LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
The Holy Spirit and Disciple Making Movements
Submitted to Dr. James Sulfridge
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 500
Discipleship Ministries
By
Anthony Bean
Recently at the Disciple Making Movement leadership meeting in California, one of the
main topics that we focused on was the Role of the Holy Spirit. A key leader from West Africa
led the discussion of this topic. I remember being especially challenged by this study and by
interactions with this leader. He is a special friend who I have known since 2006, and his
influence has touched me greatly.
In the last few weeks since the meeting, I have reflected, prayed, and begun to seek the
influence of the Holy Spirit more than I had been doing in recent years. Now I want to share
some reflections on the role of the Holy Spirit in Disciple Making Movements (which may or
may not reflect the discussions we had in California).
Regardless of where one stands theologically, it cannot be denied that those who focus
attention on the Holy Spirit's activity have seen the launching of some of the largest
"Movements" in the history of the Church. Think of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movements of
the 20th Century. Beginning in a Watchnight Prayer meeting with a few people on January 1,
1901, by the year 2000 it was estimated that the movements that have been born as a result
may have reached as many as 523 million according to the World Christian Encyclopedia. That
is movement multiplication by any definition. But the fact that these same movements have
also been missions movements and that the greatest numbers of these people are in the Global
South should be significant to us as missions leaders.
1. The Holy Spirit is The Authority, along with the Word of God, for Disciple Making
Movements. I was reading a portion of a sermon or writing by William Seymour who was the
pastor of the Azusa Street Mission during the great Azusa Street Revival. The writing was from
1907. In it He called the Holy Spirit the "Bishop" of the Church. He emphasized the fact that
the qualification for human leadership was the real work of the Holy Spirit in their lives, and
that the true leader was the Holy Spirit. In the early days of the movement(1901-1910), when it
was multiplying exponentially, the emphasis was on movement multiplication through the
direct work of the Spirit of God. Later on, the emphasis shifted to human structure and
leadership. The multiplication slowed during this phase and was only renewed by new "moves
of the Spirit" during the 40's, 60's and 80's (the Healing Revivals, Charismatic Movements, and
Third Wave Movements respectively). This is a lesson from History that applies to CPM and
DMM. The Authority for CPM and DMM is the Holy Spirit and the Bible. The only permission
needed to make disciples comes from them!
2. The Holy Spirit is the Forerunner of all DMM. In the Sending of the 70 (Luke 10), Jesus
sent the 70 ahead to the places where He was going to go. In the same way, I believe that the
Holy Spirit is already at work, preparing the way and preparing the hearts of the persons of
peace with whom we will engage. As in the Genesis one account of creation, the Spirit is
brooding over the face of the waters before the Word of creation is spoken.
3. The Holy Spirit is the leader and guide of the Disciple Maker. We must make the Bible, the
Word of God, the source of our faith and obedience, and we must also become sensitive to the
leadership of the Holy Spirit. A brief survey of the book of Acts will show how the Holy Spirit
was the guide to the missionaries as to where and when to go in a direction. At times the Spirit
said to go forth (Acts 13:2) and at other times the Spirit forbade them to go in a direction (Acts
16:6-7). Direction was determined "in the Sprit" (Acts 19:21) and was tenaciously followed in
the face of other prophetic warnings.
4. The Holy Spirit is the power and source of miracles in Disciple Making Movements. The
History of the Book of Acts, and the stories of miraculous accelerations in DMM worldwide
testify that the Holy Spirit's power has not diminished in any way.
5. The Holy Spirit is the energizer of Prayer in Disciple Making Movements. Prayer is the
number 1 critical element in every list I have seen relating to CPM and DMM. The Holy Spirit is
the Helper in our prayer lives. We are to pray in the Spirit (Jude 20-21) and when we don't
know how to pray (and according to scripture, we simply do not), the Spirit prays through us
(Romans 8:26). Our cooperation with the Holy Spirit in prayer is possibly the key in every
aspect of divine partnership with the Holy Spirit in DMM.
