LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
My Disciple Making Plan
Submitted to Dr. Rod Dempsey
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN500-B01
Discipleship Ministries
by
Porshe Kida
February 27, 2022
Contents
Passages………...........................................................…...…………………………………..…...1
Principles..........……………….…………………………………………….………...…………..4
Philosophy..….………………………………………………....…………………………………6
Practices.…….……….……………………………………………………………………………9
Proof…………………………………………………………………………………..………….11
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………..12
ii
1
Disciple Making Action Plan
Leadership without discipleship is dictatorship. In God’s kingdom, leaders are identified
and established within the context of discipling relationships. Jesus modeled it and
commissioned his disciples to follow suit (Matt. 28:16-20). Being a disciple and making
disciples is God’s will for all Christians.1 It is a command, not a suggestion (Luke 24:47; Mark
15:16; John 20:21; Acts 1:8). The Church today needs a rise of leaders who are ready to lead
God’s people in ministry. This, too, is why disciple-making is essential to spreading the gospel
throughout the world. Discipleship is leadership development because leaders are identified and
empowered through discipleship.
Passages
All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for guiding any ministry endeavor (2 Tim. 3:16-
17), but there are a few key passages relevant to discipleship that guide me as I strive to disciple
and lead. There are five foundational passages that I build my discipleship plan upon: John 8:31-
32, John 13:34-35, John 15:5-8, Acts 13:52, and Ephesians 4:7-16. Each of these verses fuel my
personal connection with Christ, my relationship with other believers, and my missional mindset
within the unbelieving world.
In John 8:31-32, Jesus told believers they would truly be his disciples if they continued in
obeying his teachings. Then, he said, they would know truth of his salvation and that would set
them free from sin. God’s word is truth, living and active (Heb. 4:12), able to transform my heart
and mind (Rom. 12:2) and free me from ungodly lies that Satan aims to destroy me with (John
1 Rod Dempsey. In Disciple Making Is . . .: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and Confidence
(Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2013) “Knowing the Centrality of the Church.”
2
10:10). As a disciple, leader, and disciple-maker, I absolutely must continue in the Word so that I
can build up others on a foundation of truth.
In John 13:34 Jesus says, “I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as
I have loved you, you should love each other” (NLT).2 This is consistent with the response he
gave the Pharisee who tested him by asking which commandment was the greatest. Jesus told
him the greatest command is to love God and the second, equal in importance, is to selflessly
love one’s neighbor (Matt. 22:37-40). Jesus follows his statement in John 13:34 by saying, “Your
love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35 NLT). Love
for God is strengthened and displayed through love for his followers. Jesus embodied God’s
humble, others-focused, need-meeting love. God wants all Christ followers to be known for this
type of love. Any discipleship I participate in must be catalyzed by and saturated with love.
Otherwise, my work is nothing (1 Cor. 1-3). Love is what unites believers worldwide as the body
of Christ and brings the body into maturity (Eph. 4:15-16). Love is what draws people to God,
grows them up as his children, and motivates them to go out for him into all the world.
Jesus uses a garden analogy to communicate his relationship with believers. In John 15:5-
8 he calls himself the “vine” and his disciples “branches” of the vine. Only branches that remain
attached to the vine can bear fruit, alone they can do absolutely nothing. If I am to grow in the
fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) or to bear good fruit that will last into eternity (Matt. 7:17-18;
12:33; John 15:16), I must remain fully connected to Christ always and seek that which is
consistent with his will for humanity. Otherwise, my faith will wither, and my life and ministry
will be fruitless.
2 Unless otherwise stated, all Bible references are in the New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House
Foundation, 2015).
3
Acts depicts the Church functioning as God intends. Believers discipled one another,
cared for each other’s needs, prayed together, and united in ministry. “And the disciples were
continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52 NASB).3 Joy is a fruit, or
product, of abiding in Christ and walking in the Spirit. To “fully follow Christ, you need to be
full of the Holy Spirit.”4 Utilizing my spiritual gifts to serve others fills me with joy. When I am
filled with joy, God’s Spirit more effectively shines through me as I do his work. It is cyclical
because being filled leads to doing ministry, just as doing ministry leads to being filled.
