LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Disciple Making in the Local Church
Submitted to Dr. David Earley,
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DMSN 500 D-07
Discipleship Ministry
by
Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1
The Church in Discipleship ........................................................................................................ 1
The Pastor in Discipleship …………………….……………….…………………………….... 2
The Saints in Discipleship …………………………………….………………….……………. 3
Spiritual Gifts in Discipleship...................................................................................................... 3
Application ………….................................................................................................................. 4
Church Model …………………………………………………………………………………… 4
Church Health ……………….…………………………………………………………………. 5
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 7
ii
Introduction
Often this author has heard that salvation is the pastor’s responsibility. The church
member is to invite people and once they get there the pastor takes it across the finish line. While
this sounds good, this is not totally true. Discipleship is a group effort. To be successful it
requires the activity of numerous agents. The ultimate force at work is the Holy Spirit. 1
Corinthians 3:6-7 records there are different roles but ultimately God is the agent of change.
However, each person is to perform their respective role. This paper will summarize and
importance of the local church, pastor, saint, and spiritual gifts in the discipleship process. It will
then assess this authors church’s model and assess his church utilizing the Healthy Church
criteria.
The Church in Discipleship
The Church has a significant role in discipleship. According to Dempsey, “The church
must be in the absolute middle of God’s global plan of making disciples.”1 The question at hand
is not does the church have a role, the question is what is the role of the church in discipleship?
“The church exists to win people to Christ, help them grow in their walk, and then send them out
to participate in the mission of winning the entire world.” 2 This is the overarching roe of the
church in discipleship. Knowing the church’s role is good but just as important is how the church
performs their role in discipleship. It is accomplished by the church collectively, as a family of
believers, operate in unison through corporate prayer, fellowship, and teaching to purposely
spread the Gospel.3 Ephesians 4:11-16 depicts the churches role perfectly. In verse 13 it records
that the church is to grow in maturity, into the likeness of Christ. The Holy Spirit uses His
1 Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making is: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and
Confidence, (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 39.
2 Ibid., 43.
3 Ibid., 40.
1
activity in their collective activities such as prayer, studying, and interaction to mature the church
members. Verse 16 of this passage, refers to the body of believers working together in love. As
the church matures it The Pastor is the under shepherd of the church and directly connected to
the Church’s role in discipleship.
The Pastor in Discipleship
The pastor is responsible for the local church in most Christian churches. Depending on
the denomination they may be called something else like Elders. Being responsible for the local
church, means the pastor also plays a significant role on making disciples. First and foremost, the
pastor is given by or chosen by God. The pastor then follows the lead of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 4:11-16 mentions part of the pastor’s role. This passage says pastors are given to the
church for, “the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until
we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son.”4 In this passage there are key
words directly linked to the pastor’s role. Among them are train, equip, work of ministry, and
mature. The Board of Discipleship wrote, “From the smallest child to the oldest adult, learning
contributes to faith formation and disciple making.”5 This identifies the importance of continued
learning and education for the entire body of believers. Dempsey wrote, “Christian leadership is
the process of influencing individuals to follow God’s plan for their lives and become all they
can be for Christ and His mission.”6 The primary person to perform this function is the pastor.
The pastor’s “special contribution is to offer the biblical and theological foundation that engages
them in devotion and discipleship so that they feel secure enough to be effective in ministry.”7
4 Ibid., 40.
5 Board of Discipleship, Guidelines Pastor: Spiritual Leadership for the Church in Mission, (Nashville:
Abingdon Press, 2016), 14.
6 Earley and Dempsey, Disciple Making, 203.
7 Board of Discipleship, Guidelines Pastor, 15.
Through the activity of the Holy Spirit, the pastor is ultimately responsible for the equipping of
the saints so they can spread the Gospel. At this point the saint has a role to perform.
The Saints in Discipleship
The saints are the hands, eyes, heart, feet and so many more vital organs of discipleship.
In essence the saints are the spiritual body of Christ. First Corinthians 12:12-13 records the body
is comprised of many parts but still one body. The collective body is the church, the individual
parts are the saints. For discipleship to be magnified or effective each individual part of the body
must perform their role or function. The cornerstone verse for disciples as agents in the
discipleship process is Matthew 28:19-20, otherwise known as the great commission. Malphurs
wrote, “To make a disciple, first one has to win a person (a non-disciple) to Christ.”8 The main
one who is used to start this winning process is the saint or disciple. Mark 16:15 Jesus tells them
to go preach which means disciples will have to talk about God. In this verse he said go which
reminds the saints that it is a journey. Acts 1:8 disciples or believers are to be witnesses, sharing
their experiences with others. The saints use their spiritual gifts for the glory of God.
