Pass it on: Part one

Alex Hawke, SIM UK Director, explores what it looks like for ordinary followers of Jesus to make disciples and why it’s worth the effort.

What happened to making disciples?   

It hit me while our family were serving in Cambodia that although Jesus had given his disciples the Great Commission to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20), very few Christians have actually been discipled, or been taught how to disciple someone. Isn’t that a bit crazy?

Given how important making disciples was, and is to Jesus, it’s worth asking if, as individuals, churches and organisations, we’re getting on with many good activities, but are neglecting what Jesus commanded us to do?

Discipleship is about becoming more like Jesus and to disciple someone is to intentionally spend time encouraging them in their spiritual growth to be more like Jesus. It goes beyond seeing someone come to Christ, to helping them walk with him, and to be his disciple.   

Without being discipled, many who respond to the gospel don’t continue following Jesus and growing.   

Making the greatest difference   

Many of us talk about wanting to ‘make a difference.’ I’m convinced that the greatest difference we can make is to make disciples of Jesus. People who are seeking to live Christ-centred, Christ-like lives, that are governed by the values of the kingdom of God, who are salt and light, who spread the gospel and make more disciples.   

Ordinary disciples like you and me, are potentially the best resource available to help another person grow in their relationship with God. Nothing takes the place of someone journeying with them and being an example of what it looks like to follow Jesus.

Other resources or courses are an aid to this, but programmes don’t make disciples: disciples do.   

Discipling someone is a significant investment. It’s slow, small-scale work that needs a long-term vision. It will challenge our tendency to want peace, quiet and privacy, but it’s so worth it. “If we invest in people, our investment is deathless,” said E. Stanley Jones.   

Mark Azzopardi, serving with SIM in Ecuador, tells of being discipled as a student by a student pastor, who invited him to meet regularly with him and help serve alongside him in the church.   

Over several years, they read the Bible, prayed and discussed Mark’s questions. The man helped Mark learn how to teach the Bible and gave different opportunities where Mark could use and develop his gifts. He also helped to prepare him for mission work and remains a faithful supporter and a source of counsel.  

“I’ve been very blessed,” says Mark, “to have someone who’s been so consistent in discipling me, in different ways, depending on the season of life, which has shaped me as a follower of Jesus and continues to shape my own philosophy of ministry.”   

Pass it on   

What we have, isn’t meant just for us. That’s true of our money and it’s true of our spiritual life. Paul told his disciple Timothy, “The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Tim 2:2). The idea is that disciples make more disciples.   

There are several examples in the Bible of discipleship relationships: Moses and Joshua; Elijah and Elisha; Jesus and his disciples (including Peter, James and John, with whom Jesus seems to have invested more time); Paul and Timothy; plus, several others, including Priscilla and Aquila, who in turn, discipled Apollos. They were all concerned about the continuation of God’s mission and were passing on what God had taught them.   

Paul instructs Titus to, ‘Teach the older women… then they can train the younger women.’ (Titus 2:3-4). This also illustrates that making disciples is for every ordinary Christian. You don’t have to be spectacular or have all the answers. Remember that when Jesus gave the Great Commission to the disciples, they weren’t particularly mature and had even deserted him when he was arrested.   

“We disciple not because we are especially mature or competent, but because Jesus commands us to make this our priority,” writes Christine Dillon of OMF.