Finally, Ephesians 4:11-16 explains how Christ graciously and generously gifted his
Body, the Church, with all it needs to build his kingdom. He gave the Church apostles, prophets,
evangelists, teachers, and pastors to equip his saints for ministry. As a church leader, I must
remember that my primary job is to equip believers for kingdom work. Any gifts I have from
God are to be used by God to bring him glory. Maturing spiritually allows me to grow in
Christlikeness and contribute to the health of the whole Body. As a disciple-maker my focus is to
serve and minister to everyone in my relational world. At home, at work, and within my church,
God has given me special positions of influence that I am to leverage for discipleship. As I
parent, I disciple my kids; as I direct my studio, I disciple my coaches; as I serve at church, I
disciple my students and fellow leaders. Right in my own hometown, God has called me to
discipleship and leadership development. Obedience to this call produces eternal fruit in my own
back yard.
3 Holy Bible, New American Standard Version (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 2020).
4 Rod Dempsey, “Lecture_Notes_What_Is_A_Disciple?” Lecture in DSMN 500 at Liberty University, Lynchburg,
VA, February 28, 2022.
4
Principles
In this season, I have adopted three core values from Rod Dempsey and Dave Earley that
fuel my personal growth and discipleship ministry. I truly believe these three elements of
Christian DNA craft leadership principles that cause organic disciple reproduction. All disciple-
makers, including this one, should focus their attention in three directions: Upward towards
worshipfully loving God, inward towards sacrificially loving other believers, and outward
towards missionally loving unbelieving neighbors.
Upward love is founded on truth. Jesus says he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John
14:6) for all humanity. Scripture affirms that God’s word is truth (Ps. 119:160; John 17:17; 2 Cor.
6:6-7). And all believers are commanded to walk in truth (2 John 1:4). Walking in truth requires
sacrifice and commitment. Jesus said the first and greatest command is to love the Lord with all
of one’s heart, soul, and mind (Matt. 22:37-38) and that whoever wants to be his disciple must
sacrifice any and everything to follow him (Luke 9:23). Simply put, “Discipleship is
commitment to Christ.”5 Comprehending the truth of Christ causes people to fall in love with
him. That love grows throughout a believer’s relationship with God. Consistent intentional time
with God in worship and the Word deepens and develops the relationship, allowing his love to
flow to and through the disciple. A true disciple diligently studies God’s Word, his love letter to
his people,6 which brings “freedom in Christ.”7
Inward focus is necessary because discipleship does not stop with a believer and God.
Yes, Christians are to be discipled in God’s Word, but theology is meant to be lived and practiced
5 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Part One: Chapter Two: The Call to Discipleship.” Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works,
Vol. 4 (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1973-2003).
6 Dave Earley, Spiritual Formation Is…: How to Grow in Jesus with Passion and Confidence (Nashville, TN: B&H
Academic, 2018).
7 Rod Dempsey and Dave Earley, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and
Confidence (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2013).
5
in relationship.8 Relational discipleship is what sets the Church apart from other worldly
organizations. Believers love one another by living in harmony together (Rom. 12:16), accepting
one another’s imperfections (Rom. 15:7), providing instruction (Rom. 15:14), and hospitality
without complaint (1 Pet. 4:9), confessing sins to and praying for one another (Jas. 5:16), and
offering daily encouragement to continue God’s work (Heb. 3:13). As leaders and disciples love
and serve one another, each one grows and Christ’s glory is displayed through the Church, to the
world.
