What is a DMM?

Disciple Making Movement (DMM) Definitions

Various definitions of a Disciple Making Movement (DMM) are used in the world of global evangelism.  The unfamiliar can easily be confused by the terms. CPMs, DMMs, DBS, T4T…there is a lot of terminology and jargon that is thrown around! For our purposes, we try to keep things pretty simple.

The terms  Disciple Making Movement (DMM) and Church Planting Movement (CPM) are basically interchangeable. Some would say that a DMM emphasizes disciples making disciples while a CPM emphasizes church planting churches.  For common purposes, however, the concepts are basically the same.  If you have disciples making disciples, you generally will also have some kind of discipleship groups multiplying as well.

4 Important Characteristics of A DMM

Disciple Making Movements (DMMs) are:

1) fast growing

2) indigenous (of the local culture)

3) multiplying groups

4) obedient Jesus followers (disciples).

Disciples gather themselves into groups that we sometimes call “house churches” though these groups can meet anywhere, not only in homes.  In some DMMs, groups meet in a tea shop or under a tree. The groups can be called discipleship groups, story groups, T4T groups, etc. The name is not important.  What matters is that they are a group of people who are following Jesus and committed to obey His commands together.

Whatever you call these groups of Jesus followers, in Disciple Making Movements (DMMs), they multiply quickly and start more groups.

The first generation group of disciples start a second generation.  Usually more than one group is started from the first one.  The second generation groups do the same. True DMMs experience multiplication growth, not simply addition growth.

In a Disciple Making Movement, the emphasis is not on growing an ever increasingly large church, but in mutliplying small groups of disciples who make disciples.

When within a short space of time (three to five years) we see:

  1. at least four generations of groups,
  2. a significant overall number of groups (I like to think of seeing at least 50)
  3. a growing number of obedient disciples (there is no exact number but likely you will see at least 500 baptized)

we can say that a genuine Disciple Making Movement (DMM) has begun.

Disciple Making Movement (DMM)
A DMM/CPM is a supernatural move of God’s Spirit sweeping through a people group or area where thousands of lives are transformed as people enter God’s Kingdom and become part of His family. These movements use simple methods and are indigenous.

An addition that some organizations like Beyond have added is that there need to be multiple streams of disciple-making groups.  So in other words, not just one fourth-generation church, but many of the groups are reaching the fourth generation and beyond.

While definitions like this are important, let’s not over-complicate it.  Let the researchers and strategists debate the definitions…let’s focus on multiplying disciples among the unreached!

When there is a move of God, disciples are rapidly multiplying, thousands of people are coming into the kingdom in a short amount of time through ordinary disciples passionately obeying Christ and boldly spreading the gospel everywhere they go…that is a Biblical movement!

The rapid multiplication of disciples among the unreached is incredibly exciting and very much needed if we are to see the Kingdom of God advance! Without it, if we allow ourselves to be content with only addition growth of Jesus followers, we can barely keep up with natural population growth rates among most of the unreached. There are many other reasons why we need to see more DMMs taking place.

Following are several definitions by leading writers and teachers of CPMs and DMMs from their various perspectives.

David Garrison author of Church Planting Movements:

A definition for Church Planting Movements: “a rapid multiplication of indigenous churches, planting churches that sweeps through a people group or population segment.”

David Watson author of Contagious Disciple Making:

To see a CPM, the equipping of leadership is critical.  Our definition of leadership includes reproduction of leaders.  A leader makes more leaders regularly, and…

To see a CPM, the obedience-based discipleship of all people is essential.  Our definition of a disciple includes obedience to Jesus and the reproduction of disciples.  An obedient disciple makes more disciples regularly, and…

To see a CPM, Bible story/study groups reproduce regularly, and…

To see a CPM, churches reproduce regularly, and…

To see a CPM, church members are ministering to their communities, and the Kingdom of God is expanding from individual to individual, family to family, community to community, city to city, and nation to nation.

YWAM Frontier Missions:

Our goal is never only to plant one church.  We want to start groups of Jesus followers (disciples) that then start other groups of disciples growing into movements of disciples.  Everything we do should lead to multiplication.  Apostolic teams should carefully evaluate their strategies and ways of working to make sure they are reproducible.  We avoid doing things that have proven to hinder multiplication, such as building church buildings, paying local pastors or elders, or bringing in a lot of foreign finances and forms.

