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LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Written Assignment 3- Disciple Making in The Healthy Church
Submitted to Dr. Dan Burrell
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 500 – B05
Discipleship Ministries
by
Jeremiah Beard
June 7, 2020
Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……..1
Local Church Model of Disciple Making…………………………………………………………………………….….1
Assessment of the Local Church.…………………………………………………………………………………….……3
Conclusion……………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………..…….5
Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..6
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Introduction
Discipleship and disciple-making are important processes for a healthy
church community, and thus, the role of the local church in disciple-making cannot be
overemphasized. Discipleship making refers to the process of converting and
evangelizing non-believers and establishing faith in them.1 This process is a deliberate
and intentional and involves modifying the beliefs of non-believers, baptizing them,
mentoring them to grow spiritually, and teaching them how to evangelize others.
Disciple-making leads to growth and sustenance of healthy churches. Making of
disciples, however, should not be a church program, but a dynamic within the body of
Christ, which is natured by the leadership of local churches. Local churches must refrain
from creating self-understandings devoid of biblical purposes. Healthy Christians are
created through clear consultation of the teachings of the Scripture. By consulting
Scriptures, church leadership helps disciples to develop life habits that will assure them
spiritual growth and victory. These habits include attending church, reading and studying
the bible, praying, and engaging in financial stewardship. This paper would describe how
disciples are made in the local church and provide an assessment of the local church’s
discipleship model with the view of identifying the weak areas that need improvements.
Local Church Model of Disciple Making
The local church that would be described here is a medium-sized
Pentecostal church in a diverse sub-urban area. Based on TAHO Chart, the church can be
described as a hybrid church because it has a single pastor with a board of elders that
assist him. Hybrid churches are usually complex with activity being their growth engine.
Evangelism in this church is mainly ‘come and see’, whereby non-believers are
1 Frank V. & George B. 2012. Pagan Christianity? Exploring the Roots of Our
Church Practices (Carol Stream, Ill: Barna, 106).
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encouraged to come to the church or attend church events to witness the Scripture
firsthand. Spiritual formation in the local church is both a personal and community
initiative. Here, new believers are organized in small groups and assigned to elders and
leaders who guide them through spiritual growth. Gifts, which come from the
congregation, play an important role in funding the dynamic process of discipleship. The
church identifies the saints or leaders who oversee discipleship, but there is a limited
effort for leader development. The church pastor, who is usually multitalented, embraces
an equipping leadership philosophy and manages the complex church organization.
Similarly, the church has extensive paid staff. Worship is scheduled every Sunday, mostly
morning worship sessions. Prayers extend beyond the church building and considered a
personal responsibility in the disciples’ everyday lives. The church has multi-level
missions, from local and satellite to international missions. There is great reference made
to the role of Saints in the church’s growth and disciples’ spiritual nourishment.
In a hybrid church model, disciple-making is a project of the church
community, as opposed to a personal pursuit. Here, it is believed that Jesus gave the local
church the authority to preach the gospel according to the Scripture (Acts 19:32, 40),
evangelize believers into faith, and teach them how to live a life of obedience to Christ.
2Disciple-making takes place in the sanctuary where the Word is read, preached, and
sung. At the sanctuary, the Word is also displayed through baptism and Holy Communion.
When Jesus talked of disciple-making, he meant a community of believers who,
collectively and under the authority of the local church and church pastor, seek to
bequeath faith to the next generation of believers.3 Because Jesus commissioned the first
2 Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English
Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008).
3 Shirley, C., 2008. It takes a church to make a disciple: An integrative model of discipleship for the local
church. Southwestern Journal of Theology, 50(2), pp.207-224.
3
disciples to make more disciples, the church and its leadership have the mandate of
strengthening this effort. Faith-based communities, or the local church, undertake this
mandate under the hybrid church model. Unlike a mere Christian who accepts Jesus as
the savior and secures a place in the family of God, a disciple is a more active and
aggressive Christian who has made it his or her responsibility to evangelize and train
others. In the New Testament, Jesus implies discipleship when he commands his disciples
to preach the Word to the world and make more disciples.
Assessment of the Local Church
The local church has been mandated by the Scripture to make disciples.