Outward love to the world seems like a feat when one disciple or church is compared to
the entire world. But if each believer seeks to impact only their own relational world, or Oikos,
then exponential growth can be seen worldwide. Dempsey shares Dave Ferguson’s acronym for
ways believers can show love to their unbelieving neighbors: BLESS. B stands for beginning in
prayer for one’s neighbors, asking God how to best bless them. L is for listening to peoples’ hurts
and struggles to learn how they can be reached for Christ. E stands for eating and conversing
with people to build a relationship. S is for serving and showing them God’s love. And the final S
is to, at the right time, share one’s personal story of salvation. A simple outline like this can help
disciples like me seek and disciple some of the unbelievers God has placed in their relational
world. I believe this is what Jesus had in mind when he said to “go and make disciples” in every
nation (Matt. 28:19 NLT).
All these relational spheres are built on trust. Believers must trust in God’s grand plan to
make disciples of all nations by using imperfect people to bring forth his eternal kingdom on
earth. They must trust in his timing as they remain faithful God, to the Church, and to their
neighbors (Gal. 6:9). As a disciple, I must trust the Holy Spirit’s work in me as I remain in
8 Zacharias H. Daniel and Benjamin K. Forrest, Surviving and Thriving in Seminary: An Academic and Spiritual
Handbook (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017), 102.
6
Christ, trust his work through me as I disciple, and trust his work to thread unity and power
throughout the Church body as each part grows closer to Christ. I must trust Christ will someday
renew and restore all things (Rev. 21:5), and trust Jehovah-Jireh’s provision in the meantime
(Phil. 4:19). When I become frustrated with myself or others, I must trust the process (Phil. 1:6).
Also, I must trust that God is greater than any worldly boundary or limitation that
opposes the gospel. Even today, when many churches are unable to gather in person, God is at
work connecting believers and strengthening the gospel. In this, “discipleship becomes a way of
life that spans the embodied and the virtual, and this is what it means to be incarnational.”9
Philosophy
The Church is the body of Christ, called to unity and love, joined by the Holy Spirit, and
equipped to advance the gospel. Its members are those who trust by faith in the finished work of
Christ and in God’s ultimate plan for a restored humanity. The purpose of the Church is to glorify
God by loving him, loving others, and following Jesus’ command to spread the gospel worldwide
(1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 1:22-23; 3:10-11). Thus, the Church grows through the multiplication of
disciples and leaders.
Christian disciples are ordinary, imperfect people who wholeheartedly desire to know and
follow Christ. They also desire to selflessly love others out of the overflow of God’s love for
them (Rom 13:8). God loved the world so much that he sacrificed Jesus to bring restoration and
relationship to all mankind (Joh 3:16; and 15:13). Biblically, these Christian disciples are called
saints. God has called and equipped the saints for ministry (Eph. 4:11-13). It is their job to make
disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:16-20).
9 Stephen D. Lowe and Mary E. Lowe, Ecologies of Faith in a Digital Age: Spiritual Growth through Online
Education (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2018), 104.
7
The gospel is the good news of God’s plan to restore all humanity to himself. It is
communicated throughout the entirety of Scripture and demonstrated through Jesus’ life, death,
and resurrection. The gospel is the announcement that brokenness is not the only way of
existence because Jesus came to redeem everyone who will trust in him. When believers
communicate this gospel with others, it is called evangelism. God gave evangelists to the Church
so that the gospel will be known around the world and new believers will be added to the body of
Christ until he returns. However, evangelists are not the only ones called to evangelize. All
believers are to share with others the reason for the hope they have in Christ (1 Pet. 3:15).
According to Mark Mittelberg, Believers can spend all eternity worshipping God,
learning from His Word, praying to Him, and encouraging and edifying one another, but only
here and now can they lead people to trust and commit to Christ.10 Evangelism is God’s plan for
salvation and a known catalyst to personal spiritual growth. Dr. Harold L. Willimgton of Liberty
University taught that evangelism is like one beggar telling another beggar where he found
bread.11 Jesus is the Bread of Life for this hungry world (John 6:35), and every Christian likely
found Christ with the help of another Christian. When believers partner with God to bring
transformative truth to those who need it, He allows their faith to grow as well.