Disciple Making Movements (DMMs) Are Happening

These are exciting times in the history of world evangelization.  There has never been greater challenge or greater openess than we see today.  In many parts of the world, among some of the hardest places and most resistant people, DMMs are sweeping through communities and nations as people encounter Jesus. 

As Jesus said, “the harvest is ripe.”  We have a great privilege to partner with Him in the things that are on His heart in our generation.  One of them, very obviously, is to release Disciple Making Movements among the unreached.

Want to know how to get started in pursuing a DMM in your area?  Subscribe here! We would be honored to walk with you on this journey.

Comments

  1. Clando Brownlee
    Reply

    Yes I’m very much interested in the movement training and materials for DMM would like to receive some information and even follow up from someone on your team Lord bless you.

    Thanks Clando Brownlee Jr.
    619-321-7698

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    2. Pst Maca Anyadike
      Reply

      I am a Pastor in Dominion city church
      I need this materials to make all the church members a disciple making disciples

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          C. Anderson
          Reply

          Hi Riaz. Building a church is not about a physical building, it is about people. In DMMs we often don’t have church buildings but people meet in homes or other places. Check out my free resource called What Makes A Church, A Church.

    3. Phil
      Reply

      Hi! Can you give any training and advice for DMM in Western Contexts? I am interested/ praying for strategy and resources for London where there are scores of people groups all living side by side.

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      2. Jill Kerby
        Reply

        I had the same thought… how can we use DMM training in a culture that is soft… not suffering persecution? I’d like training material as well 🙂

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          C. Anderson
          Reply

          Hi Jill. The principles are the same in every culture. One of the most significant mindset shifts needed is the understanding of the priesthood of all believers – that every disciple can be trained to make disciples and start groups. This has little to do with persecution issues, but has more to do with traditions and equipping people to fulfill the great commission rather than relying on ordained clergy to do this work. This is where DMM type training can have revolutionary impact in “soft” cultures as well. Lots of other things that relate across all cultures too.

      1. Siyawezi Norbert
        Reply

        Compliment to you!

        I am one of disciples at Mission Training center MTC in East Africa especially in Tanzania.
        We are now studying DMM,
        So, I need more training manuals on how to make disciples.

        Thanks

  2. Mansuk Milton
    Reply

    This is powerful!

    I’m a South Sudanese, working with south Sudanese refugees in Uganda. Wondering if I can get access to your DMM materials?

    Thanks

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      dmmsfrontiermi
      Reply

      Wow, that sounds like a wonderful work. So happy to hear of it. Sure, you are most welcome to our materials. What in particular do you need? Have you subscribed to receive the weekly blogs? That is a great place to start. Feel free to email about specific issues or things you need and to share more about where you are at in your work so I can help you in the most appropriate way. Blessings and I look forward to connecting more.

      1. Pastor Lawrence Chitedze
        Reply

        That’s powerful and implementing great commission. Am in for it. I already having five discipleship groups but needed direction and materials to multiply the disciples

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            C. Anderson

            That’s great! Subscribe via the link at the bottom of the article or download one of our free resources so we can continue to regularly send you more input on this! Blessings.

    2. Kris Gibson
      Reply

      Your comment is awaiting moderation.

      Check out sheepamongwolves.world and globalcatalyticministries.com. GCM uses DMM in closed countries and is bringing it to the West. I am currently in training with the founder! It powerful and awesome to be a part of the Great Commission! Maranatha!

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  4. richard emokol papa
    Reply

    really i believe its God a pointed time to restore back priesthood of every believer through DMM.
    please i request more material.

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  5. James Lilly
    Reply

    Where are you located? One of the members of our network of DM practitioners in the Twin Cities thought that you were in the metro area.

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      1. Charles Chalson
        Reply

        Hello,
        Interested in Discipleship Materials and training disciples and leaders to make disciples (and multiply groups),

        I’m a former Police Officer in Baltimore,
        Our Lord Jesus Christ gives me grace for public preaching, deliverance, and physical and inner healing.

