LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Disciple Making in the Local Church
Submitted to Dr. Anthony, in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the completion of the course
DSMN 500
Discipleship Ministries
by
Calvary deJong
February 12, 2017
Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................................1
Relational Environments: The Social Context of Discipleship..................................................1
Jesus’ Invitation to Discipleship Was Personal......................................................................1
Jesus’ Example of Disciple Making Was Personal................................................................2
Local Churches: The Structural Environment of Discipleship ................................................2
Local Church Pastors: The Models and Facilitators of Discipleship .......................................3
Spiritual Gifts: Empowering Disciples for Disciple Making .....................................................4
Mature Disciples: Disciple Makers Who Make Disciple Makers .............................................5
Conclusion......................................................................................................................................5
Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................6
i1
Introduction
When Jesus commanded the twelve apostles to “go and make disciples of all nations”1 his
directive was not limited only to those who could hear his voice. Rather it was Jesus’ intention
that the apostles would be the foundation upon which the rest of the church would be laid, with
Christ himself as the chief cornerstone.2 Thus, all disciples of Jesus have the same calling to go
into the world as disciple makers to reach the lost.3 As we see from Jesus’ example, disciple
making best takes place in the social context of relational environments, and is to be supported by
the structure of the local church. Thus, local church leaders are most effective when they model
discipleship in their own lives and facilitate the development of spiritual gifts in the lives of their
congregants so they too can become disciple makers who make disciple makers.
Relational Environments: The Social Context of Discipleship
The Great Commission command to “go” raises the inevitable question of praxis: how do I
make disciples of all nations? Accompanying Jesus commands to make disciples are his personal
invitation to discipleship and his personal example of making disciples.
Jesus’ Invitation to Discipleship Was Personal
1 Matthew 28:19 unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the New
International Version Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1973).
2 Ephesians 2:20
3 William Carey. “An Enquiry into the Obligation of Christians to Use Means
for the Conversion of the Heathen.” In Perspectives of the World Christian
Movement, edited by Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne, 4th ed. (Pasadena, CA: William
Carey Library. 2009) 312-318.
1
2
Walking along the Galilean seashore, Jesus saw Peter and his brother Andrew and invited
them to “come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for men.”4 Jesus invitation was intensely
personal. He wasn’t just calling people to believe in his cause or obey his orders and simply do
what he said. Rather, he was intentionally calling them to himself. This personal invitation would
become especially poignant latter in the Gospel of Matthew when Jesus raises the stakes and says
“whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”5
In other words, the disciple’s trust in Jesus himself would have to be sufficient for them to accept
the unknown and follow him into an unknown future of sacrifice.
Jesus’ Teaching on Discipleship Was Personal
The “how to” of the Great Commission is “teach them to obey everything I have
commanded you.”6 In other words, Jesus was only commanding his disciples do what he had
already modeled and done with them. Jesus didn’t just show his disciples how to do discipleship,
he did discipleship with them. Following Jesus’ example, Christian leaders need to recognize that
the best environment for discipleship to take place is in the context of meaningful personal
relationships. Thus the conversation of effective disciple making in local churches needs to shift
from creating and running programs, to creating relational environments in which genuine
discipleship can take place.7
4 Matthew 4:19
5 Matthew 16:24
6 Matthew 28:20a
7 Dave Earley & Rod Dempsey. Disciple Making Is … How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and
Confidence (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2013) 203.
3
Local Churches: The Structural Environment of Discipleship
“The unity of the church-community gives identity and meaning to each individual and the
community as a whole, just as Christ and his body give identity and meaning to the church-
community.”8 (221) Bonheoffer Discipleship
“Through the Holy Spirit, the crucified and risen Christ exists as the church-community, as the
‘new human being.’ For Christ truly is and eternally remains the incarnate one and the new
humanity truly is his body. Just as the fullness of the godhead became incarnate in him and
dwelled in him, so are Christian believer filled with Christ.
8 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 4. (MN: First Forest Press, 2003), 221.
4
Bibliography
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 4. Minneapolis, MN: First Forest
Press, 2003.
Carey, William. “An Enquiry into the Obligation of Christians to Use Means for the
Conversion of the Heathen.” In Perspectives of the World Christian Movement, edited by
Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne, 4th ed. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library,
2009).
Dempsey, Dr. Rod. “The Role of the Church” (video). DSMN Module 4: Presentation. 2014.
Earley, Dave & Dempsey, Rod. Disciple Making Is … How to Live the Great Commission with
Passion and Confidence Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2013.
Putman, Jim, Harrington, Bobby and Coleman, Robert E. Discipleshift:Five Steps That Help
Your Church to Make Disciples Who Make Disciples Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013.
5
Disciple Making in the Local Church
1) Relational Environments: The Social Context of Discipleship
Jesus command “Go and make disciples…”
(starting with “the 12” –eph 2:20 going to the whole world)
Follow me and I will make you fishers of men?
(instruction combination of his teaching and example)
baptizing (implies conversion something happened to them)
teaching to obey everything I have commanded you…
2) Local Churches: The Structural Environment of Discipleship
“discipleship was not meant to be carried on in situations disjointed from the nurture of the
local church” –
Recommended Citation
Luter, A. Boyd, "Discipleship and the Church" (1980). Faculty Publications and Presentations. Paper 251.
h p://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/lts_fac_pubs/251
6
3) Local Church Leaders: Models and Facilitators of Discipleship
(note Paul’s attribution: “Christ gave…”)
Pro tip: (value of plurality of leaders in discipleship)
4) Spiritual Gifts: Empowering Disciples for Disciple Making
5) Mature Saints: Disciple Makers Who Make Disciple Makers
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
