LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 3 – DISCIPLE MAKING IN THE LOCAL CHURCH.
SUBMITTED TO DR. R. A. GOWINS
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE COURSE DSMN 500 LUO-D06
DISCIPLESHIP MINISTRIES
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
FACULTY OF LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
APRIL 15, 2017
Introduction
Being a disciple and making disciples occurs in a context of believers who have accepted
Jesus as their Lord and Savior and are passionately following Him. This context of following
Jesus, wanting to be more like Him is what is commonly referred to as the “church.” Jesus in
Matt 16:18, said “I will build My church” and from this prediction, the church of God was born
when Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost - Acts 2, and began to speak after he had been
empowered by the Holy Spirit to the people about their sinful ways, urging them to turn to God
and forsake their evil ways. Since then, the church of Jesus Christ has been in the business of
declaring the gospel, developing disciples, and then deploying the disciples to accomplish the
Great Commission of making disciples of all nations.
Disciple Making in the Local Church
The local church is the focal point for the development, fellowship training, and teaching
for disciples. In this environment, disciples are provided an essential ground to train as well as
learn how to live out their lives under the guidance and direction of Jesus Christ.
“Unhealthy churches do not make good environments for disciple making to occur.
Developing disciples needs to occur inside a healthy, active local body of believers. We would be
unwise to attempt to make disciples inside an unhealthy representation of the body of Christ
because the individual disciple is nurtured, cared for, and developed by the surrounding joints
and ligaments (Eph. 4:16) of the local body.”1
For the church to be effective in making disciples, there is a need to try other methods of
reaching folks other than what it has been used to before as it will not be able to effectively make
disciples from the pulpit, speaking to its members once or twice a week. When speaking of
1 Earley, Dave, and Rod Dempsey. Disciple Making Is–: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence. Pasadena, CA: B&H Academic, 2013.
relational environments, Putman states that Jesus defined the methodology of discipleship by his
own example in that He did not just stand in front of people admonishing them, but rather he
shared his life with the twelve that was with him. “He walked alongside people, having
conversations with them through the normal course of each day, holding people accountable, and
demonstrating spiritual truth to them directly.”2
The Local church is where the new believer is developed and nurtured. Having a good
small group is key to developing a strong and vibrant local church as it allow people who once
were isolated and separate from one another to begin experiencing what it means to be a
Christian, a shift from program to purpose according to Putnam. “When you get people together
who are not growing spiritually and are not being led by spiritual parents, you have a group that
is without purpose”3 but a small group designed specifically to promote discipleship has a clear
purpose.
When talking about disciple making in the local church, Putnam suggests that there are
three irreplaceable elements in the process of discipleship according to Putman; it should be 1)
Bible centered, 2) intentionally directing people to the goal of spiritual maturity and 3) a place
where people can honestly talk about their lives and work out what it means to follow Jesus.4
These three elements can only flow and be effective in small groups. Putman further expounded
on this theory with the following components in the making of disciples. 1) The importance of
the Word of God as our guide and ruler of what is truth. 2) The importance of the Spirit of God
2 Ibid 134.
3 Putnam 135.
4 Ibid
as the only power that does the work of God in our lives, and 3) the importance of the people of
God, as we cannot be effective disciples without proper relationship.5
Depending on the geographical location, we see that most churches differ as what works
for one may not necessarily work for the other. But to develop an effective discipleship program
in the local church, there is a need to emulate the methodology of Jesus as he showed us the path
to properly reach out and make disciples. Though most churches look different, following the
path that Jesus has laid down will in disciple making. Many churches in the relational
discipleship network use this simple blue print: Share, Connect, Minister, and Disciple.
According to Putnam, Jesus shared who he was through words and deeds. For those that
accepted his message, he invited them to connect with him in relationship. It was during this
period that he taught them the truth about himself and as they began to grow, he trained them
minister to the lost and other followers and after his death, they were deployed to disciple others.
These are the sequence of Jesus’ steps for discipleship that all churches can emulate.
Share is the first stage in discipleship as it involves sharing with the people the love of
God and the Bible teaches us that love is the hallmark of people who truly know Jesus Ephesians
5:1-2 “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love,
just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Putnam further asserts that “the work of reaching a lost world begins with our primary
relationships in life – the people in our neighborhood, the people we work with, the people we
spend time with day after day.”6 In our churches today, we need to focus on those who are
responsive, those who demonstrate spiritual hunger and a desire grow. As we build relational
5 Putnam 140.
6 Putnam 156.
bridges to people, and as we pray and ask God to open doors, we will see God bring people to
us.7
Connect is another stage where new Christians are welcomed into the fold and associated
with other disciples. The Bible does not envision solo or isolated Christians and following Jesus
is something that we can do effectively only if we are connected to other disciples. That is why
the local church has always been God’s primary environment for making disciples. Small groups
provide the foundational context for these connections to occur in the local church as everyone
within the group know each other and what it is that might be an issue with them. This part of
the stage deals with the consecration of the disciple as it builds the foundation upon which the
believers faith is founded. Obedience to Christ is how we grow to be like Jesus. In Romans10:17,
the Scripture talks about building up our faith which only comes by hearing the Word of God
Train to minster is the third stage in the process of getting true disciples in a local church
that we can glean from Jesus’ method. This stage deals with how Jesus connected with his
disciples by letting them see how he lived out his everyday life. He shared the inner life of his
soul with them, and they got to see him care for the people, how he spoke to the people that no
one would, healing these that needed it, and in so doing the disciples saw his compassion. He
encouraged them to do ministry by providing opportunities for them when he sent them out on
their own, as people learn best by doing on their own. Jesus asked questions of his disciples, he
confronted negative attitudes and character traits as well as affirming their strengths and
reinforced their identity in God. These were done to connect with the disciples as they were
growing in their knowledge of God.
7Putnam 157
Release to be a Disciple maker is the last stage in the learning to make disciple by the
local church that we saw in Jesus’ method. This is the stage that disciples that have gone through
the process of discipleship, can begin to reproduce other disciples. They are termed matured
because they have grown into a spiritual young adult, and the expectation is they will minister to
others. Putnam states that “no one can be mature without experiencing the love of God in Christ
and loving others in turn.”8 Jesus instilled a multiplication vision in his disciples, painted a
picture of the kingdom as a place of growth and multiplication using several parables. “Every
disciple has the capability and the responsibility to minister to others in God’s name.”9 we are all
ambassadors for Christ, ministers of reconciliation.
The goal of the local church should be discipleship. Each member should be on a track to
this end and opportunities should be provided to assist each member to that end. Small groups
are a key feature for promoting growth in the church. Connecting multiple disciples with each
other will help hone the skills necessary to go out into the world to fulfill the Great Commission.
Our words and deeds are the tools we need to share the Gospel and the local church helps
empower each individual to be intentional about their personal growth. This personal growth will
enable the Christian to minister within the local church as well as the community.10
Bibliography
8 Putnam 162.
9 Putnam 163.
10 Dietrich Bonhoefer. Dietrich Bonhoefer Works, Volume 4 (Fortress Press, 2003)
Putman, Jim, Bobby Harrington, and Robert E. Coleman. Disciple shift. Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 2013
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 4: Discipleship. Minneapolis, MN:
Fortress Press, 2003.
Earley, Dave, and Rod Dempsey. Disciple Making Is–: How to Live the Great Commission with
Passion and Confidence. Pasadena, CA: B&H Academic, 2013
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