        Thank you!
        Charles Chalson
        cchalson@usa.net

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    2. mozid
      Reply

      My country’s name is Bangladesh, Bangladesh is the capital of Dhaka. I am located in Dhaka. I was able to communicate with you through the internet. Glad to be able to communicate with you. Thank you, thank God for the opportunity to talk to you. I pray, there are many ethnic groups in our country who have not yet found, and those who have found are losing so that again everyone can communicate with the Lord and God can bless everyone. And I want to work in partnership with you. You will pray privately. God bless you all.
      Mozid

  8. Lance Glendenning
    Reply

    Do you believe that a disciple can be a non-Christian? Your materials talk a lot about obedience and discipleship and not much about Salvation. I’m a little confused, I always thought that disciples were Christians seeking to grow closer to their savior….

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      dmmsfrontiermi
      Reply

      Thanks for your question. To answer simply, no, I don’t think you can be a disciple without first receiving salvation. I’m curious what gave you the idea that I thought that! The first step of obedience to Christ is to repent and believe in Jesus, accepting His free gift of salvation. You then begin that love relationship with Him you spoke about…growing closer to your Savior. The first of the discipleship lessons we use has to do with salvation- our spiritual birth. See the blog post on how to work with new believers https://www.dmmsfrontiermissions.com/starting-strong-new-believers/ for more information on this. Discipleship does involve obedience and it is definitely a characteristic of movements that they are obedience based, not knowledge based, but they are also definitely relationship based as well. Hope this clears things up for you. Blessings!

  9. zablon makanga
    Reply

    Currently working with PLWHIV in Coast region of Kenya; both Muslims and christian involved. I would love to hear from you how i can effectively win souls for Christ especially the Muslims in my group. Looking forward to hearing from you soon

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  11. Ogy
    Reply

    \Hi, God bless you for al the good work. I’m interested in the movement training/materials for DMM and would like to receive some information/follow up from someone on your team around this. Lord bless you.

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  15. Kamapi William
    Reply

    Im in Cameroon in Central Africa, i have been praying according to a burden i received recently from the Lord to take the church to the next level through disciples making. I need a training in disciples making. Its so urgent for me. Hope i will receive some help from you. Shalom

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  16. Saleem Masih
    Reply

    I’m Saleem. working on the project of Disciples Making Movement and kids ministry in small villages, where no one reaching out to the unreachable people and groups, so I heard about this movement in 2015 from some international friends and I really touched and felt that this movement should be start here and we started it as Jesus ways of Discipleship no conversions. My country is hard target and not easy land for Christian preachers. In 2017 we graduated 200+ youngsters and 3000+kids in different areas. Spiritual Multiplication had begun but we didn’t have regular mentors to support us and keep us on the track its always an obstacle to our ways towards this movement.
    So this time as we have Christmas season we’re working on the project kids ministry and letting the families and kids about the real gift of Christmas and it’s purpose with super book movie and booklet materials. In January we’re again going to restart our DBS and DMM movement and we need proper training and prayer support.
    Please let me know how we can work together on this mission?

    Blessings and love.

  17. Scott Smith
    Reply

    I’m a former minister who is now trying to grow a Jesus movement in a very secular post Christian part of the USA. I sure would like to know how to do this. All my training seems like it doesnt fit with what’s needed.

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  18. N J Hauman
    Reply

    Good Day

    Paul as a missionary and disciple set the example of continual focused effective wise prayer on behalf of his disciples and himself.

    That is why Paul was the most effective in ministry

    In many of the prayers he recorded, he uses the terms, “I always pray for you, we have not ceased praying for you,, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy”

    I would like to share with you a combination of scriptural prayers designed by and given by the Holy Spirit that covers the absolute essentials for spiritual growth and dynamic spreading of the Word of the Lord.

    These prayers have a logic sequence and follows the blue print given by the Lord Jesus.

    Andrew Murray said, “If the global body of Christ prays effectively it will cause the biggest world wide revival of all time” .

    When new disciples know these prayers and WHY they pray them it will greatly enhance their spiritual growth

    Kind Regards and God bless

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  21. Madukauwa
    Reply

    This is what I believe God wants in Mozambique.. a DMM.
    Am already subscribed in Getting Started in DMMs. I can’t wait to learn!

