Discipleship Questions Everyone Asks

I Want to Make Disciples. But I Don’t Know How.

Real Questions About Making Disciples. Biblical Answers.

We’ve all heard Jesus’ command to go and make disciples. For many of us, the question isn’t whether we should. It’s how.

Maybe you’ve thought you don’t know enough. Maybe you’re afraid someone will ask a question you can’t answer. Maybe you look at your own life and wonder how you can help someone else follow Jesus when you still have so much to learn.

I’ve heard those same questions many times.

I’ve seen it happen in our training again and again. People want to follow Jesus. They want to help others. But they don’t see themselves as someone who could actually make disciples.

Then they begin to experience discipleship for themselves. They discover they don’t have to be Bible scholars. They don’t have to have all the answers. They don’t have to be perfect. They simply need to learn how to follow Jesus and help someone else do the same.

And something begins to change.

They start to think, Maybe I can do this.

I believe you can, too. And more importantly, Jesus believes you can. He called you to make disciples, and He will equip you to do what He has called you to do.

The questions in these pages are probably questions you’ve asked yourself. Some you may have never said out loud. We’re going to bring those questions into the light and look at what the Bible says.

Because sometimes the problem isn’t that we don’t want to make disciples.

We simply don’t know how.

Let’s talk about that.

1. Who am I to disciple someone else?

You may feel that someone else is more qualified, more knowledgeable, or more spiritual than you are. But Jesus didn’t limit disciple-making to pastors, teachers, or Bible scholars. He told His followers to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:18–20).

You don’t have to be above someone to help them. You simply need to be willing to walk with them.

Disciples make disciples.

2. But I don’t know enough.

You don’t have to know everything to help someone grow. God has chosen to work through ordinary people, not because of their impressive abilities, but so that the focus would remain on Him (1 Corinthians 1:27–29).

You need to know Jesus, be willing to learn, and be willing to open God’s Word with someone else.

You don’t have to be a Bible expert. You need to be faithful with what God has already given you.

3. What if they ask me something I can’t answer?

They will. And that’s okay.

You can say, I don’t know. Let’s find out together.

James tells us that if we lack wisdom, we should ask God, who gives generously (James 1:5). You don’t have to pretend to know what you don’t know.

Sometimes the best thing you can teach someone is how to seek the answer together.

4. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.

Many people genuinely want to make disciples but have never been shown how.

Jesus gave us the mission and a basic pattern: go, make disciples, baptize, and teach them to obey what He commanded (Matthew 28:19–20).

You don’t have to invent disciple-making.

You can learn it. We’re here to help you get started.

5. I’ve never been taught how to make disciples.

That may be part of the problem.

We often expect Christians to make disciples without ever teaching them how. But Paul says that leaders in the church are given to equip God’s people for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:11–12).

You cannot reproduce what you have never learned.

The good news is that disciple-making can be learned, practiced, and reproduced.

6. I’m not spiritually mature enough.

You don’t need to be perfect before you can help someone else follow Jesus.

Paul said he had not already obtained everything or arrived at the goal. He was still pressing forward (Philippians 3:12–14).

The question isn’t whether you’ve arrived.

The question is whether you are faithfully following Jesus.

A growing disciple can help another growing disciple.

7. I need to know the Bible better first.

Knowing Scripture matters. But you don’t have to master the Bible before you begin helping someone else discover it.

Paul tells believers to let the Word of Christ dwell richly among them, teaching and encouraging one another (Colossians 3:16).

In Core, the Bible is the curriculum. Open it together. Ask questions. Listen. Apply what it says. Obey it.

You learn Scripture as you help someone else learn Scripture.

8. What if I lead someone the wrong way?

That concern is actually healthy. We should take spiritual influence seriously.

But the answer isn’t to avoid discipling people. The answer is to keep Jesus and His Word at the center.

Scripture is what teaches us, corrects us, trains us, and equips us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

You are not their Savior. You are not their Holy Spirit. And you are not the source of truth.

Your responsibility is to faithfully point them to Jesus and God’s Word.

9. I’m not a good teacher.

Disciple-making isn’t primarily about standing in front of people and teaching.

Paul described his ministry among the Thessalonians as more than simply giving them a message. He shared not only the gospel but his own life with them (1 Thessalonians 2:8).

