Matthew 28:18-20

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Spiritual discipleship involves the following key aspects:

1. Intentional journey: It's about making intentional decisions to mature in your relationship with Jesus.
2. Becoming like Christ: Discipleship helps you become more like Jesus in attitudes, focus, and behavior.
3. Following Jesus: It means being dedicated to following Jesus, growing in faith, and helping others do the same.
4. Living a pleasing life: A disciple lives in a way that pleases God and shows others how to do the same.
5. Embracing a new way of life: Discipleship involves accepting Jesus, following His teachings, and loving God and others.

Since becoming a Christian, I have started to live in ways I can’t explain. All I know is the discipleship has always been on the horizon for me. I can say, i have learned that there is not a cookie-cutter approach to discipleship laid out for us in Scripture. The process of discipleship should look unique to each of us, depending on our strengths, our context, and our training. However, as determine I am to make disciples in my unique situation, there are principles and examples throughout Scripture that I must be careful to adhere to.

I myself have drawn multiple fundamental principles of discipleship. No matter how narrow or broad my definition of discipleship is, I mustn’t swerve from these principles. Out of so many I can say the first five I have mentioned at the being are just a few that I find that sum a lot. There are so many but all lead back to same definition.

In Colossians 1:28-29, Paul writes, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me.”

Discipleship is a journey of intentional decisions leading to maturity in your relationship with Jesus so that you become more like Him in your attitudes, focus and ultimately behavior. It requires a commitment from the potential disciple and the disciple-makers. It’s not something that happens by accident or overnight, and it can’t be completed in a six-week class. This is a lifelong commitment to follow God with your whole self and to both learn from and eventually teach others about how to follow Him.

In a letter written to a group of Christians in a city called Ephesus, Paul, an early follower of Jesus who wrote much of the New Testament, explains that God gives His followers gifts to help them make disciples. He begins by encouraging them to do whatever they can to maintain the unity of the Spirit (Ephesians 4:3). This is critical because discipleship is intended to happen among a community of fellow disciples, which the Bible calls “the church” or “the body of Christ.”

Paul the follower explains that God has equipped His people, the church, with specific gifts and skills. These gifts “equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12–13).

The process of maturing in your faith and becoming more like Christ is discipleship. Discipleship happens as you are connected to other followers of Jesus.

Two ways I have been able to connect with others and start to communicate is that I would suggest a book or such as mentor ship.

“I have a book that I think you would greatly benefit from. It outlines basic foundational lessons for growth in Christ. I would love to meet weekly with you to go through it – would you have time for that?”

“You seem to have a lot of questions about God and the Bible, and I can tell you are eager to learn. I would love to meet with you on a more regular basis, perhaps once a week (or every other week) so I can answer your questions and guide you in how to deepen your relationship with God. Can you meet for coffee on Thursdays?”

When I meet with a disciple, I always show up with a plan. Think through these 5 elements of a discipleship appointment to help you be intentional about your time together.

1. Small Talk– This is a time to catch up on life, kids, work, etc. Do not neglect this part to jump right into spiritual items. Use this time to gauge how your disciple is doing and get to know him/her better.
2. Accountability– What would your disciple like to move forward in? Is he or she wanting to memorize scripture, eat healthy, pay off debt? Is she wanting to challenge another person to discipleship, stop yelling so much at her kids, or develop better study habits? Also, share your areas of need. In future appointments, ask each other about the issues to encourage each one another.
3. Content– Starting with basic material is best with a new disciple regardless of how long they may have been a Christian. They will eventually disciple another person so choose material to cover with that in mind. Foundational topics such as the love of God, Jesus is the way to salvation, the role of the Holy Spirit, how to pray and how to study the Bible are a few good places to start.
4. Prayer– Always reserve a time to pray to God. You can pray for items that may have come up during the small talk and accountability time. Pray for what you may have observed as you looked at scripture together. Perhaps you studied James chapter 1 and read that when we need wisdom for our lives and decisions, we can ask God for it (James 1:5). Ask for wisdom in prayer.
5. Outreach– This element of the discipleship appointment may not happen each time. This is where you could invite another person who has questions about Jesus to part of your meeting together. This person may have recently visited your church, Bible study or small group. It could be a co-worker that needs help spiritually. Your disciple will learn more by observing you navigate another person’s questions or watching you share the gospel message in a real-life scenario than from hours of instruction.

Whether you do dinner every Monday, Wednesday night, coffee on Monday afternoons, or lunch at the office, make time to meet with another person for discipleship. You never know how the investment you make now can have a big impact later.

If you ask yourself, How do I even start or just How????

To disciple someone, you can12:

• Disciple people in small groups (3-12)
• Baptize them (make sure you are water baptized) (Matt 28:16-20)
• Let the disciples see you and watch you as you follow Jesus.
• Show them how to read, understand and obey Jesus from scriptures. (You can use the DBS method).
• Give them a lot of opportunities to practice what you are doing and teaching.
• Walk through the Bible and a discipleship resource with one another.
• Challenge each other. Learn from each other. Hold each other accountable. And grow with each other.
• When the sheep in your church are discipled, you will start seeing something glorious take place. Those disciples will start to disciple others.