The misconception that holds leaders back
Some leaders reject the disciple-making ministry of Jesus as the model for the local church for purely pragmatic reasons. They just don’t think it will work. I don’t know how many times I’ve talked to pastors about disciple making in their church and they give me a blank stare. Most are not sure what I’m talking about.
For them, ministry in the modern day of technology, sophistication, and globalization means better buildings, better preaching, and better programs. They just don’t think that one on one or small group disciple making will work today.
Why modern ministry models fall short
I think the opposite. From what I’ve witnessed, all the models of the local church have not produced greater disciples for Jesus. They haven’t produced more boldness, more holiness, more devotion. If anything, many of the ministries today dumb down the message of Jesus in order to placate those who fill the seats. Somehow we have convinced ourselves that greater attendance means greater ministry.
Jesus, however, didn’t fall for that. He didn’t give himself to the crowds. He knew what was in the heart of men (John 2.24-25). He knew what people really need is a lifechanging encounter with him. Somehow today we have more attending, but fewer transformed. More claim to know Jesus, but few live like they know Jesus.
How Jesus multiplied a movement
Jesus knew that life transformation happens when one person invests their life in another (I Thessalonians 2.8). That is what he did with his men. That is what he called his men to do, and that is what happened in the early church.
Jesus started with five men (John 1.35-51). Over the next twelve months that number grew to twelve (Mark 3.13-14). Those twelve Jesus trained for about a year until they reproduced to seventy (Luke 10.1-24). While as many as five hundred believers were witness to his resurrection (I Corinthians 15.6), only one hundred twenty were truly committed to him and ready to ignite a movement (Acts 1.13-15).
From that small group of committed disciples came an explosion for multiplication. Within two years they had “filled Jerusalem” with the gospel (Acts 5.28). Within four and a half years there were multiplying churches (Acts 9.30). In nineteen years they had “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17.6). Within twenty-eight years, the gospel had spread all over the known world (Colossians 1.56).
A modern example of multiplication in action
Some may say, “Yes, I know that multiplication happened in the New Testament, but I don’t think it happens today.” If I could, I would introduce you my friend Harry Tembo. Harry lives in Lusaka, Zambia. Lusaka is the sprawling capital city of Zambia, an urban center teaming with well over two million people.
Several years ago, a team from our church traveled to Zambia to invest in a handful of pastors and train them to make disciples like Jesus. Harry was part of that original group of pastors. To meet Harry is to love him. His small, thin frame and dark skin stand in stark contrast to his brilliant smile and larger than life personality.
It was during that first training that Harry caught the vision of making disciples. His heart surged with excitement and he immediately began to invest his life in other pastors. Soon the handful of pastors began to multiply. More resources were printed, and more lives were impacted. Before long, these pastors were traveling into outlying areas, sharing the gospel, and investing their lives in emerging leaders. It was a rapidly moving, indigenous movement.
Today the leaders in Zambia have grown to well over three thousand, establishing churches and training leaders. They also have a vision to build multiplying disciples in every nation south of the Sahara.
God’s plan is still the best plan
God is at work. God works through his people as they give themselves fully to his commission to make disciples to the ends of the earth.
This blog originally appeared at: From Five Men to A Global Movement: Jesus’ Unstoppable Model – discipleFIRST features an excerpt from one of their books, Bold Moves.