The church has gifts of a pastor, a board of elders, and staffs. The elders and church staffs
are official massagers who assist the pastor to spread the good news to the world. It is
prudent that the pastor and his messengers execute their roles in accordance to the
scriptures. The church can be equated to a family of believers whereby the pastor is the
head. Each member of the family has an important role to play to support the mission of
the church. When every member fulfils his or her roles as expected, a harmonious
collaboration, or a Holy Communion, is achieved. From my personal experience, the
pastor of my local church has acted as a shepherded to the church members by guiding
believers in their spiritual journeys. He explains and elaborates the church scriptural
doctrines to the disciples and teaches them how to live according to these doctrines.
In my local church, discipleship places emphasis on love for God, love for
one another, and love for neighbors. The church leaders take the leading role by acting as
role models and teaching the followers the importance of being obedient to Christ.
Among the priority areas in the church include teaching and baptizing new believers,
growing the new believers’ ability to sacrifice and surrender for the Kingdom, and
promoting a life of praying and listening daily to the voice of God. In the ‘in’ segment of
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the assessment, the church takes the initiative of individually nurturing and developing
new believers. Saints, in this case, grow in unity, show love for one another, build one
another spiritually, and motivate one another.4 Church leaders, as well, take the
responsibility of making and developing disciples and equipping and empowering the
saints. In the ‘out’ segment, there is a church emphasis on sharing the gospel and life
experiences with non-believers. Some church groups are engaged in local, satellite, and
international missions, where they try to ‘fish’ new believers into the body of Christ.5
Ideally, harmonious relationships with the ‘out’ segment have helped the local church to
connect the loop and create a gospel net within the community.
One area that the church has been lagging behind is on gifts and donations.
Since its inception, the church has relied on gifts and donations from the church
community to fund gospel outreach programs. However, while there are many individuals
who donate wholeheartedly, others either donate below their capacities of failing to
donate at all. This trend may signal that the local church leadership has not been effective
in helping the disciples to grasp the truth about giving to God and changing their
behaviors. In this case, the church should identify this area as one needing transformation.
The disciples should be made to understand that discipleship is all about evangelizing to
others and making new disciples who would make the next generation of disciples. This
goal can only be achieved through commitment or resources and a concerted effort to
expand the Lord’s kingdom on earth.
4 Lee C. Wanak, V. 2009. Jesus’ Questions, Evangelical Review of Theology 33,
no. 2, 170.
5 Holland, T. J. 2002. Jesus, a Model for Ministry: The Journal of Pastoral Care
36, no. 4, 264
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The new focus should be on the ‘out’ segment, whereby support, in terms of
donations and other resources, is required to enable the local church to realize the full
potential of the church. Resources should be dedicated to casting the net wider and
cultivating love for neighbors. The future of the church’s discipleship lies with its ability
to make its neighbors to feel welcome and accepted in the presence of God.6 The church
is located in a diverse neighborhood that is full potential disciples, including young
families and school-aged youths, some of whom are atheists and other people from other
religions.
Conclusion
Disciples are members of the Body of Christ and depictions of Jesus Christ here
on earth and therefore, their role in the development of healthy church communities
cannot be overlooked. In the book of Acts 19:32, 40, Jesus commanded his disciples to go
and preach the good news to all nations. This mandate, also, known as the Great
Commission, has been the driving force of the local church. The church is hybrid in
model, and the pastor, who is the head of the church community/family, equips and
empowers the saints so that they can nurture and develop individuals and facilitate their
spiritual growth. The important area that the church needs to look at currently is
donations, which are important as far as the realization of the full potential of discipleship
is concerned.
Bibliography
Frank V. & George B. 2012. Pagan Christianity? Exploring the Roots of Our
Church Practices (Carol Stream, Ill: Barna, 106.
6 Keener, C. S. 2016. The Mind of the Spirit: Paul’s Approach to Transformed
Thinking. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic
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Holland, T. J. 2002. Jesus, a Model for Ministry: The Journal of Pastoral Care 36,
no. 4, 264.
Keener, C. S. 2016. The Mind of the Spirit: Paul’s Approach to Transformed
Thinking. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.
Lee C. Wanak, V. 2009. Jesus’ Questions, Evangelical Review of Theology 33, no.
2, 170.
Shirley, C., 2008. It takes a church to make a disciple: An integrative model of
discipleship for the local church. Southwestern Journal of Theology, 50(2), pp.207-224
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English
Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008).
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