You don’t have to be a gifted teacher to love someone, open the Bible with them, pray with them, share life with them, and help them obey Jesus.

10. I don’t have the personality to lead a group.

Maybe you don’t. That’s okay.

God doesn’t use everyone in exactly the same way. Paul reminds us that there are different gifts, different kinds of service, and different kinds of working, but the same God is at work through them all (1 Corinthians 12:4–7).

You don’t have to become someone else to make disciples.

You simply need to follow Jesus and invite someone to follow Him with you. Be yourself in Christ.

11. What if I fail?

You probably will make mistakes.

I have, and I will again.

Failure doesn’t disqualify us from discipleship. Paul understood that he could plant and someone else could water, but God gives the growth (1 Corinthians 3:6–7).

Our calling is faithfulness, not perfection. Each day we can simply ask, Lord, how can I be faithful today?

12. What if nobody wants to meet with me?

They may say no.

That doesn’t mean you failed.

Jesus prepared His disciples for rejection. He told them that some people would not receive them or listen to their message (Matthew 10:14).

Our responsibility is to be faithful in making the invitation and loving the people God puts around us.

Start with a few. Stay faithful. Give God time to work in people’s lives.

13. What if the people I’m discipling don’t grow?

You cannot make someone grow.

You can love them. Pray for them. Open God’s Word with them. Encourage them. Challenge them. Walk with them.

But growth ultimately comes from abiding in Christ. Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

That frees you from trying to control the results and allows you to focus on being faithful.

14. I have too many problems in my own life.

I have lots of problems. You have problems. We all have problems.

If perfect people were required to make disciples, there would be no disciple-makers.

Paul learned that God’s power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Your weakness doesn’t necessarily disqualify you. It may become an opportunity to point someone else to Christ.

You don’t have to pretend you have everything together.

You simply need to keep following Jesus.

15. Isn’t disciple-making something pastors are supposed to do?

Pastors have an important role in equipping the church. But Scripture describes the whole body of Christ as being equipped for ministry (Ephesians 4:11–12).

You may not be a pastor. You may never stand behind a pulpit.

But you can still help someone follow Jesus.

Paul reminds us that we are the body of Christ, and each of us has a part to play (1 Corinthians 12:27).

Jesus is the One who sends us. His authority, not our qualifications, is what gives us confidence to obey His command to make disciples (Matthew 28:18–20).

16. I don’t have time.

Truth is, most of us don’t find time.

We make room for what matters.

Paul tells us to make the best use of our time because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15–16). Following Jesus means learning to use the time He has given us wisely.

Disciple-making isn’t another program to add to your life.

It’s a way of life for life.

17. I don’t feel confident.

You may never feel ready before you begin.

Confidence often comes after obedience, not before it.

When the religious leaders saw the boldness of Peter and John, they were astonished because they were ordinary, uneducated men. Then they recognized that these men had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).

Your confidence doesn’t come from your education, experience, personality, or ability.

Our confidence is in Jesus.

18. What if I start and don’t know what to do next?

That’s why having a simple, reproducible process matters.

You don’t need to know every step of the journey before you take the first one. Proverbs tells us to trust in the Lord rather than depending entirely on our own understanding, and He will make our paths straight (Proverbs 3:5–6).

Learn the process. Practice it. Keep following Jesus. Help the person you’re discipling do the same.

You learn as you go.

19. What if people think I’m trying to be their pastor?

You are not their pastor.

You are their fellow disciple.

Disciple-making is not about having authority over someone’s life. It is about loving someone enough to help them follow Jesus.

Peter told church leaders to shepherd God’s people willingly and by example, not by domineering over them (1 Peter 5:2–3).

We walk alongside people. We don’t take the place of Christ, the Holy Spirit, or the local church.

20. Can God really use someone like me?

Yes.

That may be the most important answer in this entire article.

God has always used ordinary people who were willing to trust Him.

The disciples were not impressive by the world’s standards. In Acts 4:13, the leaders recognized them as uneducated, common men and were astonished by their boldness. The difference was that they had been with Jesus.

You may not know everything. You may not feel ready. You may not be a teacher, pastor, or leader.

But if you are willing to follow Jesus, He can use you to help someone else follow Him.

The question may not be whether you are ready.

The question may simply be whether you are willing.

Let’s go make disciples together.

 

Love God. Love others. Make disciples.