Month: April 2023

Discipleship Evangelism Strategy

4 Considerations About the Effectiveness of Preaching in Disciple-Making Movement Efforts

By on Sunday, April 30, 2023
preaching in DMMs

Are those who promote a DMM strategy for disciple-making and church planting opposed to preaching? Is it ever appropriate to preach to those you disciple? When is it not helpful to preach? These questions have come up in conversations with those I’ve trained recently. They are important questions to ask.

The Apostle Paul said in Romans 15:20 that he had endeavored to preach the gospel where Christ was not known. There are many biblical references to preaching. In DMMs, there is a place for it. It is important, however, that we understand what that word means in Greek. We should not automatically think it refers to what happens on Sunday mornings from a platform.

In this article, we will look at what that word means in its context. We will discuss the times when preaching (or proclamation) is helpful or necessary. It’s also important to look at when it could cause barriers to reproducibility or adult learning. We will also consider the power of story-telling and see in Scripture that this was Jesus’ primary method of communicating truth. read more

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Church Planting Discipleship Missions

Discipleship Accountability: Avoid or Embrace?

By on Sunday, April 30, 2023

One of the things I appreciate about the T4T (Training for Trainers) approach is how every meeting begins in the first section with reporting in on what you have done the past week to apply what you learned before. Likewise, every meeting ends with the setting of new goals. How are you going to obey and put into practice what you learned in the lesson or story? This accountability loop is a very important part of making obedient disciples.

Friendly accountability

It goes much further than this though. We must develop an appreciation, even an embracing of friendly accountability in our lives as leaders personally. As we model this, our disciples see it. They begin to value it as well.

This will ensure that friendly accountability becomes part of the DNA of the movement. By upholding this value, the movement will be stable and strong even after you, as the coach, trainer, initiator, or leader move on. Accountability seems an unfriendly, even “dirty” word to many though.

Granted a lot of people have had bad experiences in their lives with heavy-handed or unkind accountability. Some leaders demand accountability. Some abuse it. In my context in Asia, many have had teachers who were harsh and cruel when they didn’t measure up to what was expected. As we introduce friendly accountability in these contexts we need to be aware of this. It is a big shift of mindset for people to welcome and embrace friendly accountability!

How do you help them change?

One of the things I notice is that it takes time and patience to bring about change. Consistently and lovingly ask them about their goals from the previous week. Go overboard to encourage and affirm positive actions. Never scold people for not doing what they said they would! Instead, gently encourage them with your own vulnerability and openness. Let them know you are with them and for them in this process of growth toward obedience to God’s word.

Whatever you do though, don’t just skip the asking about goals part because you are afraid of offending people! Lots of us are in this “business” because we have pastoral gifts. We love people. We don’t want them to feel bad! We think that if we ask about their goals and they haven’t done them, we will cause them to feel shame or lose face.

This can certainly be true if it is done in a harsh way. We need to be careful about our approach to this. At the same time, not asking them is the best way to reinforce the idea that application and obedience don’t really matter. You don’t want that!

Gently encourage them to try again the coming week. If they failed to follow through, ask a question that helps them own their new decision. “What would you like to do about that goal in the coming week?” Offer to help them if you can. “Can I go with you when you share your testimony this week? Would you like a prayer partner while you take this big step to share with your uncle?”

Friendly accountability is a very important part of helping both individuals and movements grow, multiply and be transformed. It takes time, patience, perseverance, kindness and repetition, but once its part of the DNA of the movement, the impact is tremendous!

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Discipleship Leadership Training

How To Find Potential Leaders and Fruitful People

By on Sunday, April 9, 2023
find potential leaders

Our resources are limited. Time, money, energy, and personnel are all stretched far too thin when pioneering in new areas. Some people seem to only drain our precious resources. As disciple makers, how do you avoid wasting time on the wrong people? How do you discover the potential leaders who will be most helpful in growing the movement?

Don’t Just Guess- Give Assignments

While it is tempting to try to guess who will be worth investing in, we are often wrong in our guesses. The best way to discover who to invest in is to first train a larger group of people. Give them assignments to apply the training. Then, watch to see who does what they were trained to do. Those who actually take steps to begin working are the ones worth investing in. These are the people who will most likely be the most fruitful.

*Jeremiah- An Unlikely Choice

I was invited to speak in a Discipleship Training School (DTS) for Youth With A Mission (YWAM). There were about 15 students. I was teaching for a week on the Biblical Foundation for Missions. My goal was to present the need of reaching the unreached. I would then call people to get involved in church planting efforts.

Some of the students looked like they would be wonderful church planters. They were attentive to my training. They spoke up in discussions. Good questions were asked and they seemed to understand the concepts.

Others, well, they seemed pretty “villagy.” I wasn’t sure they were understanding well, even

find potential people
Ask God to show you their potential!

though the translator did a good job. Sometimes they stared off into space blankly.

This was especially true of one older man named *Jeremiah. He didn’t seem very “with it” and he wasn’t very educated. I would never have chosen him as the person in the class who would produce the most fruit. But he did! Jeremiah applied everything I taught. God spoke to him during that week about an unreached nomadic group of honey hunters. He quickly made plans to go live among them.

