It is very difficult for Disciple Making Leaders to cross the finish line. Many leaders I know have completed a curriculum or finished a set number of meetings, but they gave up on the actual mission. Our mission is to: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…” (Matthew 28:19–20) The mission of making disciples is a life-long mission!
When Jesus stood on a mountain in Galilee and told His disciples to “make disciples,” He didn’t mean for only a season. He meant until He came back or until they died. I believe Jesus envisioned Peter, James, John, and the other disciples spending the rest of their lives obeying His command to make more disciples.
Disciple making is not something we do out of convenience or comfort. It isn’t something we do because “it fits where we are in life.” Disciple making is a huge part of why we exist, and we need to stay committed to the mission in front of us. Commit yourself to making disciples for a lifetime!
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Jesus made an interesting statement in John 14:12:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”
The things that Jesus had been doing were not just miracles. He was also making disciples who would one day help change the world. Jesus was working a plan to reach the nations and He knew that after He went away to the Father, we would do what He did at an even greater level.
Jesus only had three years to make disciples who would make disciples. Most of us have several decades to be “about” the mission of making disciples. The question we need to ask is whether or not we are doing a greater job of disciple making over many years than Jesus was able to do in three years.
I believe the key to finishing the mission is to stay at it. If you keep your hand to the plow, you will finish the mission of Jesus. In Luke 9:62 Jesus said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is for for the kingdom of God.” I can give you a long list of people I know who have stopped living out the mission of making disciples. They started the process highly committed, but somehow over time, they lost touch with the vision and fell right into the very trap the enemy set for them. If the enemy can stop disciples from making disciples, the nations remain unreached. Don’t let that be true of you. Stay in the game and keep your hand to the “disciple making plow” and keep making disciples.
By Ken Adams