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  22. Pastor Benjamin Mondal
    Reply

    I am pastor Benjamin Mondal from khulna Bangladesh.
    I am very much greatful to you that included me in your prayers and reaching goals.
    I started planting churches since 1998. But I have only my family in the beginning. We are husband and wife with our 3 God gifted childre. It continued up to 2000.
    God wanted me to go to others with His good news and my wife asked me to go I started. In 2002 we have 8 except my family.
    That time we don’t have enough experience about discipleship.
    When we read Mathew cheaper 28 :19-20 we valued thease verses. Because that was Jesus last commandments to His disciples.
    From that time with 8 (from different locations) started to follow Jesus commandments. It is continuing. Today we have 90 (45 pastor and 45 disciples) from new locations.
    Our focus is to go unreached people groups.
    We need better trading for new disciples and new commers to encouragement.
    If there is any team who wanted to teach more practically will be helpful for us to reach to our goals. Making disciples and to send them with good news to unreached people. To plant churches in their community.
    Thanks again.

  23. kadondi tom
    Reply

    I am kadondi tom from kenya your former student I am so much happy with your training it work well on me,I share a lot from what I learn from you.I n other we say that God are the one who brought you from us.we always meeting with our friend who came out side from our town, they always using there money on traveling ,in short because we are looking for multiplication not only in one place but every where they requesting me to have your resource, so i said to them that i need to request permission first then to give them feed back, what can I do to them to move on with the training?

  24. Cindy Owino Maua
    Reply

    This is so Powerful, av already reached out to a number to start up with, so far, 4have responded, and lam so excited to hold my first meeting this Thursday 9th July 2020. I believe and l am trusting God more, as l plan to reach out to many more. My dream is reaching out to the remote areas within our country, my initial target was schools with the Youths that l have been mentoring, but with the schools closed due to COVID 19, we are still going to reach the youth and the others by all means. just as in

    1Thessalonians5; 11
    Encourage one another and edify (strengthen and build up) one another just as you are doing.

    We need your prayers.

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  26. Maria
    Reply

    Hi! I would like to support with this project. I just saw the documentary “Sheep among wolves” and I really want to be part of it, if its possible. In that case, please contact me, I’ll be very happy to help! Thank you 🙂

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  27. Erick
    Reply

    I am very much delighted with the program , it will be helpful with our prison outreach ministry in Kenya , after DMM training i would be able to impart this great lessons to prisoners and after their parole they will be able to make disciples in their respective places.

    i appreciate the reading material and we will like to know if we can get more materials

    Erick

  28. Marla Prinsloo
    Reply

    Good day. I first heard about this way of making disciples from the docy movie “Sheep among wolves”. Im from South Africa and i have a passion for unreached places. I would love to have some more info regarding where to start, the hows and whens ect. May i pls have a clear directive on where to go from here. Thank you so much for the work you guys are doing. God is so amazing! Praise Jesus!

    Rom 10:14 How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.
    Romans 10:14‭-‬15 CSB
    https://bible.com/bible/1713/rom.10.14-15.CSB

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  30. Claire Gosser
    Reply

    I also watched the sheep among wolves and have been interested in what this looks like. I live in America where it is very sleepy but there are still some who are struggling and I’d like to help reach them. Any information you have would be grateful.

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  32. RAMARAO MOLUGUMATI
    Reply

    My address: RAMARAO MOLUGUMATI s% SATYAM settivarigudem via subbarayudugudem house venkatapuram post chintalapudi mandalam west godavari district pin :534460: cell number s: 9441556589; 8688018993

  33. Olufemi Atinsola
    Reply

    Great! reading through the above, I am so blessed.
    I am into church planting and discipleship. I have got a great vision to do this beyond my continent. So far planted 3 churches for New Covenant Church, Nigeria and pastoring one of them while overseeing others. I have started the DMM course this January 2021. I definitely will need some materials and help in church planting and growth. What more can be of great help to my call?
    Thanks.

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  37. samwel
    Reply

    it great lesson and an spiritual eye opener for Gods work .teaching and fellowship even getting together can uplift a church.thank and be blessed.

  39. fred marienga
    Reply

    Your teachings on disciples making or movement creation for God has been phenomenon to the glory of Christ Jesus. Putting the things you teach to practice has started bearing fruits in my ministry development; our movement is growing from strength to strength.

    Thank you so much i need to more and more and am ready to taught, rebuked and corrected with love to the glory of Christ Jesus.

  40. Francisco Luna
    Reply

    I am so feed up with the so called local congregations… I am tired of warming up a pew bench every Sunday, clap hands in front of a rock band and going nowhere…..this is mere entertainment!

