly, their tactics are sending out disciples, which follow the missional mindset. They

believe all people should be sent by God as ordained Elders and Deacons to preach the Gospel

by always doing the following four things: (1) Seeing the Lord (Matt. 28:20), (2) Seeing the

harvest (John 4:35), (3) Seeing the need (Romans 10:14-15), (4) Seeing your personal ministry

(1 Corinthians 12:27). They believe the best way to be sent out to preach is to join one of their

evangelism teams.62

The way they accomplish the strategies is through connecting in life groups once a week.

There is also a special needs based ministry that focuses on life groups for single moms and

single men. For their mentor portion, they have a first and second phase discipleship class that is

done one-on-one with a mentor of the same gender. Their goal is to see the new believer live a

new life in Jesus. A great testimony from one of the leaders at MPI, Diana De Guzman, shared

with me via Facebook. This is a glimpse of what a weekly connection looks like:

"Her name is Paola. I talked to her on the bus initially because she had a lunch box (lol)
and then I started talking about church and it turns out we were getting off on the same
stop. I got to give her a little tour of the church and prayed with her...I told her about
Jesus and committing her life... her family is part of leadership at a Spanish church and
she is a single 24 year-old mom who had just got divorced. She shared that she had been
looking for an English speaking church and needed to rededicate her life back to God...
she came on Easter Sunday and has been coming ever since. She is currently meeting
with one of our leaders doing the "101" part of discipleship. To God be the Glory!"63

61
Ibid.
62
Joe Wyrostek. Disciples That Make Disciples: Twelve Lessons in Biblical Leadership. Published by MPI
Publishing. Chicago, IL. (2012). Kindle Ed.
63
Diana De Guzman. Facebook post, May 7, 2014 (7:18 p.m.), accessed May 10, 2014,
https://www.facebook.com/kristen.l.smith.543/messages.

27
 Lastly, their sending portion involves weekly evangelism where they meet every

Saturday and head out to the streets to share the love of Jesus. (Who?) Those disciples they have

trained in our classes.64 (Where?) We will send them to start new small groups in their

communities.65 (How?) We will train them in the 101 and 201 classes and under the mentorship

of their small group leader where they attend. Simplified, "We will send trained disciples out to

start new small groups after they have been trained both in the classroom and under a small

group leader." 66 They also have monthly evangelism on the second Saturday to help teach

mother about the love of God and the value of life.67 There is a big event evangelism that

happens that is a movement devoted to the evangelization of Chicago and the surrounding

suburbs. The two big yearly events are “The Taste of Chicago” and “The Puerto Rican

Festival.”68

PLANNING FOR THE DISCIPLESHIP PROCESS

"Unless the LORD builds the house, the builder’s labor in vain" (Ps.127:1). This

Scripture is a fundamental truth of the ministry that God has called us to build upon. As we

continue to plan and reach out to the needy, one of the main areas that led me to writing this

paper was the discipleship process. Our leaders have a great opportunity to disciple new partners

to be formed and made into God's image and speak the Word of God with boldness in prayer,

walk in His power to set the captives free and see the Kingdom manifest in every area of their

lives. This discipleship process is exactly what it is...a process. This will not be a program that

64
Joe Wyrostek. Disciples That Make Disciples: Twelve Lessons in Biblical Leadership. Published by MPI
Publishing. Chicago, IL. (2012). Kindle Ed.
65
Ibid.
66
Ibid.
67
Ibid.
68
http://mpichurch.org/ (Date accessed on April 24, 2014).

28
has an end date but each leader will have disciples assigned to them by God for a lifetime.

The church model of discipleship at Metro Praise International is very evident that they

are a passionate church who desires to build up people through discipleship. Their key

components have a lasting impact because they keep it simple and duplicable. In our church

body we have implemented many ideas along the way and we desire to see more of God’s hand

guiding and directing us. Just as MPI had success in discipleship, our church desires similar

results. In the following section it will describe what Destiny Christian Center is doing and what

it plans on incorporating in the future.

Destiny Christian Center

Here is what our church is doing on a regular basis set out to disciple individuals from all

nationalities. We do this by reaching out to the community by using the Word of God, and

baptizing them so they can reach their God given Destiny and live a purposeful life (Matthew

28:19). The Church is on a mission to bring about social change for the betterment of the

community. First, create an atmosphere for the broken-hearted to be healed by their Heavenly

Father. Second, build up the family unit to be whole in Christ and restore the family to its proper

order. Lastly, to meet the needs of the community around us through evangelism and outreach

through natural resources that God entrusts us with.

