Dear Discipleship-first Friends,
What if the biggest threat to disciple making in your church… wasn’t sin or culture—but distraction?
Many churches and leaders start with the right heart. We want to love people well and and the goal is always good ministry. But somewhere along the way, we get pulled into side quests—programs, events, and activities that aren’t bad, but aren’t the main thing either.
That’s why Principle #9 is critical:
We must stay laser focused on being disciples who make disciples.
Because if disciple making doesn’t stay the focus… it gets lost in everything else.
What This Looks Like in Real Life
Years ago, I played a video game with my kids (okay—mostly for me). The whole goal was to climb a mountain and defeat a dragon.
But at the start, your character wasn’t strong enough to climb that mountain and slay that dragon. You had to complete “side quests” to level up. The problem? Those side quests never ended. New side quests kept popping up over and over, and if you weren’t careful, you’d never climb that mountain at all.
That’s a picture of ministry.
We’re called to make disciples. But the side quests—events, programs, even well-meaning traditions—can fill our time and energy so completely that we never get up that mountain.
A Focus That Changes Everything
In our ministry work in India, we adopted one phrase that changed everything:
“Train the saved. Save the lost.”
That became our banner—literally and figuratively. If it didn’t support that mission, we cut it. And over time, it created a disciple making culture that still thrives today.
Laser focus looks like this:
✅ Clarity on your core mission
✅ Willingness to prune—even good things
✅ Courage to say “no” so you can say “yes” to what matters most
Why This Matters for Leaders
If you’re a senior pastor, elder, or ministry leader, I want to speak directly to you:
It takes tough-minded leadership to stay focused.
You’ll be pressured to keep legacy programs, to say yes to every good idea, to avoid disappointing people. But if you don’t fight to keep disciple making at the center, something else will take its place.
As Jesus taught in John 15, even fruitful branches must be pruned—so they can bear more fruit.
Want to Go Deeper?
We just released a powerful new video on Principle #9: Laser Focus—sharing how disciple making movements are staying focused on the mission, and what it takes to cut through distraction.
🎥 WATCH NOW – “Laser Focus”
👉 https://discipleship.org/10-disciple-making-principles/
You’ll learn:
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Why distraction is one of the enemy’s best tools
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How to identify and prune what’s getting in the way
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What happens when a church truly makes disciple making the main thing
Let’s stop settling for ministry busyness. Let’s get laser focused—on being disciples who make disciples.
For King Jesus,