01. Can You Be a Disciple and Not Multiply Disciples?
Can You Be a Disciple and Not Multiply Disciples?. Part 01
Can you be a disciple of Jesus and never multiply disciples?
For many Christians, the question itself may sound unfair. After all, isn’t a disciple someone who believes in Jesus? Someone who attends church? Someone who reads the Bible, prays, gives, serves, and tries to live a godly life?
Certainly, disciples should do all these things. But is that the complete picture Jesus gave us?
What Did Jesus Expect His Disciples to Do?
Before Jesus returned to heaven, He gave His disciples one final command:
“All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go 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 things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”. Matthew 28:18. 20 WEB
Jesus commanded His disciples to make disciples. He did not give this responsibility only to pastors. He did not reserve it for missionaries. He did not limit it to evangelists, theologians, or unusually gifted Christians. He gave it to His disciples.
Yet somewhere along the way, we separated being a disciple from making disciples. We began treating discipleship as something we receive rather than something we reproduce.
We Have Redefined Discipleship
Today, a person may be considered a mature Christian because they have attended church for many years. They may know the Bible. They may serve on committees. They may give faithfully. They may have completed classes, attended conferences, and listened to thousands of sermons.
But no one has ever asked them: Who are you discipling?
No one has ever asked: Who is learning to obey Jesus because you are walking with them?
No one has ever asked: Who will continue making disciples after you are gone?
We have sometimes measured maturity by how much a Christian has received. Jesus measured discipleship by obedience.
Is Disciple-Making Optional?
Most churches would never say disciple-making is unimportant. It appears in our sermons. It appears in our mission statements. It appears on our websites.
But in practice, we often treat it as optional. We celebrate Christians who attend faithfully, even if they never help another person follow Jesus. We allow believers to sit, listen, learn, and receive for decades without accepting personal responsibility for the Great Commission.
We have unintentionally created a category that seems foreign to the New Testament: a disciple who does not make disciples.
Is that category biblical? Or have we accepted a definition of discipleship that Jesus never gave us?
This Question Is Personal
It is easy to talk about what the Church should be doing. It is harder to ask what I am doing.
- Have I intentionally helped anyone begin following Jesus?
- Have I shown anyone how to read and obey God’s Word?
- Have I walked beside a new believer through their struggles and questions?
- Have I taught anyone to share the gospel and disciple others?
If I have followed Jesus for ten, twenty, thirty, or forty years, but my life has produced no other disciples, should that concern me?
This question is not meant to make us compare ourselves with others. It is meant to bring us honestly before Jesus.
This Is an Invitation to Repent
Some Christians have never made a disciple because no one ever told them it was their responsibility. They were taught to come to church. But not to go. They were taught to listen. But not to obey. They were taught to receive ministry. But not to reproduce it. They were taught to support missionaries. But never shown that they were also sent by Jesus.
Perhaps that describes you. If so, this does not have to become a message of condemnation. It can become an invitation to repent.
Repentance means changing our minds and changing our direction. It means saying:
“Jesus, I have treated disciple-making as someone else’s responsibility. I have received the gospel, but I have not intentionally passed it on. I have been content to attend when You commanded me to make disciples. Forgive me. Teach me to obey.”
You Can Begin Today
You do not need to become a pastor. You do not need to attend seminary. You do not need to have every answer. You do not need a large ministry or a public platform.
You can begin with one person. Pray for them. Share what Jesus has done in your life. Invite them to discover God’s Word with you. Help them obey what they learn. Then teach them to do the same with someone else.
Disciple-making begins when ordinary followers of Jesus accept responsibility for helping others follow Him.
The Question Before Us
Over the coming weeks, we will examine what Jesus taught about discipleship, fruitfulness, obedience, reproduction, and multiplication.
The questions may be uncomfortable. But they must be asked.
Is multiplication an advanced activity for exceptional Christians? Or is it part of the basic identity of every disciple of Jesus?
So let us begin with the question at the center of this series: Can you be a disciple and not multiply disciples?
And an even more personal question: If you are a disciple of Jesus, who are you intentionally helping become one?
ደቀ መዛሙርት የሚያደርጉ ደቀ መዛሙርት ማድረግን እንዴት መማር ትፈልጋለህ? የዙሜ ስልጠናን ይቀላቀሉ →