Discipleship Ministry Observation
Michael Shane Bruce
DSMN 500: Discipleship Ministries
March 10, 2023
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There is a sad reality in many parts of the United States where a drive through any city
will expose many churches that experienced years of spiritual and numerical growth but now sit
virtually empty and dead. On that drive, you are likely to pass churches full of people on Sunday
but whose members are self-absorbed and focused on the entertainment value of the church. The
problem with both examples is that the church has lost its focus and no longer strives to live out
the God-given purpose of discipleship. Having observed the discipleship ministry at Johnson
Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia, I intend to describe the ministry and provide six
lessons learned from that observing process.
Description of the Discipleship Ministry
Johnson Ferry Baptist Church is located in an affluent suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. It is
about to celebrate a fortieth anniversary. It is currently undergoing a leadership transition,
beginning in 2019, when the founding pastor, Bryant Wright, retired because he no longer had a
vision for the church. Clay Smith, the new Senior Pastor, came in with a vision to transform the
culture from one focused on excellence in programming and events to a church that makes
disciples.
Rod Dempsey defines a disciple as “a person who has trusted Christ for salvation and has
surrendered completely to Him. He or she is committed to practicing the spiritual disciplines in
community and developing to their full potential for Christ and His mission.”1 That definition is
a good one because it provides both the elements of salvation from evangelism and the
responsibility to continue developing the characteristics of a Christ follower. The discipleship
ministry that I observed at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church leverages both aspects of that definition
in a highly reproducible and organic way.
1 Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is . . .: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence (Nashville, Tennessee: B&H Academic, 2013), 28.
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The ministry is called 4:19 groups and based on Matthew 4:19, where Jesus calls the two
brothers, Peter and Andrew, to follow Him. The reason for calling them was specific. He wanted
to make them “fishers of men.” When developing the format of 4:19 groups, the ministry team
intentionally kept it simple and repeatable. The basic concept is that the group is formed because
one or two leaders have been sharing their faith with their lost friends and neighbors and
encouraging other believers who are not growing in their faith. This combination of strong
believers, whom they call disciple-makers, and people in need of discipleship form the new 4:19
group.
The stated purpose of the group is to “learn how to be disciples of Jesus Christ: to follow
Jesus (head), be changed by Jesus (heart), and commit to the mission of Jesus (hands).2 There are
three components of the meeting. The first is to look back. This time is focused on blessings and
burdens that can be prayed for and looking at action steps stemming from the last meeting. There
is also a discussion about any Gospel conversations that were had that week. These Gospel
Conversations are a central priority for discussion.
The second part of the meeting is to look up. The Bible is the only material used for these
meetings, and the leader is encouraged to use the Gospels and other Gospel-centered texts. First,
several people will read the selected text, usually twelve to fourteen verses, and then someone
summarizes or retells the passage in their own words. Then the group continues to discuss and
reflect on what the text says. Specifically, they focus on what the passage says about God
(Father, Son, Holy Spirit), about other people in the text, and they look for promises, commands,
or examples. Finally, they discuss what was found to be important or challenging in the passage.
2 “Facilitator Card,” simplebooklet.com, accessed March 10, 2023,
https://simplebooklet.com/facilitatortrifoldguide.
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In the final step of the meeting, they look forward. This step is all about taking the text
and challenging one another to grow from it. The group takes a minute or two to pray and reflect
on how the Lord would have them think or act differently based on what the text says. Then each
member is asked to share that takeaway with the group, which will prompt an accountability step
in the next meetings step one. Once that is done, the leader trains on a new strategy for sharing
the Gospel with others in every meeting. Examples are Care through Prayer, 15 Second
Testimony, and Three Circles. If they have already trained on several, the group takes time to
practice sharing. Then the meeting is closed with a prayer to provide obedience to the identified
promised takeaways and that the group members will have a burden for the lost, opportunity to
share, and boldness to share their faith.
It does not take many meetings for each member to learn how to lead the 4:19 group
format and to become well-practiced in the strategies for sharing their faith. The next step is to
step outside of the comfort of that group and start a new one filled with people with whom they
have been sharing their faith. Johnson Ferry's vision is to train and equip 1000 disciple-makers in
five years. One year into the new strategy, over three hundred new leaders have launched
multiple groups.
Six Insights of Discipleship Ministry
Having spent time observing, participating, and leading 4:19 groups at Johnson Ferry
Baptist Church, there are several insights that I have gleaned throughout the process. The first is
that it is easy for churches to lose their focus and forget about discipleship. While I was a part of
the leadership team that developed the program, every single week, something happens, or some
opportunity presents itself to lose focus. Mission-focused churches do not lose that focus.
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The second insight is that, even though high attraction and high entertainment value
events have their place in ministry, the most simple ministries often make the largest impact. At
Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, we often have huge events with thousands of people where every
light is programmed and led by nationally renowned speakers. In my experience, those events are
great and bring in many guests. The 4:19 group ministry, however, is the closest I have seen to
reflect Jesus Christ's own earthly ministry.
The third insight is that it is not any man's job or responsibility to convince people to
accept Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 3:6, Paul points to this eternal truth when he proclaims that while
he has a role, it is God who gave the increase. As a minister, it is easy to want salvation so badly
for those we pray for and love, but perspective helps provide patience and endurance.
The fourth insight is that relationship without truth is comfortable but provides no
growth. Isaiah 55:11 proclaims that the Word of God always accomplishes its purpose and never
fails. Reading the Scripture, even without inductive study, discussing what the text says, and
making applications to our lives is powerful. Challenging one another to grow and change, based
on that Word, is life-changing.
The fifth insight is that multiplication is a key step in discipleship. If the gathering of
believers (the Church) has a purpose to make disciples, believers must share their faith. A group
gathering to study God’s Word, with no focus on multiplication, can be fruitful, but it is not
discipleship.
Finally, the last insight is even a new believer can study God’s Word, participate in
discipleship, and share their faith. It is easy to delay this important growth aspect until someone
has enough training or has been a believer long enough. There are plenty of examples throughout
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Scripture where people, such as the woman at the well, believed and immediately started telling
people how Jesus changed their lives. May we follow that example while we train and grow.
Conclusion
Discipleship comes directly from the heart of God. He commands the Church and all
believers to make disciples, and He personally provides a model on how to do it from His
ministry on earth. While the 4:19 group discipleship ministry is not perfect, it is a simple format
that has been replicated by hundreds of groups in a short time. Observing the ministry has
provided valuable insights that I hope to leverage both personally and in vocational ministry.
Bibliography
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Earley, Dave, and Rod Dempsey. Disciple Making Is . . .: How to Live the Great Commission
with Passion and Confidence. Nashville, Tennessee: B&H Academic, 2013.
Simplebooklet.com. “Facilitator Card.” Accessed March 10, 2023.
https://simplebooklet.com/facilitatortrifoldguide.
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