As a missional church in our community, we have come to realize that there are many

people who have been wounded by life and need a chance to restore their relationship with God.

We provide opportunities for the church to come together as God's family and fellowship. Many

individuals come to our church because they are sick of religion and want a true relationship with

their Heavenly Father without having to forsake the assembly of believers. We have third

29
Sundays free for the church partners which gives an opportunity for them to spend time with

their family and to be intentional about living life.

As we continued doing outreach, we found individuals who were tired emotionally in the

operation process of ministry. They really desired a true connection with God and godly people.

They did not want the stress of events leading to another event and not having quality time with

their nuclear family. This strategy has cultivated a closer relationship with God, a better marriage

relationship and also a more productive parent/child relationship. We also meet the needs of our

community through homeless feedings, community organizing involving injustice for the

incarcerated and immigrants, home visits to the sick, hospital and jail visits and food/clothing

distribution and we use this to create evangelism opportunities to share our faith about Jesus.

The way we accomplish this process is by going through evangelism to accepting a

relationship with God. The getting baptized, being connected to a leader as a new disciple,

equipping them in the ministry and encouraging them to share their testimony to their family,

friends and coworkers, which leads to build them up to send them out to help those in need.

There are discipleship classes for new believers to learn the Word of God and how to apply it to

their daily lives. We do this by using a phone conference called "The Vine" and we dissect the

Word and then allow for opportunities for listeners to share their revelation and testimonies

based on the Word. We have evangelism outings twice a month with our congregation. Also, we

go to quarterly meetings with the Mayor and Police Chief to discuss key issues regarding the

incarcerated and undocumented immigrants in partnership with PACT organization (People And

Congregations Together).

Content of Discipleship Process

30
 As we begin the discipleship process at Destiny, here is what our church should add to

what is doing as it pertains to a discipleship process. There are three key components that have

been concluded to be the most effective. After doing research of MPI's model of discipleship,

this is what was concluded for our discipleship process: (1) Connect with the lost and unsaved,

(2) To mentor and teach by demonstrating how to abide in God in prayer by seeing fruit

produced in their daily lives and (3) To deliver leaders on how to share the Gospel to others. Our

leadership will then disciple these three main components in several ways. First, conducting one-

on-one encounters with the disciple and also small life groups, demonstrate praying techniques

based on how Jesus taught us how to pray and lastly by showing them Kingdom living by

personal testimonies of how God provides spiritually and what we need in the natural to fulfill

the Great Commission. In the next section, we will look at the three components in detail of how

these fundamentals will be taught and demonstrated in the discipleship process.

We will develop a discipleship process that will focus on these elements above as a

foundational compass to guide our disciples. The importance of God's Word will lead and guide a

new believer to learn how to hear the voice of God. In Hebrews it says, "For the Word of God is

alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and

spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Heb. 4:12). As

leaders, we never want to put our own opinions higher than God's Word because it is alive and

active to do the surgery needed on the hearts of men.

The second component of discipleship is to demonstrate the power of prayer. I am

teaching a young lady right now, and she and I are implementing the power of prayer. I will pray

with her about something specific she needs for her or her family. Then she witnesses the power

of God move on her behalf. She is realizing that her Heavenly Father listens to her and answers

31
her in time of need.

The final component is revealing the Kingdom of God to a new believer is vital to being

mature in our walk with God. Once a believer realizes that we are a part of a Kingdom not made

with human hands, and we have authority to change things on earth just as it is in Heaven, then

supernatural power is activated. They can then go out and share the Gospel and the sick are

healed; the blind can have sight, the lame walk because of the Spirit of Lord rest on His people.

God cannot come down to earth to take care of our matters; however, He is the King of kings and

Lord of lords and has put us in charge to manage the earth. These fundamentals will be taught to

the new disciple and shared with them through Kingdom living.

The action plan will be broken down to create a vision that is based on the Word of God

because it is our foundation of the ministry. It will incorporate a simple yet detailed discipleship

strategy so we can easily articulate it on any given Sunday morning. The strategy is as follows:

“Discipling You Into Your Destiny,” will be our strategic tag line based on this Scripture, “For

those God foreknew He also predestined to conform into the image of His Son, that He might be

the first born among many brothers and sisters.”69 Our goal will be to create discipleship small

group where people will meet once a week in a home to go over necessary materials to grow as a

leader. Another portion will be to create and use discipleship materials that fall in line with our

purpose and mission of being predestined to be conformed into Christ’s image.

