What is a Disciple-Maker?
The answer to this question should be easy to answer. A disciple-maker is someone who has helped at least one other person become a disciple. Simple enough. At least until we ask the underlying question: What is a disciple?
Before writing this article, I googled “What is a disciple.” The top answer was from Oxford Languages – the dictionary that fuels Google. Here’s the answer: “A personal follower of Jesus during his life, especially one of the twelve Apostles.”
Well, good night! If disciples were only the people who followed Jesus “during his life,” then are there no more disciples of Jesus today! That’s a ridiculous notion. (I did send feedback to Google. Let’s see if they make a correction!)
There are some Christians who think that a disciple is anyone who has responded to the gospel message – what the Bible refers to as a babe in Christ (Hebrews 5:13, 1 Corinthians 3: 1-3). Others think that a disciple is someone who obeys “everything” that Christ commanded (Matthew 28:20). Many Christians think a disciple is something between these two extremes, and they often use the term “follower” in their descriptions.
At Reproducers for Christ, we believe that a disciple is “someone who can independently walk in a relationship with God.” (See that article here.)
So, to finally answer the question, a disciple-maker helps another person “independently walk in relationship with God.” And, of course, a disciple-maker has to be a disciple himself.
We see a disciple-maker working his way three phases, if you will. A Developing Disciple-Maker is learning the content and skills someone needs to be a disciple. A Practicing Disciple-Maker has helped at least one person become a disciple and is looking for another person to help. A Reproducing Disciple-Maker has not only helped someone become a disciple but has also helped someone become a disciple-maker.
We would also use an adjective to better describe a disciple-maker in any of these three phases: Active! If you made a disciple five years ago but haven’t repeated the process with someone else, you’re no longer “practicing.” That would be like building a shed in your backyard five years ago and now calling yourself a carpenter.
An active disciple-maker still has his hands on the plow. If he doesn’t have a man to help currently, he’s looking for someone who’s hungry that he can begin to help now.
Here’s a related verse that might give support to that idea. In John 6:66 (NASB) we told, “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.” While this verse is talking about disciple leaving Jesus, the principle applies to disciple-makers as well.
Let’s press on to make disciples and help fulfill Christ’s Great Commission in Matthew 28:19,20.
I’d love to hear in the comments below which of the three phases of a disciple-maker you find yourself in – and which you’d like to reach in a next 6-12 months.