The Big 10 of Disciple-Making

Recently our church hosted its first Discipleship Summit- an event focused towards equipping Christ-followers in the Bay in how to lead multiplication movements in their spheres of influence (at home, neighborhood, work, etc). To help us with this we brought in Dr. Kennon Vaughan, one of the worlds foremost leaders when it comes to discipleship. In his second session, Kennon gave what he called, “The Ten How-To’s of Disciple-Making”. Here they are:

1. Pray for the people I want to invest in- I Thessalonians 10:8. This could begin with taking a prayer walk through your neighborhood and praying for your neighbors.

2. Meet them where they are. Disciple-making is not a cookie cutter approach.

3. Start small and raise the bar. Don’t begin the relationship saying you want to disciple them. Instead, try simply inviting them out to lunch to hear their story.

4. A life-on- life approach. Remember, disciple-making is to be in the context of relationships.

5. The goal is heart transformation, not behavior modification. Don’t become a Pharisee obsessed with pointing out their sins.

6. Start with the end in mind. You want them to be a committed follower of Jesus, who reproduces the things you’ve taught them into the lives of others.

7. Stretch them. This could involve having them teach from time to time, or share their faith.

8. Expose them to other faithful people. Don’t make yourself the “star of the show”. We can combat this by inviting others in from time to time who have a long track record of gospel faithfulness and fruitfulness.

9. Involve them in the local church. No, they may not need to come to your church, but it’s important to give them a high view of the local church and encourage them to join one. The apostles knew nothing of disciple-making that was isolated from the church.

10. Be a builder of good curriculum. Disciple-making will force you to study and develop tools that have transferable principles to pass on.