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Spheres and Stages of
Discipleship
Discipleship Ministries (Liberty University)
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LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Spheres and Stages of Discipleship
Submitted to Dr. James Sulfridge
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 500:
Discipleship Ministries
by
Jason A. Parrish
September 7, 2022
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Table of Contents
Stages and Spheres of Discipleship 3
Personal Assessment for Stage of Discipleship 7
Personal Assessment for Centrality of Christ
8 Conclusion 9
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Stages and Spheres of Discipleship
In our walk with the LORD, different stages represent what’s been called spiritual
maturity. Those five stages are spiritually dead, infant, child, young adult, and parent. Each of
these stages is important to be known because it allows for the person to know where they’re at
spiritually. It’s also suitable for the person walking alongside them in discipleship because they
know specific steps to use with them to help them grow in their journey. It’s crucial for the
person being a disciple to recognize where they are spiritually because it’s an essential step in
moving from the worldly life they lived to a life centered around Jesus. “Discipleship only
occurs as the disciple takes the next step of dependence upon, obedience to, and abandonment
for Jesus.”1 Moving from a self-centered person to one that looks to Christ alone is how
transformation happens. That level of dependency on God and lack of self-reliance determines
the stages of spiritual maturity.
The first stage is that of those who are spiritually dead. This title represents more than those
who know of Christ but have no fruit in their lives. It also is for those who disregard Jesus
entirely. The extent of rejection doesn’t matter, as they can fall on several different places of
the spectrum. Although most Christians might not engage with such people, it’s a large
majority of the world, despite what statistics suggest. From personal experience, each time I
shared on my college campus, I would get seven out of ten that say they are, in fact, a
Christian. Does this mean that 70% of college students are Christian? No. Once additional
questions are asked, such as why they’re Christian, you understand that many people who
claim Christ have never genuinely called upon him. So when conversing with someone from
this category, your main
objective should be to love them, introduce them to Jesus, and explain why they need a savior.
1Earley, Dave, and Rod Dempsey. Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2013.
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The second stage is someone who is an infant in spiritual maturity. This is the point directly
after becoming a born-again Christian. In this stage, discipleship is the most important because it
guides the person into conforming to their living as a new creation turning away from the
worldly way they used to live. Discipleship is highly needed in all stages, but most importantly,
this one. This would make up new Christians and those people that grew up in church and made
a genuine confession but were maybe never guided in how to live a life for Christ. In this stage,
as said by Putman et al., “they need the truths of the Christian faith taught and modeled for
them. And they need to develop new habits that form new patterns for living as a follower of
Christ.”2 From personal experience, the person that helped them get to the point of calling on
Christ becomes their spiritual parent, so it’s their responsibility to lead that discipleship. If a
lukewarm Christian was never taught how to pursue Christ, then it’s whomever they feel
comfortable meeting with to have that discipleship relationship.
The third stage is someone who has grown but is still a “child” in their faith. People in this
stage are starting to believe in God’s word and apply it to their lives but are still very self-
centered without much reliance upon God. This stage is where I think most churchgoers fall
because most people in this stage (from personal experience) seek what they can gain from
church instead of what they can give. There is still much maturing needed before they go into
teaching others because if they don’t grow dependent on God, they’ll teach others the same
selfishness they have. As said by Putman et al., “They need to learn to trust God in obedience,
doing what the Word says rather than what their feelings tell them to do.”3 It’s the
responsibility of the person discipling to help them discover who they are in Christ and to build
strong
2 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.
3 Ibid.
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friendships with other believers. From here, they will hopefully grow from someone self-
centered to someone that seeks the will of the LORD.
The fourth stage is someone who has grown significantly but needs to work on putting God
and others first. In this stage, they’re starting to serve others and the church, but personal gain
can sometimes burden them. As the text says, these people want to serve in significant capacities
and are starting to minister to others. Primary needs for someone in this stage are to find where
they can help, find a spiritual mentor, maybe a pastor or deacon of the church, and create deep
relationships with others they can rely on for guidance and accountability. After prayer, some
time, and help from others, they will discover their gifts and be able to use them to serve the
church more effectively.
