Missions and Discipleship

Effective Discipleship is at the center of growing a healthy church. While Bible Study and growing in knowledge are certainly a part of discipleship, quite often that is where discipleship ends in many churches.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20

If you consider the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, we often see this as a call to missions … “GO … into all the world …” This is certainly the first step. We must GO and not be hiding out in our church buildings. But the Great Commission is much more.

Jesus tells us to “… make disciples …” This is NOT simply converts to Christianity. Making disciples means to bring people into a relationship with Jesus where they follow him, his teachings, and live to be like him … “teaching them to oberserve …”

In order to live out the Great Commission, we will be about GOING into all the world to win people to Jesus … this is Evangelism and Missions. We will also be working to build up followers of Jesus wherever we are, that they too can lead others along the same path. This is 2 Timothy 2:1-2 in action, a healthy model of discipleship.

How is your church or ministry effectively combining Missions, Evangelism, and Discipleship?

How can we help you raise the bar and refocus to bring these together?