Making Disciples

Training Regular People to be Disciples

Disciple-making is not a program – it’s a lifestyle. This is a big truth. Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Clearly, this was no call to join a discipleship program but an invitation to a lifestyle of disciple-making. According to Jesus, this lifestyle is the supreme purpose of every believer. It’s the “greater work” He has called us to do – anytime and anywhere. With no big buildings or budgets, Jesus launched a disciple-making movement that exploded upon the world. In comparison, the church today has discipleship programs but few disciple-making people.

Every child needs a father who will teach him how to fish. I was blessed to have such a father. When I was seven years old, my dad said, “Son, I want to teach you how to fish.” I was so excited. My dad loved to fish, and I wanted to do everything that he did. One day we loaded our fishing gear and headed out to my Uncle Bill’s lake. It was a beautiful private lake just outside of town on my uncle’s farm.

When we arrived, my dad told me there were a lot of fish in this lake and that we were going to catch them. But how? I was only seven; I didn’t know how to fish. Then my dad did something that was a game-changer. He placed in my hands a fishing rod and a reel. “This is a Zebco 33,” he said, “It’s the most simple and reliable fishing reel that you will ever use.”

With only a few tries, I could cast out the bait as I followed my dad’s instructions. That day my dad taught me how to fish with a Zebco 33. He is in heaven now, but thanks to my loving dad, I can still catch fish today.

What I’m glad my dad didn’t do was to take me fishing without teaching me how. I wouldn’t have known where to begin. I probably would have jumped in the water and begun swimming around looking for a fish to catch with my bare hands. It would have never happened. After many failed attempts, even a determined boy like me would be forced to give up. I would have left that day and concluded that fishing was just not my thing.

No loving father would do this. He would never take his son fishing and not teach him how to fish. Yet, this is exactly what we often do in our churches. We preach regularly about the Great Commission and challenge our people to make disciples. But we fail to teach them how. We leave them to learn for themselves, and after many failed attempts, they eventually give up and conclude that disciple-making is just not their thing. They decide to leave fishing for men to the “professionals.”

We preach regularly about the Great Commission and challenge our people to make disciples. But we fail to teach them how. We leave them to learn for themselves, and after many failed attempts, they eventually give up and conclude that disciple-making is just not their thing.

Here is the point. If you want a disciple-making church, you must teach your people how to fish. Before Jesus said, “Go make disciples of all nations,” He said to His followers, “Let me teach you how to fish.” His invitation was clear. “Follow me,” He said, “And I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Just as my father taught me how to fish, Jesus taught His followers how to be fishers of men.

In churches today, every disciple needs someone who will teach them how to fish. But how? How do we teach common people to be Christ-like disciple makers? There are three important things we can learn from Jesus.

Discipleship Must Be Intentional
Genuine disciple makers aren’t made by accident. When my dad said that he wanted to teach me how to fish, I knew exactly what he meant. His intentions were clear. We were not going bowling. We are going fishing, and he was going to teach me how. Likewise, Jesus was very clear about His intentions for His followers. He told them that He was going to make them into something new. He was going to teach them how to be fishers of men. Jesus was highly intentional about making disciples who make disciples. He didn’t make any other kind.

Discipleship Must Be Personal
We also learn that genuine disciple makers aren’t made by discipleship programs. Jesus was a personal disciple maker. He didn’t enroll His disciples in a discipleship class; He called them to follow Him. With great patience, He personally trained them to be fishers of men. The same was true for my dad. He didn’t buy me a book on fishing or sign me up for a bait casting course. Instead, he put a Zebco 33 in my hands and personally taught me how to use it. He made me believe that I could catch fish, and he fished with me until I was confident enough to do it myself. I cherish the memories of the many hours that we spent fishing together. It was a very personal and relational experience that I will always treasure in my heart.

Discipleship Must Be Reproducible
Finally, we see that genuine disciples make other disciples. That’s the very nature of what they do. Like the art of fishing, it’s passed down from one generation to the other. My grandfather taught my dad how to fish and my dad taught me. Now, I will have the joy of teaching my grandchildren to fish. Likewise, Jesus taught His followers how to make disciples, and they had the joy of teaching many others. This was the heart and foundation of the early church. In the beginning, they had no church buildings or ministry programs, but they had one thing that we often don’t. They had disciples who knew how to make disciples. This was the one main thing that Jesus had trained them to do, and they did it well.

Discipleship In Your Ministry
How are you doing in this area? Are you successfully training common people to be Christ-like disciple makers? Do you have an intentional, personal, and reproducible process for making disciples who make disciples? Honestly, most churches don’t. Churches today are often guilty of having “discipleship programs” that fail to produce disciple-making people.

About the Author
Dr. Bill Wilks is Lead Pastor of NorthPark Church in Trussville, Alabama, where he has served since 1999. He is also the author and lead trainer for D-Life. Bill and his wife Rondie are passionate disciple makers and have trained thousands of believers for a lifestyle of disciple-making in churches, associations, and state conventions across the country.

Source: Used with permission from Bill Wilks. Link Here.