Pastors and church leaders, specifically, are to always be ready to preach God’s Word
wherever they are (2 Tim. 4:2) because they are “fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19 NKJV).12 Putman,
Harrington, and Coleman focus on three basic parts of discipleship based on this passage:
following Jesus, experiencing transformation through Jesus, and finding others for Jesus.13 With
these factors in mind, discipleship is fulfilling the Great Commission by intentionally going into
10 Mark Mittelberg, Building a Contagious Church: Revolutionizing the Way to View and Do Evangelism (Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001).
11 Harold L. Willimgton, Willimgton’s Guide to the Bible (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1984).
12 Holy Bible, New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982).
13 Jim Putman, Bobby Harrington, and Robert E. Coleman, DisciplSshift: Five Steps That Help Your Church to
Make Disciples Who Make Disciples (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013).
8
the world, preaching the gospel, baptizing new believers in God’s name and inducting them into
the community of believers, then training them in righteousness (Matt. 28:16-20). Leaders are
disciples who have trusted by faith in the finished work of Christ, submitted themselves to the
refining work of the Holy Spirit, and actively engaged in their commission to advance the Gospel
through intentional relationships. They are “totally committed to Christ” in all their endeavors.14
Christian leaders grow the Church by tending to the health of individual believers. “If we equip
and empower all the individuals, then the organization (body) will be healthy.”15
Members of the Church are expected to grow and develop both internally in maturity, and
externally in mission. As leaders mature spiritually, they become increasingly more effective in
reaching people who need Jesus. Maturity comes when a pastor is immersed in Scripture, attuned
to the Holy Spirit, and in relationship with others. Good leaders view the people they serve as
peers in ministry, “unless they don’t really believe in the priesthood of all believers!”16 Following
Christ’s example, they spend time with ordinary people and are real with them. This is a key
ministry perspective because leaders must focus on good character, who they are in Christ, not
what they do for him. Putman, Harrington, and Coleman use the adage, “you can’t lead where
you don’t go, and you can’t teach what you don’t know”17 (1 Cor. 4:6). Leadership begins with
living first and foremost as a disciple of Christ.
14 Rod Dempsey and Dave Earley, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and
Confidence (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2013).
15 Rod Dempsey, “Reproducing Missional Leaders,” Disciple Making Is . . .: How to Live the Great Commission
with Passion and Confidence (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2013).
16 Jim Putman, Bobby Harrington, and Robert E. Coleman, DiscipleShift: Five Steps That Help Your Church to
Make Disciples Who Make Disciples (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013).
17 Ibid.
9
Practices
As the saying goes, goals without plans are mere dreams. If I strive to make disciples, I
must plan my work then work my plan. Finding a way forward starts with assessing my current
location. I am a lay leader at a five-month-old church plant, leading the youth group, coaching
small group leaders, serving once a month in kids’ ministry, and hosting service every other
week. I have great potential to serve and invest in other believers in the body of Christ. At
Refresh Church, I work to see every person refreshed and everyone’s purpose restored.18
I am also under assessment through Stadia to potentially plant another new church within
the next year or two. The path forward will continue to stretch my capacity as a leader and
challenge me further outside of my comfort zone. To thrive in disciple-making, and potentially
church planting, I need layers of accountability to keep me on mission. I need my husband,
whom I am partnering with in this journey, for encouragement and prayer. I need my pastor to
continue equipping me with wisdom and opportunities to use my spiritual gifts and lead others. I
need peers within the church because “the ultimate outcome of reciprocal relationships and
interactions between believers is individual and corporate transformation into the image of
Christ”19 and Christlikeness is my ultimate goal.
I also need to identify and initiate a discipling relationship with at least one unbeliever in
my relational world. There is one person God has directly put on my heart and in my path to
disciple. To reach her, I need to increase my prayer time, maximize my conversations with her,
and commit to loving and serving her as Christ loves me in effort to help her grow (Eph. 2:10).
