Every believer and every church needs a disciple making system that is simple, effective, and reproducible. Those three words are not trendy—they are essential.
I once heard someone compare a particular church’s disciple making strategy to the way the Harvard basketball team plays. “It’s pretty complicated,” he said, “but it might work.” That’s the problem. Disciple making is not for experts. It’s for everyday disciples. We don’t need a Harvard system.
If the average believer cannot understand it, practice it, and pass it on, it will not multiply.
And churches don’t need three competing systems. They need a clear, unified pathway (with minor variations if necessary) that everyone can embrace.
This is why the Discipleship.org pre-conference the day before the RENEW.org National Gathering will feature an afternoon with disciple making practitioners like Ralph Moore, Josh Howard, Carl and Alicia Williamson, Ashlee Catizon, and Kerry Cox. They are highly effective personal disciple makers with highly effective—and proven—tools.
– Click here for more on the Discipleship.org Pre-conference –
Let me share why you need a simple, effective, and reproducible model in your ministry or church. Go over these principles when you sit down with your team to design or refine your approach—and remember these three words:
1. Simple
The process must be simple to understand, simple to practice, and simple to pass on. If it requires a 45-page manual to explain, most people won’t attempt it—let alone reproduce it. Complexity kills momentum.
But when we put shovels, not spreadsheets, into people’s hands, everything changes.
Your model should be clear enough for a 12-year-old and accessible enough for an 82-year-old. It might be a mission-focused group, a disciple making small group, or a micro-group of three to five people. The format matters less than the clarity. Make it easy to start. Make it easy to lead. Make it easy to repeat.
Simplicity lowers the barrier to entry—and movements require low barriers.
“If it requires a 45-page manual to explain, most people won’t attempt it—let alone reproduce it.”
2. Effective
Some disciple making models sound brilliant in theory but fail in practice. Some work well in one demographic but not another. Some flourish in one region but stall in another. Many ideas look promising on paper. Very few produce lasting fruit.
I once joked that over 90% of the ideas I’ve tried didn’t work. That may not be scientific, but it feels true. The lesson? Test before you scale.
Before you ask an entire church to adopt a system, make sure it actually produces disciples in your context. Effectiveness isn’t measured by enthusiasm but by transformation—changed lives, growing obedience, and emerging disciple makers.
Every church must find an effective model for its own soil. Borrow wisdom. Learn from others. But make sure what you adopt truly bears fruit where you are.
“Make sure what you adopt truly bears fruit where you are.”
3. Reproducible
The goal isn’t just disciples. It’s disciples who make disciples.
That means your system must be easy for someone you disciple to repeat with someone else. If they can’t explain it, lead it, and replicate it, it stops with you.
A reproducible model depends on three tangible elements: a tool, a plan, and a process:
A Tool
Disciple makers need tools—simple guides that help them lead others toward Jesus. Tools might include discussion questions, Bible-reading pathways, or clear frameworks for conversation. They should guide, teach, and direct without overwhelming. If most people can’t use the tool confidently, it’s too complicated.
A Plan
“Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” Disciple makers need clarity about where they are going and how they will get there. The plan explains how to use the tools. It provides direction and sequence. Tools and plans must work together. When they do, disciple makers know both the destination and the pathway.
A Process
Conversion and sanctification are not events as much as processes. Growth in Christlikeness happens through identifiable steps. Disciple makers must understand the process so they can patiently coach others forward. Just as a coach studies player development, disciple makers must understand spiritual development. When they know the process, they can guide with wisdom and patience.
“Disciple makers must understand the process so they can patiently coach others forward.”
Intentionality Makes It Repeatable
Disciple makers must themselves be discipled intentionally. If we are vague about what we’re doing, others won’t know how to repeat it. If we are explicit—warmly and relationally explicit—they can reproduce it.
We often say: what is unintentional is not reproducible.
How do we take a simple, effective, and reproducible model—and make it intentional? In my experience, intentional disciple makers follow a progression like the following with whatever model they are using:
- I do. You watch. We talk.
- I do. You help. We talk.
- You do. I help. We talk.
- You do. I watch. We talk.
- You do. Someone else watches.
The progression is simple. Memorable. Practical. And powerful. I personally use this pattern whenever I disciple a leader. It creates clarity, confidence, and multiplication.
