LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Written Assignment 3 – Disciple Making in a Healthy Church Assignment
Submitted to Dr. Gary Waller,
"in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 500–D06
Discipleship Ministries
by
Jerrold Hinton
November 23, 2021
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction ....................................................................................................................1
The Making of a Disciple ..............................................................................................1
The Body of Christ ........................................................................................................3
Healthy Church Assessment ..........................................................................................5
Conclusion .....................................................................................................................7
Bibliography...................................................................................................................9
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Introduction
Discipleship has always been an important aspect of building and maintaining a
robust and healthy church, dating back to the early church's founding. In Matthew 16:18,
Jesus uses the term "church" for the first time in a conversation with Peter. Jesus said,
“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and
the gates of Hades will not overpower it."1 Before the church was ever built, this was
only the beginning of God's plan. As we progress through the book of Acts, we see the
church increase in strength and numbers as more people repent and accept Jesus as their
Lord and Savior. Coming together in prayer, fellowship, teaching, and carrying out Jesus'
Great Commission to go forth into the world and make new disciples "in fear of the Lord
and in encouragement of the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:31)." According to Chan, "While every
individual needs to obey Jesus’s call to follow, we cannot follow Jesus as individuals. The
proper context for every disciple maker is the church."2 This report will look at how to
make a disciple in the framework of a healthy church, the body of Christ, a review of the
Church that I am a member of, and a look at the various roles that play a role in God's
plan for discipleship.
The Making of a Disciple
Many believers who have made a commitment to Christ have lost their path throughout
their journey with Him. While there are a variety of reasons for a disciple to drift away from their
connection with Christ, all too often it boils down to the fact that they did not grow their walk
before making the decision to do so. This is a common occurrence in today's churches, yet it
1 Unless otherwise noted, all scriptures will be from the NASB.
2 Francis Chan, Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook Distribution
Canada, 2012), 51.
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does not always mean the church is bad.; rather, it indicates that the church was ill-equipped to
train and teach the numerous Christians there. Your race is a mental as well as a spiritual battle.
God renews your thinking over and over as you respond to His message and purposes. And you
become the person He has always intended for you to be. If you are conformed to this world, you
will not win the race. The world around you, which refuses to believe, is not even in the race.
They are also unable to comprehend it because their minds have been blinded to the reality of
God's message. However, because you have come to know and value Christ Jesus, you now see
the world through the eyes of faith. And you understand that dropping out of the race would be a
waste of your life. You do not let the world's dazzling enticements divert your attention and lead
you wrong. In discussing the "triple threat" Ken puts it this way, "The enticements of this world
can be terribly strong. You cannot reason them away. This is where the “renewing of your mind”
really comes in."3 That is why it is vital for a church to have a plan in place for making disciples,
one that will not only train but also encourage individuals who want to follow Jesus. Morton
writes the church is "the place where the truth about God, humanity, sin, and salvation are read,
heard, preached, taught, accepted, believed, and lived." Our objective is to train, equip, serve,
and promote the Gospel as the church is made up of one body, the body of Christ. Making certain
that we follow the description of the body of Christ given in the book of Acts, which is one that
gathers in prayer, fellowship, teaching, and to carry out the Lord's Great Commission. The pastor
is called to train or equip the church's believers to undertake the task of ministry, starting with the
church's leadership. The pastor is responsible for assisting people in maturing not just in their
understanding of who Christ is, but also in their understanding of what God has called them to do
in their life to serve others. A classic example can be seen in my calling my pastor to assist me
3 Ken, and Ken. “Overcoming in Christ: Rules to Win Your Race.” Released to Fly, 13 Jan. 2020,
https://releasedtofly.com/overcoming-in-christ-rules-to-win-your-race/.
