DISCIPLE MAKING PLAN
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A Paper
Presented to
Dr. Fernando Abella
Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary
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In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Course
DSMN 500-B07 LUO
Discipleship Ministries
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by
Sherika Scales
July 2017
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Table of Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………………….…………….3
Vision……………………………………………………………………….……………………..3
Values………………………………………………………………………………………...…...4
Views……………………………………………………………………….…………………….6
Vehicles………………………………………...…………………………….……………………8
Verifiers…………………………………………………………………….……………………10
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….……….……...11
Bibliography………………………………………………………...…….…………………….13
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Introduction
Winning souls for Christ is an action, not just a lip service. The local church that I attend
is known as “The Mega Ment.” Even as God’s creation of man was out of desire for family, our
ultimate purpose is to win souls for Christ, then share the love of what a family unit represents so
that they continued to stay rooted and grounded in Him. By accepting each person as an intricate
part of the family, we are capable of building relationships that exist for generations. To progress
in our church’s plan to create disciples for Christ, the resulting plan for making disciples will be
given to the leadership of our church. This plan will contain a comprehensive assessment of our
vision, values, views, vehicles, and verifiers. This action plan will give a new lease of life on our
evangelistic ministry by clarifying the importance of each level and how we will be able to
enlarge our overall efficiency within our community.
Vision
Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) implies “where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that
keepth the law, happy is he.” Mercifully, our church has a vision. The vision for our church is
the following:
1. To discharge the Ministry of Reconciliation, preaching and teaching the gospel of Jesus
Christ to all people of all nations (regardless of race, creed, color, gender, discrimination,
social and economic position or any other factor whatsoever).
2. To manage our affairs in the spirit of excellence, as good and faithful stewards of the
Lord, Jesus Christ.
3. To be vessels through whom the Father’s love is clearly reflected as lost and hurting
people are embraced.
4. To work diligently in building up the body of Christ as a united and integrated church in
which there are no distinctions or divisions, but in which Jesus Christ is all in all.
“Monument of Faith strives to contribute to the spiritual, personal, intellectual, relational, and
economic development of this community by providing Bible teaching, spiritual
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guidance/counseling, and motivational tools necessary for empowering God’s people. It is our
desire that this ministry strengthen its members to become the pillars of the community, men and
women of God who recognize no boundaries to what they can achieve.”1 We also want to center
our focus on young people millennials k18-35 years of age in our community. According to
Warren, “If you want to build a healthy, strong, and growing church you must spend time laying
a solid foundation.”2
Values
Our values are state that we will be servants of God by loving and forgiving one another
as it is taught by Jesus Christ. We share the Christian faith by being energized by the Holy Spirit.
Living righteous, as demonstrated by a lifestyle congruent with moral and biblical plans, spiritual
development, as exemplified through attending Sunday School, invigorating the family such as
building marriage, single and youth ministries. We provide economic support shown by our
accountability to tithing and giving offerings and we devote our time exemplified through
worship, servitude and prayer.
Embedded in these values is the division of youth ministry. There are many key verses
that serve as the basis for this plan. Ecclesiastes 12:1 says that when children are taught and
trained the right way, they will remember this when they are older. By giving a variety of
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“Monument of Faith Ministries, Inc.,” Monument of Faith, accessed July 27, 2017, https://themegament.com
2Warren, Rick. The Purpose Driven Church: Growth Without Compromising Your Message & Mission. Grand
Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1995.
activities, we can create a strong foundation for the youth in our church and surrounding
community before they are drawn in by the things of the world. We hope to reach them in their
young age and keep them engaged while building relationships that will help them remain with
our church and always with the Lord. Barna asserts, “Few believers have relationships that hold
them accountable for spiritual development.”3 The youth are more able to reach their peers most
realistically and, in turn, draw other young people to the ministry.
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Other passages that associate to our young people bring emphasis is in I John 2:14. The
youth are strong. The body of Christ needs vigilant, strong, and vibrant people to witness.
Though the older generation is still relevant and effective, the younger generation is needed
more. The young disciples have the ability and the strength to carry out God’s vision. They are
courageous, willing, and bold. They have no fear and they have more time where as adults have
limited time due to more responsibilities. Further, they have the health and energy to finish get
the job done.
A last key scripture that clarifies the need for a powerful discipleship program for our
youth is Acts 2:17 (KJV). “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out
My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men
shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” It has already been declared. Our young
children will usher in the final move of God prior to Christ’ return. They will bring forth the
Word of God. It is our responsibility to train them now before the world can ensnare and snatch
them. They must be taught how to live holy and display this lifestyle in their daily lives because
they represent Christ to the world.
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3George Barna, Growing True Disciples: New Strategies for Producing Genuine Followers of Christ (Colorado
Springs, Colo.: WaterBrook Press, 2001), 54.
