Disciple Making
Jesus gave the church one job description. Go and make disciples. Not attract crowds, not fill buildings, not produce good people. Make disciples who make disciples, teaching them to obey everything he commanded.
That is the whole of RENEW.org's reason for existing, and this page is where the teaching lives. What a disciple is. How Jesus actually made them. The stages a person moves through, the shifts a church has to make, and what it looks like when disciple making becomes normal rather than exceptional.
What Disciple Making Is
Why this matters: The word gets used loosely enough that two people can say "discipleship" and mean completely different things. Start here.
- Bobby Harrington"What Is Discipleship?"
- Joseph Shulam"Discipleship in the Bible (It's More Than Just the New Testament)"
- Bobby Harrington and Scott Sager"Introduction to Disciple Making"
- Bobby Harrington and Scott Sager"Why Is Disciple Making the Core Mission of the Church?"
- Bobby Harrington and Scott Sager"What Is the Result of Disciple Making?"
- Phil Rehberg"What Does a Maturing Disciple of Jesus Look Like?"
How Jesus Made Disciples
Why this matters: Jesus had a method. It was relational, slow, and reproducible, and it often looks very little like many modern church programs.
- Bobby Harrington"What Was Jesus' Disciple Making Method?"
- Bobby Harrington and Scott Sager"Why Are the Teachings and Life of Jesus Important for Disciple Making?"
- Tina Wilson"6 Discipleship Insights We Learn from Watching Jesus with Disciples"
- Debbra Stephens"What Today's Disciples Can Learn from the First Disciples"
- Mark E. Moore"How Does Jesus Call Us to Both Salvation and Discipleship?"
The Five Stages of Disciple Making
Why this matters: Jesus called people in stages, and the invitation changed as they went. Knowing which stage someone is in changes what you ask of them.
- Bobby Harrington"The Stages of Disciple Making: 'Come and See' (Part 1)"
- Bobby Harrington"The Stages of Disciple Making: 'Come and Follow Me' (Part 2)"
- Bobby Harrington"The Stages of Disciple Making: 'Come and Be with Me' (Part 3)"
- Bobby Harrington"The Stages of Disciple Making: 'Come Take Up Your Cross' (Part 4)"
- Bobby Harrington"The Stages of Disciple Making: Go and Make Disciples (Part 5)"
Making Disciples in Practice
Why this matters: Many Christians do not need more conviction about the need for disciple making. They need to know what to do on Tuesday.
- Anthony Walker"Invitation to Discipleship"
- Grant Fitzhugh and Carl A. Williamson"The 3 People I Should Ask to Be Part of a Disciple Making Group"
- Carl A. Williamson"How to Use the 'Trust & Follow Jesus' Manual for Disciple Making"
- Michelle Eagle"What Works in Disciple Making? 10 Answers from People I've Discipled"
- Richard Jett"Keep Disciple Making Simple"
- Bobby Harrington"Is Your Disciple Making Simple, Effective, and Reproducible?"
- Devin Robertson"Hospitality in Disciple Making"
- Matt Dabbs"Make Disciple Makers, Not Just Disciples"
Disciple Making Churches
Why this matters: A church does not drift into disciple making. These are the practices that separate the churches doing it from the churches talking about it.
- Bobby Harrington and Josh Howard"Practices of Disciple Making Churches: Convictional Leadership"
- Bobby Harrington and Josh Howard"Practices of Disciple Making Churches: Prayer and Scripture"
- Bobby Harrington and Josh Howard"Practices of Disciple Making Churches: Obedience-Based, Reproducible Models"
- Bobby Harrington"Weekend Gatherings in Disciple Making Churches"
- Bobby Harrington"Why Is the Culture of a Disciple Making Church So Important?"
- Paul Huyghebaert and Josh Howard"What Disciple Making Churches are Actually Doing"
- Bobby Harrington"Church Leaders: Focus on Disciple Making"
- Brandon Guindon and Daniel McCoy"How Can Churches Cultivate a Disciple Making Culture? Q&A with Brandon Guindon"
Five Shifts
Why this matters: Moving a church toward disciple making means changing five specific things. This series names each one.
- Preston Conder"5 Shifts to Return to Jesus-Style Disciple Making"
- Preston Conder"Disciple Making Shift #1: From Church Members to Disciple Makers"
- Preston Conder"Disciple Making Shift #2 – From Going to Church to Going to Lost People"
- Preston Conder"Disciple Making Shift #3 – From Professionals to Everyone Reaching the Lost"
- Preston Conder"Disciple Making Shift #4 – From Teaching Information to Teaching Obedience"
- Preston Conder"Disciple Making Shift #5 – From Competing Goals to One End Goal"
Movements and Multiplication
Why this matters: In some parts of the world, disciple making multiplies faster than anyone can organise it. These resources ask what is actually transferable.
- Bobby Harrington"Four Disciple Making Essentials"
- Shodankeh Johnson"12 Key Prayer Points for Disciple Making Movements"
- Brother PK"7 Steps to Catalyze a Disciple Making Movement"
- Josh Howard"Igniting Disciple Making Movements in North America: Four Crucial Steps"
- Matt Dabbs"Three Things to Learn from Curtis Sergeant About Disciple Making Movements"
- Matt Dabbs"Three Things We Learn About Making Disciples from Shodankeh Johnson"