Later, through this uneducated man, whole villages came to Christ! The others who had looked so bright? Most of them ended up doing ministry things of some kind. But they didn’t lead very many unreached people to Christ. Who would have known Jeremiah would be the one worth investing in? Certainly not me!

Train Everyone, Not Some

Ying Kai of T4T says it so well, “Train everyone, not some.” Jesus taught this principle in the parable about the net.

“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.” Matt. 13:47-48 NIV

We could say that this parable refers to evangelism efforts. Jesus, however, never really separated evangelism and discipleship the way we do. His goal was to call people to follow Him. He wanted to make disciples who would obey His command and would multiply His Kingdom. So the principle definitely applies both to evangelism and discipleship.

Don’t Filter Too Early

Often we are tempted to “pre-filter” those we will train as disciple makers. Consciously or unconsciously, we pre-determine who has potential. Our rationale behind this is that we don’t want to waste our time on the wrong people. We have limited time, energy and finances to use.  But, so often, the people we think will be faithful and fruitful are not the ones who actually are! I can’t emphasize this enough.

It isn’t the person who is the most charismatic, extroverted and educated. Neither is it the smart, responsive, well dressed, organized or passionate that end up being most fruitful. It is the person who is the most willing to obey and put into practice what they learn.

Many Good Hearted People Don’t Have Time

A lot of trainees (whether in an organization like YWAM or when training local church believers) get excited about the vision you share. They want to start a DMM and multiply disciples. Some of them have tremendous potential. The problem that often surfaces is an inability to focus on the task of disciple making.

They may have the vision and passion but not the discipline to say no to other things. Or they may simply be over-committed. Investing in people who can not (or will not) give time to apply what you train them for is not wise. You are wasting your resources. It takes valuable time away from those who could produce much more Kingdom fruit.

Give your time to the person who is able and willing to give their time and focus to read more

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Church Planting Discipleship Missions

What NOT to Depend on in Disciple Making

By on Sunday, April 2, 2023
discipleship

Discipleship, especially when you are wanting to make true disciple makers, is a process that can seem long and difficult. We often look for shortcuts.

Have you ever found yourself trying to go somewhere fast and then decided to take a shortcut? You see this little lane and you are pretty sure it will cut through to the main road? “I’ll go for it,” you think. It seems like a good idea that will save you time and get you there faster.

As you are driving along on your motorbike or in your car, suddenly, the road narrows and there is a huge truck parked in the road. You can’t get by because the road is too narrow. That has happened to me more than once. Another time, I came up the road and suddenly found a big pile of rocks dumped in the road for the construction of a nearby building. Then there were the times I took a shorter road but hit an avalanche. When this happens, you back up, turn around, and by the time you get back to where you started from, you are frustrated, annoyed and it is 15 minutes later but you are still at the same place.

This reminds me of when we try to make disciples using only a weekly meeting with them. It looks like a shortcut, but it’s not.

Discipleship Is Not A Meeting- It Is Doing Life Together

Discipleship doesn’t happen only in a weekly meeting. It is an intense investment of our lives into others. This is a whole lot more than what happens in a weekly gathering where you “preach” to them, or even do a Discovery Bible study or tell a Bible Story.

Discipleship happens when we do life together. It’s when we become a community of Jesus followers who challenge, encourage, support and commit to helping one another grow in following Jesus. Our lives “rub off” on others and they “catch” from us a passion for the lost, a faith in the God of the Impossible, a love for God’s Word, etc.

I’m always interested in strategies and structures. I’m fascinated to learn about what different people are using for their short and long-term discipleship. Having a good system can facilitate a lot of things being released. Sometimes, though, we look for the “perfect” system and think that is what will turn things around for us in our efforts to multiply disciples.

Discipleship Is Not A Structure Or System

The last few years I have been doing a lot of training in T4T (Training for Trainers). The T4T meeting structure includes all the important elements that are so vital to multiplying disciples; celebration/accountability, member care, worship, the Word, goal setting, fellowship. It’s a proven structure that has produced great fruit around the world.

The same could be said for DBS (Discovery Bible Study) groups- another great system to use.

As much as I like these systems, I must say that both T4T and DBS are just structures and systems. They will not produce fruit unless coupled with a deep commitment to relational discipleship. We must “go deep” with those in that T4T or DBS circle.

We must get into their lives and let them into ours.

That is what Jesus did with his disciples. They lived together, spent hours around the fire cooking fish and eating together. They did ministry together, and Jesus spoke into their lives not only as a group, but one on one.

We can’t do that with everyone. We need to choose a few key people, those who are faithful, fruitful and focused.

I know you are busy. You might be thinking, I just don’t have time to give more than I already am.

Here’s is what you need to do.

This doesn’t take a ton of time, but it will get you started in going beyond trying to just disciple people in a meeting.

  • Choose 2 key people you are training who you will invest in more.
  • Think of one simple way to let them into your life in a deeper way. (For example, have coffee and share a time of failure you had and how you overcame it).
  • Think of one simple way you can get more involved in theirs. (For example, show interest in one of their hobbies or children).
  • Do those two things this week.

And don’t stop having those T4T or DBS meetings. They are important too.

They just aren’t the full picture of what it means to make disciples who will make disciples.

Revision of blog originally posted on October 24, 2016, at ywamfrontiermissions.com

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