“What is unintentional is not reproducible.”
3 Models (Among Many)
So let’s make sure we’re clear on what we’ve said so far: Whatever model you and your church use, it needs to be simple, effective, and reproducible—and you need to be intentional about keeping it the main thing.
So, is there a single, one-size-fits-all model that we should all be using? I don’t at all think so. Like I said earlier, you need a proven model that makes disciples in your context. With that said, here are three examples—three among many simple, effective, reproducible models out there—that I believe are worth your consideration. They will all be presented at the Discipleship.org pre-conference, just before the RENEW.org National Gathering, Monday, April 20, from 12:00 to 6:00 p.m.
The Hope Chapel Model
Ralph Moore has spent over fifty years making disciple makers—not just disciples. As founder of the Hope Chapel Movement, emerging from the Jesus Movement of the early 1970s, Moore built churches that multiply. The disciple making churches he planted have led to at least 2,639 new churches. Today, Hope Chapel is recognized by Exponential and Discipleship.org as North America’s only verified Level 5 multiplication movement.
In Hawaii, churches Moore planted in the late 1980s ultimately reached 1% of the state’s population—fulfilling his original prayerful vision.
Moore’s pattern is simple and reproducible: disciples make disciples through personal, life-on-life relationships, reaching people beyond church events. The model centers on obeying Scripture through four questions:
- What did God say to you?
- What will you do about it?
- How can we help you obey?
- Who else should you tell?
This creates a culture of listening, obedience, support, and multiplication—an effective, repeatable process that transforms lives.
“This creates a culture of listening, obedience, support, and multiplication—an effective, repeatable process that transforms lives.”
The Trust and Follow Jesus Model
This discipleship model, developed by myself along with Carl and Alicia Williamson, centers on small, relational groups of 3–5 people (same gender) designed to foster disciple making conversations patterned after Jesus. Each group begins with a covenant establishing intentionality, confidentiality, and a commitment to multiplication. Groups typically last 6, 12, or 18 months. 
Early meetings focus on sharing personal spiritual biographies, building trust, vulnerability, and accountability that lead to deeper maturity.
The Trust and Follow Jesus guide uses Scripture as the primary curriculum, covering foundational issues: the historical reality of Jesus, trustworthiness of the Bible, the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection, baptism, and everyday obedience. Each chapter includes discussion questions and practical tools—Bible study outlines and training sections—to equip participants to start their own groups. Longer-term groups explore additional biblical themes.
Leaders intentionally train members to replicate the process, creating multiplying groups in churches and on campuses, including a strong movement at Harding University.
“Leaders intentionally train members to replicate the process, creating multiplying groups in churches and on campuses.”
The Two-on-One Model
The Crossings Church (St. Charles County, MO) uses a relational, biblically-grounded discipleship model, and it will be presented by Ashlee Catizon and Kerry Cox. It is focused on seekers and spiritual inquirers, rooted in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18–20). Each group includes two leaders and one seeker. Having two mentors is intentional: it provides balanced perspectives, shared responsibility, and models that spiritual growth happens in community—reflecting Jesus sending disciples out in pairs (Luke 10).
- Building Bridges: Leaders intentionally form genuine relationships in everyday settings—work, school, sports, or coffee shops—before inviting people into study.
- Forming Groups: Interested individuals join a triad with a leader and apprentice. The seeker is discipled in core biblical truths while the apprentice is trained to lead, creating immediate relational connection within the church.
- Content: Groups meet regularly, beginning with “Seeking God,” then “The Word” (Bible reliability), followed by “Sin and the Cross.” Teaching and relationship together foster lasting spiritual growth and maturity.
“Each group includes two leaders and one seeker.”
Why Simplicity Unlocks Movement
The goal in all these models is not to reduce disciple making to a mere formula. Disciple making is relational, takes time, and confronts real-life struggles. Instead, the goal is to lower the barrier so more people can participate.
With simple, effective tools:
- People feel confident leading.
- Discipleship becomes reproducible.
- Intentional relationships flourish.
When people are not bogged down by complexity, they can focus on what matters most: loving well, living intentionally, obeying Jesus, and helping others do the same.
That’s how disciples become disciple makers.
And that’s how movements begin.
