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Liberty Theological Seminary
Discipleship In A Healthy Church Assignment
A Written Assignment
Submitted to Dr. Jay Sulfridge
In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Course
Discipleship Ministries
DSMN-500-B06-LUO
By:
Phil Wells
February 14, 2021
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Table of Contents
Discipleship in A Healthy Church Assignment
I. Discipleship in A Healthy Christian Community Pg. 3
II. Church Model & The Body of Christ Pg. 4
III. Personal Ministry & Healthy Church Assessment Pg. 6
IV. Importance of the Local Church Pg. 7
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Discipleship in a Healthy Christian Community
Discipleship has long been a mystery to many churches and organizations alike. Seeking
that next best strategy or system, churches stall out when they fail to measure success or locate a
sustainable process in which to ask themselves, “How are we winning?” or better yet, “How is
God winning?” The author of this examination will use an alliteration to introduce what
discipleship looks like in a healthy Christian community called the 3 P’s: (1) Passion (2) Place
and (3) Purpose.
Riding the wave of what COVID-19 has brought us (in my local context) this past year, I
can frankly borrow a phrase from my former lead pastor Craig Groeschel that ‘mo’ is in the
room. That’s right, ‘momentum’ is in the room. Nine baptisms last week and attendance second
to our largest location, we’re riding a relative sense of momentum as we seek to create
meaningful moments for our attenders that last beyond the casual interaction where we seek to
pause and create a meaningful experience for the one.
What discipleship can and should look like in a healthy church setting should exemplify
and answer the following in relation to the 3 P’s: What are you passionate about, what truly
drives you? Second, where do you find yourself most commonly right now? At work, home,
school? And finally, do you have a full understanding of your purpose and do you know your
spiritual gifts? When these questions are answered in short, you have a healthy church. The
Apostle Paul states in Ephesians 4:16, “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each
part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy
and growing and full of love.”1 In other words, as we’re all growing and exercising our gifts in
1 Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced employ the New Living
Translation by Tyndale House Publishers.
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the right place within the body of Christ ‘mo’ is in the room and you have yourself a healthy
church.
Long back in Bible college, one of my favorite professors by the name of Jeff Baxter
introduced me to this phrase I’ll never forget, “more is caught than taught” and it continues to
impact me today. Following the model of Paul in I Corinthians 11:11, “Follow my example as I
follow the example of Christ.” This could not be more true in my personal opinion. Long have I
been a believer in the leadership approach of, “I do, you watch, then, we do it together, you do, I
watch, you do it on your own.” Very few learn more and learn quickly than when they’re in the
game. The question is though at times, where is the best environment for this to happen? My
answer, in the context of a local life-giving group. Earley & Dempsey agree that the best context
for cultivating this kind of environment is a small group within a local church. 2
The best form of discipleship is a structure and sustainable system for which one can
begin to as we say in my local organization ‘find freedom’. Each of us needs a place to take off
the game face and recognize the need for community. Mobilizing a structure and a DreamTeam
of volunteers on mission living out their purpose will be the only plausible way saved people will
be pastored, pastored people will be trained, and trained people be mobilized as Chris Hodges
would indicate.
Church Model & The Body of Christ
The body of Christ or a local body of believers is according to the Apostle Paul in I
Corinthians 12:12-13, “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole
body. So, it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves,
2 Earley, Dave, and Rod Dempsey. 2013. “Discovering Effective Systems.” In Disciple
Making Is: How To Live The Great Commission With Passion And Confidence, 276.
Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman.
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and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share
the same Spirit.” He goes on further to state in Ephesians 4:11-12, “Now these are the gifts
Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and
teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church,
the body of Christ.” The church is synonymous with the Body of Christ. Again, I reference the 3
P’s, Passion, Place and Purpose. When a life-giving church is exercising these three things
effectively, this is when churches will experience health and momentum that moves the mission
of Jesus forward.
Within my local context, I serve in a multi-site setting that would more closely identify
with a blend of an Attractional, Hybrid model as well as some Organic overtones. Our mission is
to ‘introduce people to Jesus and the life-changing adventure with Him.’ Our vision in how we
are going to do this is, ‘we create communities where people know that they matter and live like
it.’
And how do the people know that they matter? By, knowing God, finding freedom,
discovering their purpose and ultimately making a difference. Our primary vehicle for knowing
God is through the format of a weekend service. How does one Find Freedom – through the
context of a life-giving group. How does one discover their purpose? Through attending our
Growth Track experience. Lastly, how does one make a difference – by joining the DreamTeam
living out God’s dream for them through a serving role aligned to their gifts.
Personal Ministry and Healthy Church Assessment
I’d preface this section by saying that throughout this past year dealing with the current
climate in the pandemic, each of us have had to re-calibrate and evaluate how we measure
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success. Personally, my toughest interactions with the assessment occurred within the top section
in Love for God. It’s extremely tough to accurately evaluate our local context unless we survey
various segments of our DreamTeam or key leaders in specific key areas such as: A majority of
the saints have daily quiet times, a majority of the saints are praying and listening daily for the
voice of Christ, believers are seeking to consistently be controlled by the Holy Spirit and lastly,
the saints are memorizing the Word of God. Unless we’re are not doing our jobs correctly as
leaders for our key DreamTeam Leaders, or a part of a life-giving group with them will we
accurately know how well we’re doing in these key indicators.
