How do you make disciples?

Here's our answer.

jesus3

Let's begin with Jesus...

what did He mean?


Put yourself in the sandals of the disciples for a minute. You followed Jesus for several years. You saw His miracles, worshiped Him as king, witnessed the cross, were amazed at the resurrection, and experienced His love. Now He stands before you tells you to make disciples. What would be going through your mind? What was He expecting?

Jesus' disciples most likely thought that He was expecting them to do for others what He had done for them over the previous few years...

Principles from Jesus on Making Disciples

GATHER

Jesus initiated relationship with teachable men and gave a clear mission: "I will make you fishers of men..."
Luke 5:1-11

LIFE ON LIFE

Jesus lived a life of selflessly serving others. He healed the sick, ate with sinners, cast out demons, and pointed everyone to the Father.
Luke 5
John 2:1-11

TEACHING + OBEDIENCE

He also had intentional times of teaching about the Kingdom, prayer, serving, righteousness, the Father, salvation, etc. In the culture of His day, it was expected that obedience to the Rabbi would follow these teachings.
Matt. 5-7

ACCOUNTABILITY

Jesus corrected His dsciples at times.
Matthew 16:21-23

MISSION

Jesus sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom.
Luke 10:1-23

INSTILL VALUES

Jesus then died for them, purchasing their salvation. When He rose, He explained to them why He died and His love for them. Through these years Jesus passed on these values:

Love God John 8:28-29
Love Others John 13:1-17
Make Disciples John 20:21
 

OUR APPLIED METHOD

dbs

We use Discovery Bible Study (DBS) as a means to apply the principles we see in how Jesus made disciples. This method is simple and reproducible. Let's take a deeper look at how each aspect creates opportunities to live out the components of discipleship modeled by Jesus.

pray
Each person share a "high" - a praise, and a "low" - a prayer request. This is also a time to share how your step of obedience went and who you shared with...

Principles from Jesus:
LIFE ON LIFE
ACCOUNTABILITY
VALUES: LOVE GOD - LOVE OTHERS - MAKE DISCIPLES
learn
During this time someone reads a passage from God's Word and someone else retells it. Then it is open for sharing what we can learn about God and about ourselves from the passage. The prayer is that the Holy Spirit will bring out of the conversation what He wants the group to focus on.

Principles from Jesus:
TEACHING
VALUES: LOVE GOD
live it out
This final phase of the DBS focuses on obedience. Jesus told us to make disciples by teaching them to obey what He's commanded. Each person is challenged to identify one way they can apply and share what was learned in the Word.

Principles from Jesus:
MISSION
VALUES: LOVE GOD - MAKE DISCIPLES
 

DISCIPLESHIP ESSENTIALS

Method+discipleship Essentials

We add to the DBS experience something we call the "DISCIPLESHIP ESSENTIALS." These are topics we've identified that are foundational when it comes to being a disciple of Jesus and making disciples. We provide a small library of videos that cover each topic. The leader of the DBS can use these as a resource to highlight essential points during the DBS. These "essentials" include the following:

 

OUR PROCESS

Multiply

How does multiplication happen?



PARTICIPATE
It really begins with experiencing the Lord together in community. This gives you a picture of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. It also gives a vision of how to lead others in following Jesus.

FACILITATE
After watching the facilitator for a matter of weeks it will then be your turn to lead. You can practice among trusted friends and see how simple this really is.

PRAY
Everyone in the group identifies people within their relational network that either do not know Jesus or are younger in the faith. Regular prayer for these people is the foundation for having an influence in their lives that is truly Spirit-led.

ASSESS
Not everyone is an evangelist. Not everyone is good at shepherding people. This is why we take time to assess how God has equipped each person in the group. The idea is to work together using one anothers' gifts to reach out together. We take an inventory of the various talents, skills, personality traits, and spiritual gifts of those in the group. We also use the APEST assessment. Then we think through the needs of those we have been praying for and seek ways to share the love of Christ with them.

INVEST TOGETHER
As the Spirit provides opportunities to share the love of Christ, spiritual conversations naturally happen. These conversations will reveal how receptive people are to Jesus. For those that are open to learning more about Him - another DBS is initiated.

INITIATE
After much prayer and sharing the love of Christ, its time to intiate a second DBS. Rinse, repeat.