The fifth stage is someone who understands growth never stops and is at a point in their walk
where they’re discipling/teaching others. In this stage, you obtain the responsibility of walking
alongside a person/s to be a guide and resource to them in their spiritual journey. You are to help
them grow and eventually become a spiritual parent so you can work alongside the LORD to
make disciples that make disciples that make disciples, and so on. As a spiritual parent, you have
already established friendships for accountability and encouragement, are discipling another, and
are serving the church in some capacity, so the main goal is to look out for the needs of less
spiritually mature people. In this stage, a suggestion would be to guard yourself against
complacency and comfort while not letting yourself grow stagnant.
When looking at the spheres of discipleship, there are four our relationship to God,
relationship with God’s family (the church), our home life, and connection to the world.
Each represents how we interact with every aspect of life as followers of Jesus.
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The first sphere is our relationship with God. The text states, “This sphere is the core, the
hub that unites the other spheres together. If we forget that we are saved by grace, that our
security and strength are from God and not from ourselves, then we fall into a form of salvation
by works.”4 If we aren’t walking with God, we don’t have an excellent foundation to build other
relationships. Everything we do should be to bring glory upon Christ, so if we don’t have a
strong relationship with him, then all our other relationships are strictly personal and nothing
more. We need to submit what our desires are to pursue the will of the kingdom.
The second sphere is our relationship with other followers in the church. These relationships
are essential because it’s directly our community of others who are after the same thing. Each
person in the church needs to work together to ensure that the Great Commission of Matthew
28:19 is fulfilled. Our relationships in the church are to worship, learn, and love one another for
the LORD. As said by Putman et al., “If the first sphere of relationship is our relationship with
Jesus, it should naturally lead us to living with and loving others in the second sphere, our
relationships within the family of God.”5 Each sphere should go directly back to our core
relationship with God.
The third sphere is our home life, where we are to establish our core relationship with Christ
in the middle. All relationships we have with family should have Jesus in the middle to develop
a foundation to build upon. Putman et al. state it very clearly: “Not every Christian has the gift
of leadership, but every believer is supposed to make disciples, and the most important place to
focus is in our homes. I have always been convicted that it would be my biggest failure to win
the whole world and lose my own children.”6 This has constantly been a fear of mine since my
4Ibid.
5Ibid.
6Ibid.
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wife and I have only been married three months, and I’ve only served in full-time ministry for
less than a month. I aim to balance family and work well, not focusing on one more than the
other. This won’t be possible at all times, but this is my objective at a standard.
The fourth and last sphere is our relationship with those of the world. This relationship is
significant because how we interact with others is how we are perceived. Not in an arrogant kind
of way, but that if we are viewed as unfavorable and to be avoided by the community, how are
we supposed to share the good news of Christ with others? We need to be a light in our
community displaying love to all. From this, you will establish friendships and most likely have
opportunities to share Jesus with others.
Personal Assessment for Stage of Discipleship
Looking upon the stages of discipleship, there was prominent contemplation about where
I would place myself. I struggled because I wanted to put myself in the young adult category,
but I’m currently discipling and teaching others, so it felt like I was being too modest. So, I
asked my wife and friend to place me, and both said I would fall under the parent category.
From this, I accepted it and decided that would be the stage I write in as where I think I fall.
There are many reasons for this, but also reasons that support me being in the young adult stage.
Reasons that support me being in the parent category are where I am currently. I recently
started as a children’s minister for a local church. My lack of ordination is why I’m a minister
instead of a pastor, as my position directly is a pastoral position without the title. Outside of this,
I’m going through the Bible with two younger men, although one has recently been inconsistent.
One of the young men is a college student, and we decided to go through the Gospels this
semester. Last semester we went through Proverbs. The other is friendship discipleship, as he is
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still very young in his faith, so he reads scripture and sits down for him to ask questions. This has
been an excellent experience for me as it has allowed me to dive into scripture with him and be
challenged in growing in biblical knowledge. So significant reasons in my life to categorize
myself as a spiritual parent are directly due to my responsibilities of teaching the church’s
children and walking alongside those two younger men.