Spiritual Gifts in Discipleship
Spiritual gifts are part of the way God equips and utilizes saints. Dempsey wrote,
“maturity finds its full expression when the believer fulfills their God given role.”9 A believer
fulfills their God given role when they are doing their part of the great commission. The how in
this purpose comes through the usage of their spiritual gifts. First Peter 4:10-11 records that
every believer has at least one spiritual gift. Romans 12:6 has that believers have different gifts
8 Aubrey Malphurs, Strategic Disciple Making: A Practical Tool for Successful Ministry, (Grand Rapids:
Baker Books, 2009). 130.
9 Earley and Dempsey, Disciple Making, 42.
and are to use them. “Spiritual gifts have been given by God the Father, through God the Holy
Spirit, for the building up of the body of God the Son. Believers are commanded to use the
spiritual gifts they have been given, according to His will, and all the gifts are available for use
as the Spirit empowers and apportions.”10 There are numerous Spiritual gifts which can uses to
accomplish His will. The most important aspect is not what gift a person has or how many, rather
it is that they are used for the uplifting and edification of the Kingdom of God. They key
component is application.
Application
Churches operate differently and have different premises which they focus their ministry
on. Dempsey asked, what are the four prevalent church models we see today?11 The four models
are Traditional, Attractional, Hybrid, and Organic (TAHO). In this section this author’s church
model and health will be discussed.
Church Model
This author’s church model is traditional. There is one pastor, one church location, and
most of the teaching is conducted during Sunday service and during midweek Bible study. Both
these events are led by the pastor. The preaching is directed toward meeting the needs of the
congregation. This service itself is simple. Just like Dempsey stated, “there is little vision for
church planting, in large part because the model is ultimately based upon addition and not
multiplication.”12 Membership wise this authors membership is stagnant at best. In all actuality,
unfortunately this author’s church falls into the eighty percent that Dempsey quoted as declining.
10 Timothy Clothier, To Each is Given: Spiritual Gifts in the Life of the Church, (Ashland: BMH Books,
20200, 42-43.
11 Earley and Dempsey, Disciple Making, 235.
12 Ibid., 231.
13 There are some minor differences from the traditional model in this author’s church. For
example, the budget is not restricted to the pastor. It also includes a small staff of five people
which includes the church secretary, three musicians and the music director. Another difference
is the pastor utilizes his associate ministers to preach on average once every five weeks. Despite
the differences this authors church is primarily the model traditional church. The health of the
church is more important than the model.
Health of the Church
The overall score of this authors church was 62. The strong points were love for God
(Up) and Love for one another (In). As a result of the activity of the Holy Spirit and the teaching
of our pastor, our church, has a healthy relationship and reverence for God. Obedience to Christ
is paramount and taught consistently as the overarching main concept. One of the signs of our
church’s health in this perspective is, “the gospel is being proclaimed by word and deed.”14 The
pastor educates the church through the word and embodies the word in his actions and how he
lives his life. He ties everything he teaches to the Bible and shows how it can be applied to our
daily lives and our being.
The weakest area for this author’s church was love for our neighbors. The results of this
health assessment were disheartening. However, after thinking about it, this aligns with the
TAHO style and description of his church model which is traditional. There is little outreach
occurring and little discipleship being done. Based on this our Church would have to sadly
answer no to the question is, “the mission of Christ being accomplished locally, regionally,
nationally, and globally by members from within the local body.”15 The pastor preaches all over
13 Ibid., 242.
14 Ibid., 212.
15 Ibid., 217.
the U.S. however the body is lacking in the respect. The leads to what can be done to improve
the situation?
As a result of the revelations found in this assessment this author’s church needs to
become more intentional and active in discipleship. This can be accomplished in numerous ways.
The first way is through relationship building. Putman et al wrote, “regular interaction with
caring, biblically trained leaders prompts spiritual growth.”16 Relationships create opportunities.
Our church must become more active in outward ministry. Once trained the disciples can interact
with non-disciples at work and in their daily lives. The church can start by being more involved
in the local community by feeding programs, vacation Bible School, revivals. In each of these
endeavors the church could solicit the local community for participation. Matthew 22: 36-40
records that believers are to love their neighbor. If the local church reaches out and operates out
of love for our neighbor it will show in our actions and decisions. This is what Jesus calls for the
Church to do, individually and collectively.
16 Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation is … How to Grow in Jesus with Passion and
Confidence, (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2018), 134.
Bibliography
Board of Discipleship. Guidelines Pastor: Spiritual Leadership for the Church in Mission. Nashville:
Abingdon Press, 2016.
Clothier, Timothy. To Each is Given: Spiritual Gifts in the Life of the Church. Ashland: BMH Books,
2020
Earley, Dave, and Rod Dempsey. Disciple Making is: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2013.
Earley, Dave, and Rod Dempsey. Spiritual Formation is … How to Grow in Jesus with Passion and
Confidence. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2018.
Malphurs, Aubrey. Strategic Disciple Making: A Practical Tool for Successful Ministry. Grand Rapids:
Baker Books, 2009.
Putnam, Jim, and Bobby Harrington. DiscipleShift: Five Steps That Help Your Church to Make
Disciples Who Make Disciples. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013.
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