week5

In your thread, analyze and summarize the 3 stages of discipleship. Give ideas and suggestions for each stage and discuss how you plan to develop and implement those ideas in your church ministry context.

Earley and Dempsey illustrates to us how Jesus’ disciples arrived at their final ultimate relation to Jesus in three distinct stages. They define these three distinct stages as: Declaration, Development, and Deployment. The foundation of these three stages of discipleship is commitment, trust, obedience, and learning[footnoteRef:1]. [1: Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is… How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and Confidence, (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing, 2013), 126.]

Declaration

The first stage is declaration, which is an investigation leading to repentance by the believer and faith in Jesus.[footnoteRef:2] In this stage the new believer offers repentance for sins, puts his faith in Christ and acknowledges the sacrifice Christ endured for our salvation. This stage is where the new believer gets to know Christ, by dispelling doubts and allowing God to save him. It is about recognizing and accepting Christ as savior, which leads to obedience and commitment. However, salvation is never an end in itself; it should be the beginning of a process leading to the next critical stage as the new Christian becomes a disciple and eventually a disciple maker. According to Dave Earley, “letting them stop at level one (belief) will inevitably result in decline in their spiritual lives.”[footnoteRef:3] [2: Ibid.] [3: Ibid.]

For those in the declaration stage I would show the importance of the body of Christ by explaining and showing how each member has a distinct role. New believers sometimes become overwhelmed because they do not have the knowledge of God’s Word or the awareness of their calling. In our church we have a new believers class, with the goal of setting them on the right path of learning the fundamentals and equipping them to fulfill their part and to answer the call on their lives. I would also encourage the new believers to pray for the lost and to prepare to share their testimony with those in their sphere of influence.

Development

The second stage of discipleship is development, which is all about growing into a dedicated follower of Christ. This stage involves “immersion, abandonment, and apprenticeship into ministry.”[footnoteRef:4] As the new believer becomes more immersed, he finds an intense relationship with Jesus through prayer, reading the scriptures, becoming active in the local church, and eventually becoming versed in carrying out the Great Commission. After coming to faith and being regenerated, this second stage begins the process of the believer’s transformation; where the believer now goes from ‘Savior’ to ‘Master’ by being a devoted follower of Jesus with reckless obedience.[footnoteRef:5] [4: Ibid.] [5: Ibid., 128.]

For those in the development stage our church work to place people into the areas of ministry where they can be most effective for God. Since this stage is all about growth, our church encourages prayer for and with others, as well as encourage them to pray and seek God to identify areas where they can be used. We also look for ways to give them more responsibility, maybe in a small group, or other area of ministry. As with the first stage, "allowing them to stop at level two (immersion) will also never accomplish multiplication and, therefore, will never reach the world."[footnoteRef:6] [6: Ibid., 126.]

Deployment

The third stage of discipleship is deployment. This is the stage where they have completely surrendered to God and His call for their lives. The foundation of this stage is obedience and asks the believer to go out into the world to advance God’s kingdom. Success in this stage is evident by reproduction and multiplication of disciples. The essential focus of this stage is on leading others to the same knowledge the believer has found. This is the stage when the disciple begins making other disciples by investing and building relationships with others.

This is where we encourage the believer to continuously prayer for one another and to invite and involve others in their daily lives. Our church emphasizes special training for those who are beginning to disciple others. This is the desired end stage for all believers to remain in. Our church attempts to be very intentional about ensuring individuals do not suffer from burn out or become fatigued. We also teach them leadership and encourage them to identify their spiritual gifts as well as help them grow in their identified gifts. The primary goal is to teach them to lead and grow in Christ by multiplying and reproducing new disciples.