Views
The most significant ministry view in discipling youth is to comprehend the different
generation they live in today. Though keep our focus on biblical teaching, our techniques must
adapt to reach them. Basics such as prayer, holiness, love and faith will not change. When, how
and where we hold church services can change. To reach the youth today, a ministry has to be
engaging and relevant. To make sure there is consistency, this plan of discipleship should use the
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following key footings as they relate to how the youth will be addressed. The vision can be
accomplished only by it being plain (Hab. 2:2). We must all speak the same language.
So, one may ask the question, what is church? Church is the building where people
assemble together to meet God in the community with others. Church is not tied to a specific
place; however, the two key elements of church the presence of the people and their focus on
God himself. Usually, there is a prearranged order of event but the Holy Spirit has the authority
to upset that plan.
The Pastor is the one who has final decision on what will occur at any event. Be it a
game night, service, or retreat, the Pastor is in charge whether he is or is not present. However,
there is always a designated and responsible person left in charge. The Pastor has authority for
the overall activities within or held by his/her church.
“Saints” is a word that is used to describe the people within the congregation or the
church. It is a popular term that means “all who love the Lord” or “everyone”. When working
with a youth ministry, it is rare to address them as “saints” even though they are considered one
as well. Traditionally, someone who has set themselves apart for the call of the Lord and who
lives out this lifestyle is considered a “saint”.
The gospel is the good news that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose on the third
day. His love is the good news for us and the redemptive work he did for us. In relation to a
youth ministry, this is the most vital term. The youth need to comprehend how much Jesus loves
them and what did for them. This is the very substance of Christianity.
The term evangelism is equal with outreach. Evangelism defines the many ways in
which we spread the word to others and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. The different ways we
do this may not be explicit, but they are effective. For example, giving out clothes is evangelism.
We are displaying love to those who have a need; we are not preaching Christ but we are
showing characteristics of Christ. Young Christians love to be active so inspiring them to do the
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Lord’s work, as Jesus did in his young age, proves to be an effective way to teach and
demonstrate evangelism (Lk. 2:49).
A disciple is someone who is able to follow. Young Christians need to comprehend that
they have to be followers of Christ. As they follow after Christ, the will be an example for other
youth and they may choose to follow them. A disciple is loyal, teachable, and willing to be a
model for Christ. Mitchell describes discipleship as “the process of preparing and equipping a
disciple-follower for the learning to come through the acquisition of the necessary perquisite
competencies (“powers”) facilitated by obedience, order, and organization and control.”4
A leader is one who has influence, according to John Maxwell.5 Every disciple should
display qualities of leadership some way. Their lives should be a living message (II Cor. 3:1-3).
To the young people, it simply means that they should live their lives in such a way that they
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4Michael R. Mitchell, Leading, Teaching, and Making Disciples: World-Class Education in the Church, School, and
Home (Bloomington, IN: CrossBooks, 2010), 137.
5John Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You (Nashville, TN:
Thomas Nelson, 2007.
influence others to change.
Vehicles
Even while the Lord gave complete plans to Moses as to the way he should build the
tabernacle, we should, too, have a distinct plan to win disciples (Ex. 26-27). Disciple-makers are
wise people (Prov. 11:30). To push the discipleship progression, our techniques will include
training programs for several different auxiliaries, youth panels, and outreach ministries that help
put plans into action. By creating these methods amongst our church’s current structure and
processes, this disciple making plan can be seamless and effective during implementation. Our
church’s institute is focused on directors for different sections of the ministry. Each director has
a group of people under them to help pursue the vision for its perspective places. These teams
are seen as small groups that formed relationships and work together. As described in the lecture
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notes, we have good systems and good people in place which will lead to maximized results.6
Events for different teams in our church are scheduled on the church’s main calendar, and
according to the approval of the pastor. All items on the budget are feed through the main church
treasury. If additional funds are needed, the team can ask we have the budget for it or we can
develop a fundraiser to meet the teams’ need.
The starting vehicle is to develop a youth panel. This youth panel will consist of youth
who presently attend and are a part of the age group we want to reach. This team of young
people will be in the forefront of the youth as well as advisory committee for developing ways
can reach other youth. They will focus their attention on the ideas of the youth ministry leaders
and give an explanation of whether the ideas will be relevant and effective.
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6 “Lecture Notes: Healthy Church Systems”, accessed March 11, 2016 from
https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-10607395-dt-content-rid-83914677_1/xid-83914677_1
The youth panel would present original ideas to the board of elders and the pastor in the church.
They will look for ways in to effectively disciple other young people as well as engage the
presently attending youth. The youth panel will consist of a small group that will meet on a
quarterly basis. As established in the “with/of/is” chart, discipleship is about working together
with other believers.7 By having a leadership team for the youth, we hope to reach other youth.