Where we’re ‘winning’ so to speak is in the areas of One Another and Love for Our
Neighbors. I believe through diligent work in these areas without boring you on the details of our
strategy that again, people are being saved, saved people are being pastored, pastored people are
being trained, and trained people are being mobilized. Areas I see for improvement are leaders
see their role as equipping and empowering the saints and leaders are being consistently
developed to make disciples.
One of the consistent lagging measures we find ourselves facing at times, is helping our
best leaders to not just stay where they are but encourage others around them, even themselves to
take a next step, just one. Lately, we tell them if you find yourself doing ministry instead of
leading ministry, you’re missing the point. Give away what you know and trust God with the
rest.
Importance of the Local Church
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The church’s role in the discipleship process is paramount. Built upon the first mention of
Jesus in Matthew 16:18 where He says, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this
rock, I will build my church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it.” This indicates that
Jesus is the head and the founder of this church. Ephesians 4 referenced earlier that pastors are to
train, or equip the saints are to do the work of the ministry. Barnes Notes on the Bible accurately
explains:
“It properly refers to "the restoring of anything to its place;" then putting in order,
making complete, etc. Here it means that these various officers were appointed in order
that everything in the church might be well arranged or put into its proper place; or that
the church might be "complete." It is that Christians may have every possible advantage
for becoming complete in love, and knowledge, and order.” 3
As order is under construction and being implemented within the local church, spiritual
growth is the next phase of emphasis. This growth involves the disciple discovering and
developing his or her gift, within the body, to it’s full potential, for Christ and His Kingdom. As
the individual believer grows and matures, the body becomes healthier. The more parts of the
body that are working “properly”, the healthier the body becomes. 4
We also have to seek to find that evangelism plays a key role in the growth and outward
reach of the local church. Yiner Josue Huaycani Cotrado writes, “Ultimately, discipleship is
3 “Ephesians 4 Barnes’ Notes.” n.d. Biblehub.Com. Accessed February 15, 2021.
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/barnes/ephesians/4.htm.
4 Earley, Dave, and Rod Dempsey. 2013. “Knowing the Centrality of the Church.”
In Disciple Making Is: How To Live The Great Commission With Passion And
Confidence, 41. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman.
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witnessing. The text of Acts 2:47 indicates that the church “has favor with all the people”: that is,
community service. This is a neglected facet of discipleship. In highlighting God's great acts on
behalf of man, God's love for humanity in general must also be highlighted.” 5
Faithfully living to Know God more intimately within the leadership top down must be
sought. Malan Nel writes,
“Within a spirit of discipleship (a spirit of learning how to live life faithful to the
Christ), members then experience being built up for what they are called to give
through to the world, not only collectively but also individually. The ministry of
the ministers, however understood (cf. among others Hirsch & Catchim 2012), is
to equip for ministry (cf. also Kok 2015): in the case of this article, to equip for
the ministry of seeking and working for righteousness in the lives of individuals
and within systems.” 6
Conclusion
In conclusion, I’m reminded of a question asked by Andy Stanley that routinely comes up
in conversations for me. That is, “What does love require of me?” It in context, it requires me to
help believers grow and develop into maturity. The more people grow and develop, the healthier
they become. The healthier they become, the healthier the body becomes. Jesus continues to be
5 Josue Huaycani Cotrado, Yiner. 2020. “Principles of Discipleship and Church Growth
from Acts 2:46‐47.” International Review of Missions 109, no. 2: 328–39.
6 Nel, Malan. "Discipleship: Seeking the ‘Kingdom and His Righteousness’." Hervormde
Teologiese Studies 73, no. 4 (2017), http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F
%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals%2Fdiscipleship-seeking-kingdom-his-
righteousness%2Fdocview%2F2332156322%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D12085.
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seen and heard. The visible, strong, and healthy body of Christ continues to go about
“proclaiming” good new to the poor, freedom to the captives and to set free the oppressed” (Luke
4:18-19). 7
Bibliography
Earley, Dave, and Rod Dempsey. 2013. “Discovering Effective Systems.” In Disciple
Making Is: How To Live The Great Commission With Passion And Confidence. Nashville, TN:
Broadman & Holman.
“Ephesians 4 Barnes’ Notes.” n.d. Biblehub.Com. Accessed February 15, 2021.
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/barnes/ephesians/4.htm.
7 Earley, Dave, and Rod Dempsey. 2013. “Knowing the Centrality of the Church.”
In Disciple Making Is: How To Live The Great Commission With Passion And
Confidence, 43. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman.
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Josue Huaycani Cotrado, Yiner. 2020. “Principles of Discipleship and Church Growth from Acts
2:46‐47.” International Review of Missions 109, no. 2: 328–39.
Nel, Malan. "Discipleship: Seeking the ‘Kingdom and His Righteousness’." Hervormde
Teologiese Studies 73, no. 4 (2017), http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F
%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals%2Fdiscipleship-seeking-kingdom-his-
righteousness%2Fdocview%2F2332156322%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D12085.