When Bryan and I do plant someday, we plan to be co-lead pastors supported by a
governing board, elders (eventually), a group of objective overseers, and local staff members
18 T.J. Hankey, Refresh.Church. January 2022.
19 Mary E. Lowe and Stephen D. Lowe, Ecologies of Faith in a Digital Age: Spiritual Growth Through Online
Education (Westmont, IL: IVP Academic, 2018) 173.
10
who unite in helping us act on our church’s mission, remain focused on our God-given vision,
and uphold our core values. I want to build a church of small groups and missional communities.
Sundays will be opportunities to equip and encourage saints who partner in ministry, not
Christian-club style attractions that cater to church-hopping critics. My team will make disciples
by helping people grow in Christlikeness and training them to do what the Lord has gifted them
to do (Eph. 4:16). I want everyone in my church to live on mission throughout the week so that
we can celebrate stories of life change in Sunday gatherings. This goal will only be a reality if we
infuse our community with a discipleship culture from day-one.
I do not foresee starting with a large facility because I want our resources to fund
outreach more than programming. Micro-gatherings and small groups will be the first events
added to our calendar. Personnel will be people who are mission-minded, not program-focused.
Whatever slogans we devise will be focused on spiritual health and relational discipleship. This
will be communicated often and in various ways. We will encourage our church body to find
people of influence within our community and intentionally build connections with them. Our
ministry will be active in community affairs to equip our saints for works of service. I want to
mobilize saints to do God’s will of knowing Christ, growing in Christ, and go for Christ into
unreached pockets of society. If I do my part, I hope our church body will be healthy and the
whole Church will grow because of it.
11
Proof
The success of my plan will be measured by whether my disciple can make a new
disciple. Because my goal is to start with one person, success or lack thereof will be evident
within a year or two. Success will not necessarily look like my disciple leading a ministry or
planting a church. But it should look like her being able to articulate the gospel, pray
intentionally for the believers and unbelievers in her life, find a church community to engage
with, and serve people around her.
Another measure of success will be my willingness to lay excuses aside and obey God’s
call to go into my community to make disciples. Leading within any church is considerably
comfortable for me. I can serve in any role with confidence (except maybe tech). But, growing a
church from scratch within my own neighborhood is the most daunting task I have ever been
assigned to do. True commitment and surrender are evident in obedience to even the hard things.
The launch of my church will define my success as a true disciple of Christ.
12
Bibliography
Bonhoeffer, D. “Part One: Chapter Two: The Call to Discipleship.” Discipleship, Dietrich
Bonhoeffer Works, Vol. 4. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1973-2003.
Daniel, Zacharias H. and Benjamin K. Forrest. Surviving and Thriving in Seminary: An
Academic and Spiritual Handbook. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017.
Dempsey, Rod. “Lecture_Notes_What_Is_A_Disciple?” Lecture in DSMN 500 at Liberty
University, Lynchburg, VA, February 28, 2022.
Dempsey, Rod and Dave Earley. Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with
Passion and Confidence. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2013.
Dempsey, Rod and Dave Earley. Spiritual Formation Is: How to Grow in Jesus with Passion and
Confidence. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2018.
Hankey, T.J., Refresh.Church. January 2022.
Lowe, Mary E. and Stephen D. Lowe. Ecologies of Faith in a Digital Age: Spiritual Growth
Through Online Education, Westmont, IL: IVP Academic, 2018.
Mittelberg, Mark. Building a Contagious Church: Revolutionizing the Way to View and Do
Evangelism, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001.
Putman, Jim, Bobby Harrington, and Robert E. Coleman. DiscipleShift: Five Steps That Help
Your Church to Make Disciples Who Make Disciples. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013.
Willimgton, Harold, L. Willimgton’s Guide to the Bible, Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers,
1984.
