Recently I was having lunch with a leader in our denomination, when he asked me this question: “What is the problem? Why are we not making more disciples?”
Great question, right? If Jesus has called us to make disciples of all nations, why are we not doing more of it? Honestly, I’ve been asking myself this same question for the last thirty years of local church ministry.
My response to my friend was quite simple: “I believe we are not making more disciples for one of two reasons- ignorance, or disobedience. Simply meaning, we don’t know how, or we don’t care.”
One conclusion I have made after talking to other pastors is that many pastors and church leaders simply don’t know how to lead their churches to be a disciple making movement. The other conclusion I have come to is that some leaders know how to make disciples, but they simply don’t do it.
If ignorance is the reason a person or church is not making disciples, then obviously more training is necessary. Having attended a very strong and successful seminary, I can tell you that disciple making doesn’t even make the radar. Most pastors are not getting practical “Jesus style” disciple making as a part of their theological education.
I actually started Impact Ministries to help pastors and church leaders figure out how to lead the Church back to being a movement of multiplying disciples. I tell lots of folks that I know more about what not to do than what to do, but I have learned much from the school of trial and error. I am happy to share anything I have learned.
If disobedience is the problem, then we must repent and renew our commitment to obeying the Great Commission. When disobedience is the problem, it is rarely a blatant “who cares” attitude. Our disobedience is much more subtle. Our disobedience is usually cloaked in things like distraction, division, or even discouragement. In other words, we really want to obey the Great Commission, but we allow the enemy to derail us with a host of attacks.
The best way to beat disobedience is to resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Stay the course and be persistent in making disciples, and God will honor your obedience. Impact Ministries understands the way the enemy attacks disciple making, and we exist to encourage and inspire people to obedience. Let us know how we can help you in your disciple making ministry.
If you are committed to seeing more disciples made then contact impactdisciples.com for more information and resources in disciple making. We would love to assist you in the mission of Jesus Christ. Contact us for a free download of “Discovering Disciple Making.”