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with understanding this course written assignment. The pastor readily helps all his flock in
comprehending and growing in their spiritual gift they have been given and how it can be used to
help the body of Christ work together in love. As a believer matures in their understanding of
their spiritual talent and calling from Christ, the body of Christ grows stronger as well. God
intended for the body of Christ to work together in building each other up, teaching and learning
from one another to strengthen the body of Christ in its defense against Satan's plot to tear it
down. The desire and willingness of the individual to continue to learn and grow is one of the
most crucial aspects of the disciple-making process. Dempsey notes, "Truly following Jesus will
result in our turning from our old lifestyles of sin and turning to God in complete trust in Jesus
and in determined obedience to His Word. Such a conversion results in a truly changed life".4
Individuals must embrace responsibility for their own spiritual renewal. It is their mind! They
will have to learn to think as God does. The person must get rid of their sinful attitude, negative,
critical mind patterns, and selfish thoughts. Although Jesus did not intend for us to walk alone,
He did want us to walk in communion with one another and grow in small groups with the help
of spiritual directors. Individuals, on the other hand, must join small groups and grow with others
to participate in the church's mission.
The Body of Christ
When we pass a church and observe many people heading in for Sunday service,
we say to ourselves, "Hey, that must be a good house of worship! There are a lot of
people attending." However, it is commonly misunderstood that the number of members
or the size of the church are not indicators of its strength or health. Instead, as Jesus has
commanded us all, we must make disciples of all nations, the health of the church should
4 Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville, Tennessee, B & H Publishing Group, 2013, Chapter 6.
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be assessed by the training and efficacy of their discipleship. When speaking to the
people of Corinth, the disciple Paul gives various illustrations of what a healthy church
should look like and how it sustains itself. As we have all been baptized in the name of
Jesus and should peform as such, Paul says that scripture is what gives us our direction as
a church to operate as one body. I share the thoughts of Cervinca who states "Today's
church operates much like a business, but the Biblical church functioned more as a
family. The church did not own property and was not encumbered by mortgages and full-
time salaries. There was no formal membership. If an individual evidenced a genuine
faith in Christ, He was freely accepted as a fellow brother in Christ."5 As we gather in
fellowship, discipleship, ministry, evangelism, and worship, the body of Christ is to
imitate and mirror the life of Jesus Christ.
Before the church was ever created, Jesus had an unclouded vision of what He
wanted His church to be. This was to become the body of Christ, and everybody who
joins that body is born again in faith through Jesus Christ. By becoming a member of the
body of Christ, everyone has a responsibility to play in helping the church honor and
glorify God and grow into a healthy church. Dempsey and Earley analyze four basic
church structure types in connection to discipleship, noting both the benefits and
drawbacks of each model. The traditional model, which is the most frequent, is led by a
senior pastor who oversees most of the church's leadership. This church, on the other
hand, is more concerned with "soul-winning" than with evangelism. The second form is
the attractional model, which lives up to its name as the "come and see" church. This
style is exclusively focused on evangelism, to the point where non-believers and
5 Cervinka, Mitch. The Biblical Model for Church Organization,
http://members.toast.net/puritan/Articles/ChurchOrganization_f.htm.
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members of other churches are invited to see what God is doing in their church. The third
is the organic model, which is best described as a church led by a team of leaders who
follow a more reasonable and straightforward approach to church. Organizing itself into
small groups with incarnational relationships that carry out the goal in the community.
Finally, there is the hybrid church, which blends aspects from both organic and
attractional churches. Everyone participates in making disciples in this model by
engaging in both small groups to encourage those already in the church and setting up an
"attraction" to bring individuals outside the church to see how God is working in their
church.
Healthy Church Assessment
Shiloh Baptist Church of Alexandria, Virginia is pastor and deacon led and falls
into the hybrid group, according to the results of the healthy church evaluation. The
church location is now most definitely hybrid due to COVID-19 regulations affecting this
church body. Worship and church interactions are now broadcast to a global audience via
YouTube, Facebook, Periscope, Zoom, and the church's digital channels. I would not go
out on a limb and say the church's presence in the community is exclusively incarnational
because Shiloh has been in existence for 158 years. I believe that the church's placement
in the heart of Alexandria has become more of a habit — it sorts of falls into all the
categories. Again, because I am neither the pastor nor a member of his administrative
team, I am unsure what complexity means. However, rather than err on the side of
caution, the complexity is certainly hybrid. Shiloh does not practice simple evangelism,
and it is safe to state that the church falls between the attractional and hybrid categories,
since it continues to win souls. Discipleship is unquestionably a mix. I am not implying
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that Shiloh does not have small groups. The pastor does not refer to them as small groups
but has ministries such as the men's seminars and training, as well as other types of
classes that can be termed small groups. Because of our church's age and history, change
is tolerated but not well received. There are certain deeply rooted difficulties that will
only be resolved with time. Because this is what the church's mission is seeking to
achieve, I can see spiritual development actively involved with people and communities
because that is what the church's mission is seeking to do. The church has many ways for
people to give. "Each one must do just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or
under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7). The church is
both hybrid and organic in giving. People can donate online with a debit or credit card
from their bank account. With a single text message, they may give instantaneously from
the convenience of their mobile device. Anyone can donate to the church by downloading
the Shiloh Baptist Church of Alexandria app and utilizing it to give from their mobile
device. For individuals who prefer to pay with cash, the church has a cash app account.