Secondly, a youth training program will serve as the next vehicle. First, all presently
attending young people will be asked to do a simple survey so that we can figure out where they
would like to serve in the overall ministry. We will then give these lists to the leaders over the
different teams in the church. The director will then review whether that particular young person
is a good fit for their desired ministry, or if they would better serve in another ministry or even
the same ministry but to other capacities. Afterwards, the youth will begin to train other young
people for serving in the designated ministries. The director of the ministry will figure out what
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the training curriculum will be. Devising a strategy to convey the curriculum will need to be
both exciting and enlightening. The material will also need to have activities presented that
pertain to the bible, specific, transferable, and measurable.7 It is critical that the students are able
to see the teacher’s love for the Word and God himself. This will be how the young people will
connect their participation with serving the Lord. This is a great way to disciple young people
because they like to remain active and it will keep them involved as well as give them the
fulfilment of serving God with their talents and gifts. An example of this is when a young person
does not want to be in a youth usher or in the youth choir, but has a passion for computers. This
youth could use his/her talents to help out the audio/visual ministry with projecting song lyrics
and scriptures on the screen during service. This young person now
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7Warren, 100-101.
feels that they are connected and adding value to the ministry and remains motivated to attend
services consistently. The audio/visual team is now growing as well. This young person will be
excited to share their experience with his/her friends about their involvement at church. Now,
ministry is growing again.
The last vehicle is what we consider the outreach/evangelism ministry. This is where we
will see the youth involved in the several different outreach ministries within the church they
participate in. Often, young people are overlooked when the church is looking for volunteers.
They are a vital piece of ministry and should be told their expectations regarding the act of
service they choose to participate in. God’s love should emanate through their service and it
should be personalized as they show what they have learned from the experience. The youth
should understand that he has responsibilities to fulfill and how they are his privilege to enjoy as
he serves the Lord.8 However, the main idea of getting youth involved and getting their buy-in
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will assist us to making new disciples. Youth want to be involved; they want to feel important
and needed just the same as adults. Moreover, young people love to help! By involving them in
the evangelism portion the church, young people will bring passion and fire, as well as their
friends. This concept demonstrates a multiplying church where, “workers from the harvest are
being developed and released to the mission”.9 This is discipleship at its finest!
Verifiers
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8Ibid, 114.
9“Lecture Notes: Leading a Healthy, Growing, and Multiplying Church”, accessed March 11, 2016 from
https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-10607396-dt-content-rid-83914678_1/xid-83914678_1
To document the progress made with the discipleship pan, we can gather data on our
present young people participation in different activities. This includes every ministry that
involves youth of any age. The data can be gathered by the youth panel or leadership team
through simple surveys. Quarterly, the counts will be calculated to measure whether the vehicles
are productive and successful. The outcome will be seen in the numbers. If any vehicle proves
to not be effective, we will use the advisory panel to help with feedback and more suggestions.
The young people who have not been actively engaged can also be connected with the advisory
committee. This way, we are able to find out new and innovative ways of reaching them. Our
purpose is for all attending young persons to be involved to some extent and keep coming.
Secondly, our goal is to add new young people and have them attending and participating as
well. Acts 2:47 tells us that the Lord can add to the church. Gauging our accomplishment is as
easy as determining if we are enhancing the church. If more youth start coming, we have
become effective.
Conclusion
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This plan for making disciples is focused on the youth. Our church is the place for family
and we want to continue adding to the family. Attracting the youth, who are an intricate part of
the future, we will create a courageous and strong generation that will maintain, revitalize and
multiply the ministry overall. We will be train our youth to be effective disciples. Through
training, outreach and advising, we will occupy the attending young people and encourage them
to win other young people. Once the youth that are attending become passionate about the
church and God, they are able to win others. The intended plan emulates the “win, grow, send”
philosophy. Our church will draw in the young people through countless activities and service
opportunities and produce disciples through involvement and training training and, finally, send
them out to evangelize and multiply new groups.10
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10Lecture Notes: Win, Grow, Send”, accessed March 11, 2016 from https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-
10607404-dt-content-rid-83914683_1/xid-83914683_1
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barna, George. Growing True Disciples: New Strategies for Producing Genuine Followers of
Christ. Colorado Springs, Colo.: WaterBrook Press, 2001.
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“Lecture Notes: Healthy Church Systems”. Accessed March 11, 2016 from
https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-10607395-dt-content-rid-83914677_1/xid-
83914677_1
“Lecture Notes: Leading a Healthy, Growing, and Multiplying Church”. Accessed March 11,
2016 from https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-10607396-dt-content-rid-
83914678_1/xid-83914678_1
“Lecture Notes: Win, Grow, Send”. Accessed March 11, 2016 from
https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-10607404-dt-content-rid-83914683_1/xid-
83914683_1Mitchell, Michael R. Leading, Teaching, and Making Disciples: World-Class
Education in the Church, School, and Home. Bloomington, IN: CrossBooks, 2010.
“Lecture Notes: With/Of/Is Chart”, accessed March 11, 2016 from
https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-10607417-dt-content-rid-83914686_1/xid-
83914686_1
Maxwell, John. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow
You. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2007.
Mitchell, Michael. Leading, Teaching, and Making Disciples: World-Class Education in the
Church, School, and Home. Bloomington, IN: CrossBooks, 2010.
Monument of Faith Ministries, Incorporated. https://themegament.com
Warren, Rick. The Purpose Driven Church: Growth Without Compromising Your Message &
Mission. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1995.
