Discipleship is the most essential component in the spiritual growth and maturation of every Christian. Our heart’s desire is help you discover, develop, and deploy your spiritual gifts, your unique calling supporting God’s Kingdom, and show how you can be a dynamic participant in Jesus’ Great Commission.
This page will provide you with general orientation and instruction to the core ministry focus areas of RDIM. You will read and be exposed to truths and principles that may challenge your previous beliefs or understandings. Our prayer challenge to you: “Holy Spirit, what are You saying to me through this message and how can or should I apply it to my life and family?”
This is a teaching page – you can dive as deep as you desire into the various topical focus areas. Your feedback is sincerely welcome – contact us. Keep an open mind and heart to what the Lord will reveal to you in this process.
First, however, please consider a fundamental, common-sense question: if you knew you were going to die within the next hour and you had gathered your immediate family (spouse, children, parents, brothers, sisters), other close relatives, and dearest friends around you, what would be the last – and most important – thing you would wish to pass along to these special loved ones?
- Would it be anything trivial (like last week’s sports scores, an incident of road rage you witnessed, how to cook your favorite food, a sale going on next week, etc.)? Not likely!
- It would probably be the most important or significant fact or lesson you learned in life that you wanted to pass on or reemphasize to your loved ones. Correct?
- Well, that is precisely what Jesus did for His disciples (that includes us) in the Great Commission just before He arose into heaven. He focused on the most important thing He wanted us (as individual Believers and His church) to continue what He initiated and finish for His return!
So, let’s discover and explore the essential reasons why we are here and why Jesus established His church – to fulfill God’s purpose, vision, and strategy.
Great Commandment and Great Commission Orientation
Discipleship is about connecting all Believers to the two “Great Principles” that Jesus provided.
1. The Great Commandment is the sustaining foundation for the Great Commission:
- The Great Commandment according to Matthew 22:34-39 – … Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
- The Great Commandment according to Mark 12:28-31 – … “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
2. The Great Commission – We have a Great Co-mission with Jesus, our Savior:
The Great Commission according to Matthew 28:18-20 – And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
GO and MAKE DISCIPLES – the Great Commission incorporates an important assumption, two critical elements, and a significant prophetic promise.
- Jesus made a remarkable assumption.
- He knew who He was speaking to – He had a direct role in making them who they were still becoming – faithful DISCIPLES.
- That is not usually an accurate assumption in the modern church!
- Why is this important? You can’t make a disciple if you aren’t one yourself – you can’t teach what you don’t know, have never been taught, and/or never practiced!
- Baptizing them …
- Lead the lost to the Lord (Salvation) = this is just the STARTING POINT in our Christian walk of faith and intimate relationship with God!
- It should be followed closely by the first step of obedience which is a public declaration of a new Believer’s commitment to Jesus – full emersion baptism in water.
- We can’t make disciples unless and until we introduce them to the One we want to make them disciples of!
- Evangelism and missions are fundamental to our purpose as a disciple.
- Teaching them to obey everything…
- True discipleship requires being a dedicated student of whom you intend to become a disciple to!
- Intentional discipleship is the on-going learning, understanding, and application of Biblical principles to our lives leading to becoming spiritually mature. Discipleship can occur on multiple levels (we will discuss fully later).
- Jesus included a wonderful prophetic promise.
- When we are obedient and faithful to initiate and pursue His assignment in our lives, He will be with us and empower us through the Holy Spirit to lead the lost to the Lord and make disciples!
- By the way, the word “nations” is “ethne” in the Greek, and it means People Groups, not countries.
Key Biblical Definitions – Used in RDIM Ministry and On This Website
We wish to provide clear definitions to prevent any confusion or misinterpretation – these definitions are bridges to function and understanding.
1. Discipleship:
Discipleship occurs when you train, equip, and release the people you lead or influence. This includes your spouse and children, extended family members, co-workers, friends and neighbors, ministry team – especially those you personally lead into the Kingdom of God!
Discipleship is about connecting all Believers to the two dominant principles that Jesus gave us: the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.
2. Church:
A group of believers committed to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in a regular and ongoing gathering for the purpose of worship (including sacraments), fellowship, discipleship, and evangelism/missions outreach.
Matthew 18:19-20 – Jesus said: “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in My name, there am I with them.”
A church is further identified by the observance of the following characteristics:
Applying the Acts 1:8 model.
Conducting holistic ministry.
Practicing the primary New Testament sacraments (water baptism and communion).
Equipping Believers through the five-fold ministry.
Notice: a church is NOT a building, programs, or a denomination. The church is people – a body of Believers.
