Impact Discipleship Ministries: Disciple Making Church

Key takeaways

A disciple-making church must have a clear, simple target based on what a fully trained disciple looks like, modeled after Jesus.
Jesus' methods were intentional and strategic, focusing on invitation, relational connection, obedience, and multiplication.
Creating the right environments—small groups, one-on-one mentoring, real-life ministry—is essential for effective disciple-making.
Discipleship is the pipeline for developing leaders; churches should nurture leadership from within through their disciple-making process.
Keep the process simple and repetitive—target, strategy, environment, and leadership—mirroring how Jesus did it to ensure reproducibility and growth.

Summary

Introduction and Context Setting

The hosts, Ken Adams and Lance Sumner from Impact Discipleship Ministries, kick off the session by acknowledging the overwhelming amount of information presented at the conference and emphasize the goal of simplifying the process of disciple-making. They relate to the audience's feelings of overload by sharing humorous stories and metaphors, notably a joke about a man who sowed his severed arm to demonstrate toughness, to connect emotionally and set a tone of encouragement.

The Core of Jesus' Discipleship Strategy

The main theme revolves around understanding how Jesus started and grew His church with simple yet effective methods that can be replicated today. Key principles include having a clear target for discipleship based on Luke 6:40, where a fully trained disciple is supposed to look like Jesus. The speakers highlight the importance of clarity in defining what a disciple looks like and the significance of simplicity in God's method of multiplication. They stress that Jesus used intentional strategies such as inviting people to come and see, connecting relationally, living in obedience, and then going out to make disciples, all within a straightforward model.

Developing a Discipleship Strategy and Environment

The session highlights Jesus' strategic approach to disciple-making, focusing on inviting, connecting, training, and sending. They discuss practical applications such as creating environments and contexts where discipleship can flourish—like small groups, one-on-one mentoring, and real-life ministry experiences. The speakers emphasize that businesses like McDonald's succeed by uniformity, and similarly, churches should strive for consistency in their disciple-making process to be effective and reproducible. They also emphasize that disciple-making requires intentional environments for teaching, contact, and correction.

Leadership Development in Discipleship

A critical part of the process is developing leaders from within the congregation. The speakers point out that Jesus' primary method to raise leaders was through His small groups—His disciples—and this model can be adopted by churches today. They stress that disciple-making is the pipeline for leadership development and that effective disciple-making churches will always have a surplus of leaders in the pipeline, ready to be deployed for ministry growth. The importance of raising leaders who have Christlike character and conduct is emphasized as essential for multiplying disciples.

Practical Steps and Encouragement to Churches

The speakers wrap up with practical advice: churches should focus on replicating Jesus' simple, intentional model of disciple-making rather than overcomplicating the process. They advocate for a cyclical approach—target, strategy, environment, and leadership—that must be embedded into the church culture. The emphasis is on continual, deliberate disciple-making every year, investing in small groups and personal mentorship, and trusting God's process for exponential growth.

Show notes

Join our breakout session to learn the proven Disciple Making Church strategy. Led by Impact Discipleship Ministries, this session will teach you how to implement Jesus' mission, model, and methods for multiplying disciples. Walk away with practical toolsmethods for multiplying disciples. Walk away with practical tools and a clear strategy to grow and sustain your ministry.

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-- What Is Church? And How Important Is It? https://discipleship.org/shop/what-is-church-and-how-important-is-it/

-- Family Discipleship Blueprint: A Year-by-Year Guide to Family Discipleship https://discipleship.org/shop/family-discipleship-blueprint-a-year-by-year-guide-to-family-discipleship/

-- Becoming a Disciple Maker https://discipleship.org/shop/becoming-a-disciple-maker/

-- National Study: The State of Disciple Making Churches: A 10 Minute Visual Guide https://discipleship.org/shop/national-study-the-state-of-disciple-making-churches-a-10-minute-visual-guide/

-- Reaching & Discipling Women: A Guide to Women’s Ministry in Your Church https://discipleship.org/shop/reaching-discipling-women-a-guide-to-womens-ministry-in-your-church/

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-- Recreated to Be like God: Making Disciples in the Image of Jesus https://a.co/d/6DDvUrC

-- King Jesus and the Beauty of Obedience-Based Discipleship https://a.co/d/7d85z6T

-- The Disciple Maker's Handbook: Seven Elements of a Discipleship Lifestyle https://a.co/d/4ZHIbQz

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