Making Disciples

In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus gives what sounds like a simple command to “go make disciples of all nations.” If the command were to simply “go do ministry among all nations” it would have been a lot simpler. The “make disciples” part gets messy. The command gets even more complicated when the Christian culture around us is often content to be active and busy with ministry, good deeds, and Christian “stuff,” all the while hardly ever stopping to ask if what we are doing is truly “making disciples.” Furthermore, the meaning of discipleship is often perceived to be how much someone knows about the Bible, and not how much someone obeys and follows Christ.

In an attempt to give focus to making disciples in our ministries, many of us at Global Gates have been using the following as the definition of a disciple:

“A disciple is someone who follows Christ, obeys Him, shares Him with others, allows Him to transform their worldview, and trains others to do the same.”

Jesus said that if we loved Him we would obey Him, so our definition focuses on following and obeying. As disciples, we also must share the gospel, enable and train others, and reproduce ourselves (2 Tim 2:2). Also, none of us have ever “arrived,” and we need Christ to transform how we view the world and help us overcome cultural and familial sins with the power of the gospel.

Looking at your own Christian walk and using this definition, how are you doing at being a disciple? How are you doing at making disciples? If you are like me, you need God’s grace to really help you!

Thanks for seeking Christ with us,

Chris Clayman,

Director, Global Gates Network