3. Church Planting, and Related Terms:
Church planting is the natural result of dynamic evangelism/missions work and effective disciple-making at a local or regional level.
Church planting is also a process to initiate a self-sustaining, multiplying movement of churches that plant new churches (congregations of Believers).
The vision is that each church would become self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating, then resolve to plant new churches.
These new churches can meet in a building, storefront, private home, a business, or “under a tree” – not the traditional model of church-planting in the western world.
What do you think of when you hear the term “Church Plant”? A group of people (perhaps some distributed from the mother church), an associate pastor, a strip mall suite, and funding for a year or so from the mother church.
What is a church plant overseas? Young disciples with 1-4 families, meeting wherever they can, generating resources to support themselves. In Western thought, this sounds like a small group under the covering of a larger church congregation!
Church Planting Movement (CPM) is the continuous, even exponential, movement of churches planting self-governing, self-propagating, and self-sustaining churches within their community, region, and beyond.
Church Planter is a God-called leader who is gifted, trained, and deployed to initiate a church planting movement in all four levels of evangelism.
4. Mission, Missions, Missionary:
Mission: God’s redemptive work in building or extending His Kingdom in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and into the Rest of the World (Acts 1:8).
Missions: The cross-cultural application of the mission of God – NOT a mono-cultural application.
Missionary: Minister of the Gospel who works cross-culturally – one who enters a different culture to do missions.
5. People Group, Unreached People Group (UPG), and Related Terms:
People Group – A group of individuals who share a common history and heritage as well as ethnic, linguistic, and cultural traits.
Unreached People Group (UPG) – People group within which there is no viable indigenous church that can disciple and reach its own people, no real access to hear about Jesus.
Reached People Groups – A people group is considered “reached” if it has a viable, indigenous, reproducing church movement in its midst. This includes strong churches pastored by indigenous leaders, in their own language, actively evangelizing their own people, and planting churches within their community/region.
Ethne – A group of people who may vary in size or geographic location but are the same ethnically, socially, culturally, and linguistically.
Nations (Ethne) – People groups which emerged from God’s action in Gen 11:6-9 – “So, the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel — because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world.”
What Is A Disciple? – Biblical Perspectives
FIRST, a disciple is a person who observes all things Jesus commanded.
It’s not enough just to get saved so you won’t go to hell – it is not about an eternal life insurance policy.
You have to continue in Jesus’ words (committed obedience) if you’re going to be His disciple. This ought to be the primary goal of every single Christian!
You might say you love God and be liberal in your social views, but you can’t possibly love the Word and be that way.
If you’re going to be a disciple of Jesus, you can’t observe only the parts of the Word that you like. If your attitude, your doctrine, or your worldview doesn’t line up with the Word of God, you need to change it, not try to change or reinterpret the Word of God.
If you are truly born again, love God, and you’re headed to heaven, but you still hold fast to viewpoints and cultural norms that are completely opposite of what the Word says, then you don’t love the Word. You haven’t been taught or chosen “to observe all things” as Jesus commanded. You are not a disciple!
2. SECOND, the Law of Christ provides another description of a true disciple.
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). How do we obey Jesus and fulfill what He commanded us? According to Paul, we bear one another’s burdens. It’s that simple.
· What is the Law of Christ you might ask? It is better known as the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:35-40) – Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” – This is the foundation for the Great Commission!
- The law of Christ flies in the face of today’s me-first, fast-paced, self-centered, and hectic secular humanist culture.
- Being a disciple of Jesus is not simply loving and helping those who are like you; rather, it is loving everyone — even your enemies — and seeking to bear their burdens.
- We must also choose better relationships! That means praying for and planting the seeds of faith in those around us (especially family) but avoiding toxic people who will consistently try to lead you astray and create pain, conflict, and discord in your lives.
- How badly do we want to be disciples of the Lord? If we’re truly serious about it, we must do what He commanded; we must love one another. This is the mark of discipleship. We must love the person, but still hate and resist their sin (lifestyle, lie-based thinking, deception, and compromises)!
3. THIRD, a true disciple is a person who studies, obediently conforms, and teaches others.
Ezra 7:10 – “Now Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the LORD, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel”
In both Hebrew and Greek, the word for “disciple” means “student.” A disciple, then, is one who studies (TEACHABLE). We tend to use the term disciple to mean a follower, but that is not the biblical idea of discipleship.
Ezra provides the model of a biblical disciple: one who studies, who applies/does, and who then teaches.