Those who prefer to send their donations by snail mail should send them to the church's
address. To be honest, the church does have a need for tangible gifts as well as spiritual
gifts. Every donation is needed. This church is like that because we place a high value on
spiritual gifts. People's growth engines, I believe, are more about upkeep and survival. I
believe that some people's reaction to the activity would be organic because we are not
yet there. The budget range is really appealing. Shiloh's worship can be classified as
attractional and hybrid, with a Sunday concentration. The church body life is truly open
prayer. Leadership philosophy is most often a mix. I do not believe the members fulfill
the senior pastor's objectives. He is a combination of hybrid and organic, therefore I
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would call him an equipped instructor. As a result, he is a multi-talented professional.
Except for a seniors' ministry that conducts an onsite 1-hour worship at the Ladre House
in Old Town Alexandria for the adult residents, the church is not involved in church
planting or has a satellite campus. A small number of church officers, choir members, a
musician, and the spiritual adviser for the seniors' ministry, who offers a mini sermon, are
among the attendees. Shiloh Baptist Church has a dynamic worship ministry with
musicians, several age groups choirs, performing arts, and dance ministries, all of which
contribute to worship and unique events. Christian Education has a solid teaching
program, and the church has a strong outreach program. A deficient administration is one
of the church's weak areas. Church unity is also lacking in the church. There is a need to
become more mission and Kingdom-focused citizens. Some of the necessary
modifications are challenging to achieve considering the pandemic. Gone are the days
when the church sang without musicians and worshippers patted the floor with their feet
to the beat of the music, then fellowshipped with embraces and handshakes after service.
Conclusion
Before the early church was founded, Jesus established a pattern for how He
intended His disciples to study, grow, and worship to build a healthy church. By everyone
being baptized in the name of the Lord and uniting to work, worship, pray, and
evangelize. In the manner we teach, serve, and assemble in service to become more like
Him, we are to love God, one another, and our neighbor as He has loved us. We are
compelled to interact with people in a highly personal way because of Jesus' approach of
discipleship. It is a living model. It is inspired by love and propelled by the Holy Spirit,
yielding amazing results. Disciples are handcrafted, one life at a time, not mass-produced
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in a weekly church service or class, as Jesus' technique demonstrates. Making disciples is
a task for ordinary people. The Great Commission should be followed by every disciple
who is compelled by love and wants to be like Jesus. Too many Christians believe that
discipleship is only for pastors and professionals. If there is one thing Jesus' mission
taught us, it is that anyone, no matter who they are, can become a disciple maker.
Through these commitments, each person is held accountable for assisting others in
developing their spiritual talents and becoming the person God has called them to be in
the body of Christ. The church cannot be considered healthy or effective in making
disciples unless everyone participates and fulfills their duty within the church. It is also
critical for anybody who decides to surrender their life to Christ to ensure that everyone,
including the pastor, the saints, and the disciples, remain committed to carrying out the
Great Commission.
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Bibliography
The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible, NASB.
Francis Chan, Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook
Distribution Canada, 2012), 51.
Ken, and Ken. “Overcoming in Christ: Rules to Win Your Race.” Released to Fly, 13 Jan 2020,
https://releasedtofly.com/overcoming-in-christ-rules-to-win-your-race/.
Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making is…: How to Live the Great Commission with
Passion and Confidence, Nashville, Tennessee, B & H Publishing Group, 2013, 50.
Cervinka, Mitch. The Biblical Model for Church Organization,
http://members.toast.net/puritan/Articles/ChurchOrganization_f.htm.