When looking at spiritual maturity, it’s easy to get caught up in how “I” grow while
missing opportunities. The best thing to do from experience is to go to the LORD, where
growth is needed while looking for opportunities. This has led to more development for me than
anything else. Our spiritual maturity can be measured by how we treat others, friends, family, or
strangers. Ephesians 4:15 tells us, “but speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into
Him who is the head – Christ” (CSB). This gives us our responsibilities directly in how to treat
others while growing into the image of Christ.
Personal Assessment for Centrality of Christ
As a follower of Christ, we are commanded to do certain things. We are commanded to
love God and love one another. We are also commanded to submit to Jesus as LORD. This is
essential to following Jesus because we rely on ourselves for growth if we aren’t submitting to
God in our lives. The lack of self-reliance is fundamental in our walk with the LORD because it
allows us to not seek after our desires but those of Jesus Christ. As said by Bonhoeffer, “As
believers understand their identity, they are empowered by God to flesh out their identity in
everyday life. Leaders who view discipleship through the lens of identity encourage and train
people to live in response to the great identity God has given. Instead of beginning with
behavior, leaders remind people of who they are in Christ. They connect the commands of God
to the identity he secures for his followers, presenting obedience as the overflow of
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understanding and living the new nature Christ has given.”7 In all situations, Jesus should be our
centerpiece and the focus of what we do. All of our relationships should have Jesus in the center
as well. A life centered around the LORD and the will of the Father is a life that is for glory to
God and not for oneself. I firmly believe that I have a centrality of Jesus in most spheres of life,
but I’m not perfect, so growth in certain areas is needed. Fortunately, I have great mentors and
friends in my life who help guide me into growth.
Conclusion
In discipleship, a person can grow significantly from the infant stage and, if done
correctly, can lead to them discipling another. It’s vital that discipleship is done correctly and
that the person learns the importance of submitting their lives to Jesus while growing in
relationship to multiple areas. As said by Brandon Frank, “It is through submitting to Christ that
someone may become a disciple and begin correctly relating to each of the four spheres of life
while moving through each of the five stages of discipleship.”8 Growth comes from submitting
more of yourself to Jesus in each sphere. These two measurements rely on each other because
they work together to provide a complete placement.
Submission to Jesus comes in many different areas, as described above, through the four
spheres. We are to have a relationship with God, which will alone become the core to which we
build the other relationships. Another is our relationship with the church and its members. From
this, we are to love and work alongside others to pursue the commands we are given. Next is our
family relationships and how we are to function with them. As with each set, our relationship is
to start on the basis that Christ is in the center. Then we are to work alongside or even share with
7Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 4. Minneapolis: First Fortress Press, 2003. 59.
8Frank, Brandon. "Discipleship Ministries: Spheres and Stages of Discipleship.
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our family to teach and reveal the love of Jesus Christ. Lastly is our relationship with the world
and keeping Christ at the center. This can be tricky considering the people of the world are
participating in activities that are contrary to what the Christian can do, so it’s easy to get
influenced by them and want to participate. This is where reliance upon God and submission to
the will become necessary as they help to prevent falling into this temptation. In each of these
spheres, there must be a complete submission to the LORD for His will to be done in that
relationship. You are to trust that He will work in you and provide you with all that’s necessary
to be effective. As said by Earley and Dempsey, “God wants to use every circumstance, event,
and experience in our lives as part of our spiritual formation. It is amazing to think that every
event in life, good or bad, is orchestrated by God and can make us more like Jesus if we allow it
to do so.”9 We are to trust God in all times, both the good and the bad. This submission becomes
the best for growth and helps us go from spiritual infants to spiritual parents.
9Earley, Dave, and Rod Dempsey. Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2018. 31.
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Bibliography
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 4. Minneapolis: First Fortress Press,
2003.
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… Nashville: B&H Publishing Group,
2018.
Frank, Brandon. "Discipleship Ministries: Spheres and Stages of Discipleship."
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.