In fact, this is the progression of biblical discipleship: study leads to doing, and as one progresses with study and doing, he or she gains the ability to teach others (experience, credibility, etc.)
Agape love (biblical) is a decision, not an emotional response!
Biblical discipleship requires study – it’s at the very core of discipleship:“The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher” (Luke 6:40).Our Teacher is Jesus – through the Holy Spirit!
We must enthusiastically and consistently pursue knowledge, understanding, and wisdom by:
Reading and meditating on the Word (can’t afford to be Biblically illiterate).
Pursuing qualified mentors and teachers.Maintaining a teachable attitude and spirit.Seeking teachings from sources other than just your pastor at Sunday services.
Actively participating in Small Groups.
Jesus called us to be His disciples and to make disciples! (NOT just converts or followers)
Scriptural References to Disciples
Another Perspective About A Disciple?
There is a vast difference between a disciple and a follower.
Jesus called us to be His disciples and to make disciples! (NOT just converts, followers, or spectators).
Self-Examination: Are you a follower or disciple of Jesus – how can you tell? By the fruit!
- Have you borne or do you bear fruit for the Kingdom?
- Have you made a committed effort to study and follow the instructions given by Jesus?
- Have you tried to discover, develop, and deploy your God-given abilities and gifts to improve and expand His kingdom – to fulfill His purpose?
- Do you actively participate in the church congregation to which you are attached (volunteer, hospitality, outreaches, etc.)?
- Have you given the Holy Spirit permission to bring transformation to your life – enable you to comply obediently with God’s will and purposes for you?
- Have you determined to make a positive difference in the lives of others by actively participating in a small group?
- Are you a spiritual contributor or just a consumer?
There is no better time than right now to repent and start vigorously becoming a true disciple of Jesus – then YOU can start making disciples too!
Who Does the Work of the Ministry and What Exactly Is It?
- Who does the work of the ministry?
Ephesians 4:11 – “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God …”
- These are called the five-fold ministry gifts – apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher.
- Most people in any congregation mistakenly assume those called into these positions (pastors, lay leaders, selected missionaries, etc.) are the ones who do the work of the ministry – even some of those in these “offices” appear to think this is true.
- BUT their primary job is to prepare the saints (that’s all the rest of us!) to do the work of the ministry.
2. What exactly Is the Work of the Ministry?
Is it children’s church or youth or young adult programs?
Is it feeding or clothing programs or family or marriage counseling?
ALL of these are good and important functions of a church organization, but they are all secondary to what should be the main or central purpose for the Church of Jesus Christ.
The primary work of the ministry is to complete the Great Commission – lead the lost to the Lord and make disciples!
Importance of Personal Evangelism
Have you ever personally led someone to Jesus?
- For the most part, the Western church today expects the pastors, evangelists, selected leaders, and designated volunteers to do all the work.
- The Saints are not doing their part (and often aren’t even taught what their part is).
- Obedience to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission are the MAIN THINGS for the global Church of Jesus!
- Save the lost and make disciples! Everything else is peripheral or subordinate.
Why Are We Here?
- Jesus has already done everything He was going to do! Now it is up to us to finish His work.
- God’s Purpose – call worshippers from every tribe, language, people, and nation.
- God’s Vision – He wants each person to have the opportunity to experience a personal knowledge of Him – it covers the whole earth. 1 Timothy 2:3-6
- God’s Strategy – a unique solution strategy for each people group. Matthew 24:14; 28:19
- God’s Methodology – God uses Believers in discipleship — church growth or church planting automatically comes as the result of discipleship.
Evangelism and Missions
- Reaching our own kind – Jerusalem and Judah.
- Obey the word of God and enter the world of the UPGs – new frontiers!
By the way, do you know who the first missionary was?
- It was Jesus!
- He crossed every possible cultural barrier.
- He taught and modeled that we must love everyone, including our enemies.
What we need is a New Testament Theology of Church – the church and missions.
- The biblical mandate is to make disciples.
- The biblical method is to plant churches.
Small Groups and Discipleship
- Small Groups are also called LIFE Groups, Cell Groups, Community Groups, Connection Groups, or Home Groups.
- The names/titles of the group aren’t important; the discipleship functions and ministry fruit are what matters!
1. Did you know that Jesus led a Small Group?
2. Small Groups are mentioned frequently in the Bible
3. Focus on Small Groups – Where Effective Relationships and Discipleship Occur
- Conducting the basic work or functions of the church (Body of Christ) and local church (in particular).
- Connecting with People
- Small Groups have specific functions within a church congregation.
- Five Principles for Small Groups.