Making Disciples

Why is it so important to make disciples? Disciples of who? And whose job is it really?

We hear a lot of talk these days about making disciples. As a matter of fact, we are hearing so much from so many places that we might begin to wonder if this is really a movement of God’s Spirit on His people or if it is merely a fad and another church growth method to make our churches appear “successful”. If it is such a Biblical concept and so central to the identity of the church, why did the church of the 20th century not spend so much time and attention on it? Is discipleship in the 21st century just another name for something done regularly by the previous generations?

We certainly are aware that Jesus told His disciples to “Go and make disciples” and of course they had an understanding of what that meant because they has just been following Jesus around for three years and receiving instruction from Him on what it was to be a part of the kingdom of God and a disciple of Christ. For us, it seems a little more difficult to comprehend what discipleship looks like in the 21st century especially without a physical Jesus to follow around.

The disciples of Jesus in the 1st century A.D. followed Him around learning from Him about the kingdom of God and how to live on this earth. They watched Him bring healing to the lame, blind, demon-possessed, epileptic, hopeless, hungry and hurting. The disciples did what Jesus told them to do and went on ahead of Him to the villages He was about to go and they prepared the way by preaching the gospel and by healing people in the name and power of Jesus.

Making disciples today really is no different. We follow Jesus around. We sit at His feet and listen. We go out and prepare the way for Him to come and bring His salvation to all who will believe and receive it. Making disciples is going and getting our brother and saying “We have found Him the Messiah” – Andrew (John 1:41).

And so making disciples is not a new fad or phenomenon but rather one of the oldest components of the Christian church. Many programs and methods have been used across the centuries to make disciples, and sometimes the efforts were because of false motives but that does not release us from our responsibility to make disciples. And the disciples that we are making are not of us but of Jesus. We are to point people to His power, to His message, to His love and to His kingdom. They are not to look more like us but more like Him.

So who should be making these disciples? And when? And how?

We could make a long drawn out discussion of this. We could put together committees and task-forces and think-tanks or we could each just go and find our brothers and sisters, friends and enemies and strangers and tell them “We have found the Messiah”. Really that is the only really honest, faithful and true approach. If we have to have a mission statement, or a training seminar or a boost of self-confidence before we are able to tell people about Jesus then we are not relying on His Spirit, strength and salvation but on our own. We must make disciples today! Now! Before it is too late! Making disciples is not about a church program, church service, about success, popularity or acceptance. It is about loving people enough to tell them about the love of God that can truly save them for now and forevermore.

Consider this your re-commissioning: “Go and make disciples”!