7 PRACTICAL STEPS FOR THE LOCAL CHURCH TO MAKE DISCIPLES - Dr. Sam Thomas

Leadership of every local church must listen to this!

Based on the ‘great commission passages in the gospels and the book of Acts, here are seven practical steps for every local church to engage in disciple making.

NOTES:
Mat 28:19,20; Luke 24:47-48; Mark 16:15-19; Acts 1:8

1. Preach the gospel everywhere:
People who come as seekers, should hear the right gospel. The right understanding of original Sin (Romans 5: 12 onwards.) Believing in Jesus‘s substitutionary death, we receive imparted righteousness (Romans 5: 19). How does Jesus’s death on the cross benefit me? We need to explain this clearly. Saving faith comes from hearing the word, and not from seeing a miracle. Roman 10:9,10. this is important to make clear because often at least in the Indian context, Most peoples introduction to Christ is as a healer or miracle worker. This is the main reason why we have more converts and less disciples. Get into a small group, sit around and ask this question “what is your understanding of the gospel.” A study of the gospel from the book of Galatians or Romans would help.

2. Proclaim repentance for forgiveness of sins:
The proclamation of the message of repentance was started by John the Baptist, and then preached by Jesus Christ, and then it comes up by Peter and the other of apostles in the book of acts.Paul in act 17 says that God commands all people everywhere to repent.

Discipleship must begin with the true understanding of salvation , not because we were healed of a headache or a back pain or a financial breakthrough. These could be the window or door through which we came.

3. Make disciples.:
John 3:3 we see Jesus telling Nicodemus that unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. Once a person is born again, the next step is not to enrol him in Church membership or assigning some roles like ushering etc. Discipleship process is what we should enroll them into. Does your Church have a process for equipping people for life in the kingdom? This involves an informed decision by the person, knowing the full implications of following Christ.

4. Baptising them:
Both Mark and Matthew deal with baptism, and the trinitarian understanding of God is clearly involved in this baptism. A baptised person who is not clear on the doctrine of Trinity is a tragedy. Some argue that in the book of acts, the apostle’s baptised in the name of Jesus. But, these are the same disciples to whom Jesus commanded that they must baptise in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Could the disciples have been disobeying Jesus’s command ? This was in order to make a clear distinction between John’s baptism of repentance and Jesus command to baptise a believer. Acts 19: 1-5, clears up this point. The doctrine of baptism and the Lord stable are not to be taken lightly since they are not just rituals to be followed. The sacraments are symbolic of the finished work on the cross and should be taken solemnly. Baptism is not optional, but mandatory for every disciple of Jesus.

5. Teaching them the full counsel of God for practice in their life:
Church elder ship to should take this very seriously to systematically, teach them the whole counsel of God. Not just running some biblical series. Acts 20:27. New disciples should be enrolled into weekly foundational teaching on topics, such as redemption, justification, progressive sanctification to help them to grow in godliness and holiness.

Daily practicing spiritual disciplines is a key to growth. For example, solitude and silence, quieting yourself, listening to the voice of God through the word of God, prayer, worship, meditating on God’s word, service. The purpose of this is not to impart knowledge but personal transformation. A curriculum needs to be worked out by the elder ship team which should not be difficult since there are many resources already available. Teach them the importance of how to study the word of God. Teach them how to open up the scripture.

6. Being a witness in your immediate location:
The simple and authentic witness of a new believer is very powerful and effective. If a believer is not encouraged to be a witness in his early years, it is highly unlikely that he will be a witness in his latter years. Every believer should be encouraged to talk to their near and dear ones.

7. Every disciple should make disciples:
This shows growth and maturity in a believer. The kingdom mandate is binding on all Christians. Not everyone is called to be a preacher, but every child of God has a role to play. Only with the power of the Holy Spirit, can we do this. Witnessing, praying, giving, starting a small Bible Study. All this is done, according to the maturity, conviction, and gifting of a believer. Don’t push people.

#biblicalprinciples #discipleship #biblestudy