  41. Rubina
    Reply

    Its wonderful experience to learn how we can share love of lord Jesus Christ with those who don’t know lord yet through wonderful training.I have started my work but still I need guidance. keep guiding me dear Anderson

  42. Osvaldo Reinaldo
    Reply

    Bom dia, estou muito feliz pelo aprendizado, sou pastor no Norte de Moçambique África, e quero muito fazer discípulos.

  43. Rosângela
    Reply

    Meu coração arde por fazer novos discípulos. Eu e meu esposo somos Pastores no Brasil, e queremos esse projeto para as áreas menos alcançadas no Brasil. Precisamos dessa ferramenta para gerir o processo.

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  45. Doug Kozub
    Reply

    Aloha DMM Friends:

    My wife and I planted churches in Hawaii and China. Upon returning to the USA (pre-Covid), we joined Cru to help start churches in America. Cru teaches DMM! We are ruined. I love the traditional church, but I am convinced that DMM is the direction for the church in the U.S.A. I wish I had this training 30 years ago when I started ministry! While in the USA for the last one and half years, I have completed all my academic portion of a Doctorate of Ministry degree at Global University (Assembly of God online seminary). My theses is, “DMM in the U.S.A.”

    I think my topic is the most important doctoral dissertation for America today!! Of the 30 or so pastors I meet monthly with in the the Philadelphia area (through pastoral prayer groups), all of them are not sure how to continue with their traditional attractional Sunday morning service. Tens of thousands of pastors in the USA need understanding of how DMM works, possible modification to their present church leadership, and actual numbers of how DMM is working in America.

    Is there anyone I can talk to at your training headquarters? I would love to contact pastors that are currently doing DMM at their local congregations. Plus, I would like to collect a couple of hundred DMM small group leaders via a five minute survey.

    Pastors in the U.S.A. need not just methodology, but actual numbers of effective DMM pastors. With such data, I hope to send my dissertation to any pastor in America (or any country). My hope is to get current data and methodology into pastoral circles. Cru estimates that there are 160 million people who do not know the basics of the Gospel in the USA. We need DMM to more effectively start churches. As you all know, DMM one of the best answers to the failing attractional church model.

    What do you think?

    Blessings,

    Pastor Doug Kozub
    Foursquare Missions International
    Cru: Church Movements
    churchmovements.com
    484-557-2225

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      C. Anderson
      Reply

      Hi Doug. Great to hear of your doctoral thesis at AGTS! Awesome. One of the keys to DMMs is that it goes beyond pastors and that we embrace the idea that every disciple can make disciples and start groups of disciples that function as the church. Disciple Making Movements lead to church planting movements but without the hierarchy of the clergy. Email us and we can point you in a few directions to talk with other pastors who are pulling pastors together around this kind of thinking. admin@dmmsfrontiermissions.com

      1. Doug Kozub
        Reply

        Aloha Mrs. Anderson:

        I have read 13 of your articles in my research. My doctoral advisor directed me to Mission Frontiers magazine. I hope to conduct 20 one hour Zoom interviews with pastors in the USA that are transitioning towards DMM. Is there a chance I can interview you via Zoom?

        Or is there someone else there that I could connect with?

        And is it possible that you could email me directly? I have responded to your email two months later as I accidentally found your response researching this web page again.

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  47. Komi Nestor NOUGBLEGA
    Reply

    Dear Director
    It is with great pleasure that you write this letter.
    I am the Leader of the Evangelization Mission for Christ group in West Africa specifically in Togo.

    Our mission is to bring the gospel to the most remote villages and to the unreached pauples and committed to the multiplication of disciples to make disciples of discipleship planted in the church.
    To my research on internet I fell from your organization I am very interested in your initiative I would like you to sponsor us to achieve our vision to save souls for Christ

    If you need more information or photos of our mission or Evangelization activities on us I am at your disposal.
    I am waiting to read you later

    Blessing

    your humble servant

    Missionary Evangelist

    Komi Nestor NOUGBLEGA

    Phone +228 91894732

    Lome-Togo
    West Africa

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      C. Anderson
      Reply

      Great to hear of your heart for the lost brother. We do not provide sponsorships for other ministries or individuals in the way you are mentioning.

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