We will also create and do discipleship evangelism that will equip new believers on how

to share their faith with others and disciple them as they witness. Another aspect will be to create

a leadership structure with elders and deacons that have been through the discipleship process

themselves. Becoming a disciple based church that will dedicate solely to making disciples who

make disciples and not fall back into their old patterns of ministry. Also, it will be necessary to
69
http://biblehub.com/romans/8-29/.htm (Date accessed May 21, 2014).

32
implement a plan of when we will launch the discipleship process and the small groups once we

have everything in place. Lastly, begin to write out the materials needed for the process and for

the small groups.70 Pastor Wyrostek walks church leaders through a detailed process on how to

make up the materials needed and we will adopt his vision for our church as well by creating

membership class materials, volunteer class materials, and small group info cards and sign-up

sheets.71 He suggests asking the question, “What kind of disciple does Jesus want us as a church

to make?”72 The answer to this question would be broken down into the following 2 phase class

session topics:

The desire is to introduce someone to the Christian life after they’ve received Jesus as

their Lord and Savior. Each new convert or new partner will participate in the two phases. We

will name our Phase I Foundation Class and book, “Welcome to Your Destiny.” There will be a

basic list of seven steps to spiritual growth that every new Christian should know:

 Destiny Decision: How to Pray, Read Your Bible, and Join Your Destiny Family.

 The Power of the Cross: Learning What Jesus Did for You

 Overcoming the World: Winning the Battle Against Sin

 Living by Faith: How to Live by Faith in Every Situation

 Baptism & Communion: Receiving the Two Ordinances of the Church

 Filled With the Spirit: Receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

 Sharing Your Faith: How to Witness to Your Friends & Family73

70
Joe Wyrostek. Discipleship Based Churches: How to Create and Maintain a Church of Disciples.
Published by MPI Publishing. Chicago, IL. (2012), Kindle Ed.
71
Ibid.
72
Ibid.
73
Ibid.

33
 This first foundational class will be conducted in one-on-one meetings with leadership based

on same gender so that the new believer can ask questions and feel comfortable in their initial

growth process.

Next will be Phase II of the “Building Your Destiny.” Each disciple should know how to

continue the growth process and be a fruitful disciple in the church. Here are the topics that will

be taught in a small group setting on a quarterly basis and can continually rotate for any Phase I

graduate to enroll:

Section 1: Disciples are…

 Disciples are Free: Receiving Freedom from All Sin and Bad Habits

 Disciples are Holy: Understanding Sanctification and the New Self

 Disciples are Humble: Learning to Be a Servant Like Jesus

 Disciples are Anointed: Understanding and Operating in the Anointing of the Holy

Spirit74

Section 2: Disciples possess…

 Disciples possess a Blessed Home: Teaching the Biblical Principles for a Blessed Family

 Disciples possess a Balanced Life: Understanding the Balance in All the Different

Aspects of Life

 Disciples Possess a Great Devotional Life: Instructing on How to Be Consistent in Prayer

and Study of God’s Word

 Disciples Possess a Lifestyle of Giving: Teaching on Tithes and Offerings75

74
Ibid.
75
Ibid.

34
Section 3: Disciples Do…

 Disciples Do Build the Local Church: Teaching the Inner Working of the Church and

How to Serve in the Community

 Disciples Do Operate in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Understanding the Operation of the

Nine Gifts of the Spirits

 Disciples Do Defend the Faith: Teaching the Core Doctrine of the Christian Faith with

Scriptural Proof and Defense

 Disciples Do Make Other Disciples: Imparting the Tools and Skills Necessary to Make

Disciples76

Once the disciple completes both Phase I and Phase II, then they will be ordained as an

Elder or Deacon and also be qualified to teach and disciple other new believers who come

into the ministry. The cycle of growth will be a process and there will be YouTube videos set

up for those who cannot make it for some reason to a scheduled meeting. The disciple will be

required to write a summary on the basic fundamental knowledge of the session missed to go

to the next session.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the Body of Christ has a call to fulfill God's desires on this earth. He

yearns for true followers that will obey His voice and commune with Him daily. The only way

that this can manifest in the church today is through discipleship. If we slow down and go out of

our way to reach one of His children then we have fulfilled the Great Commission. Jesus had

many one-on-one encounters, for example the woman at the well. He did not have to go through

Samaria, but He was led by His Father to meet the true evangelist who went and told the city of
76
Ibid.

35
Samaritan people about a man who knew everything about her. It is imperative to go to the most

unlovable places to shower God's love. As God directs our lives, He can reflect Christ's same

image on this earth. When we look into a disciple's eyes and give them the pure, unadulterated

Word, pray with power and demonstrate God's reality then that is when true transformation can

take place. Discipleship is not an option but a command by God Himself. Every believer is a

responsible party in becoming a disciple maker.

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