Shortly before being taken up to heaven Jesus gave His disciple an important command: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV)
However, many followers of Christ find this command very intimidating. They do not know how to talk to others about Christ or how to make disciples. Many people also misunderstand what Jesus meant. When we read Jesus’ words, we tend to emphasize the word, “go.” To us the word “go” implies “somewhere else,” – usually, far away. To put it another way, we think that making disciples is something which happens in a distant location. We assume that when Jesus gave the command “to go,” He was talking about those who serve as missionaries. And if we have no desire to become missionary, we assume that we are excused from making disciples.
Our translations of what Jesus said also add to our misunderstandings. In our language it is hard to capture the sense of what Matthew recorded in the Greek language. When Jesus said “to go” it implies to us something which is to take place in the future. However, in the Greek language what Jesus said is not tied to any particular time. Perhaps Jesus’ command would be better expressed by the phrase, “As you go, make disciples.”
“As you go.” What does that mean? It means that making disciples is not confined or limited to preachers or missionaries. Making disciples is not something which we do only in foreign countries. Instead, ordinary folks like us are to make disciples as we go about the normal routines of life no matter where we are.
The good news is that Jesus doesn’t ask us to do something which is beyond our ability. No matter who we are, we have the ability to tell others about Christ. Many followers of Christ tend to think of evangelism in terms of formal campaigns and programs. For example, passing out literature in a public place or inviting people to a special meeting. However, many followers of Christ are ill suited for this type of approach. They do not have the personality for it. They feel very uncomfortable when they are the target of such a campaign and do not want to put others in the same position. Fortunately there is another way to make disciples “as we go.”
Something which is very intriguing about Jesus’ ministry is how many of the incidents which are recorded in the Gospels were unscripted and unplanned. Many times something unpredictable happened and Jesus used the incident as a teachable moment. He was a master of using the ordinary happenings of life to talk to people about spiritual things. Here are a few examples:
1) (John 4:1-42) Jesus was traveling and he became tired and thirsty. He sat down by a well while his disciples went into a nearby village to buy supper. While Jesus was relaxing, a woman came to draw some water. Jesus said, “Lady, could you give me a drink of water?” A very simple request, which led to a profound spiritual discussion and, eventually, many people from that village accepting Him as the Christ.
2) (Luke 7:36-50) Jesus was invited to dinner. While he was eating a woman came in and anointed him with perfume. I expect that most of us would be rather annoyed to have our meal interrupted, but Jesus used the incident to teach a lesson about forgiveness and love.
3) (Luke 19:1-10) Jesus was going through the town of Jericho and He saw someone who had climbed a tree to get a better view. Jesus stopped and said, “Hey, let’s do lunch!” As a result of Jesus inviting Himself to eat at the house of a social outcast, Zacchaeus was saved.
4) (Luke 21:1-4) Jesus was in the Temple in the area where gifts were collected. He happened to see a widow put her offering in the box. He used her example to teach a lesson on giving.
Like Jesus, we too, can use the things which happen to happen during the ordinary events of life as teachable moments. How? We just need to change our perspective a little. As we go about our normal routines, instead of thinking about the task, we should think about people. And when we start thinking like that, it’s amazing how many situations crop up where we can help someone or talk to them about Christ.
Sometimes we hesitate to use the opportunities which come our way to say something about Jesus or spiritual matters because we are afraid that others won’t listen to us. God doesn’t hold us responsible for the actions and decisions of other people. We may never see someone come to faith. But if we make ourselves available and take the time to talk to people or do little acts of kindness as we have opportunity, God will use those things. And, the little thing we say or the little thing we do might just be what’s needed to bring someone to faith.
It’s not just the people we meet as we’re out and about that we need to influence for Christ. We often forget that Jesus’ instruction to make disciples applies to our families as well. All too often we can become so busy serving the Lord that we neglect the people right under our nose. We need to remember that our children are people, too, and it’s our responsibility to disciple them as much as anybody else. In fact, we need to realize that our children are our primary mission field.
How can we disciple our children? There are both formal and informal ways to do it. Whether it is formal or informal, there are lots of ‘teachable moments.’ Learn to recognize and take advantage of them.
On the formal side of things, something which is very beneficial is to have devotions with your children every night. When they are small read a Bible story or sing a Bible song and pray with them. As they got older have them read from the Bible before you pray. Talk about how the Scripture you read together applies to your life.
As far as informal discipling, we should do what Moses instructed the Israelites to do. “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deuteronomy 6:5-7 NIV)
One of the best times to disciple your children is mealtimes. If you read through the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ ministry, it’s amazing how many of the incidents involve food. Jesus did a lot of teaching over a meal. Meals are a good time to connect with other people.
There is no need to turn meals into a formal meeting with an agenda. No, allow conversation to flow naturally. It’s amazing how many times this allows you to insert scriptural principles or ideas into the conversation. And it can even be fun. There can a lot of laughter and joking around our table, even while talking about spiritual things.
Also, never make the mistake of thinking that your children are not watching and learning from you. Your example is one of the most powerful ways you have to make disciples of them. If they see that you not only talk about scriptural principles, but live by them, they will honor you. They will tend to adopt the principles you live by for themselves.
It’s also important to realize that the way we approach evangelism and making disciples is going to be different at various stages in our life. It’s also going to change according to our level of spiritual maturity. Just because somebody else does it a particular way does not mean that what they are doing is necessarily how you should go about it. Don’t feel guilty because you haven’t got the temperament or the experience to make disciples the way another person does it. You have to find what is the right fit for you at your particular stage of life and faith. You have to do what the Lord is calling you to do, rather than worry about what He’s called someone else to do.
There are at least four different stages of faith. Our approach to evangelism and making disciples will change depending on where we are in our journey.
1) New Faith – Evangelism By Invitation
When you are just awakening to faith, or when you are new in faith you are, quite frankly, still trying to figure things out. You have more questions than answers. You might be wondering how you can possibly disciple anyone since you are still so new and hardly know anything, yourself.
Even though you are new and still have a lot of questions, you can still bring others to Christ. This is ‘Evangelism by Invitation.’ It’s your enthusiasm about what you’ve found which will make others curious. Here are a couple of illustrations of this type of evangelism from Scripture.
The first one is in John chapter 1, verses 45 and 46. “Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.” (NIV)
In this incident Philip had just encountered Jesus. Philip was pretty sure that Jesus was the person that the Jewish prophets prophesied would come. He was excited about Jesus, but notice that he didn’t know much. In fact, some of his information was wrong. He thought that Jesus was the son of Joseph. Not only that, the man Philip was talking to was skeptical or even hostile. “Can anything good come from there?” Philip’s response was simply, “Come and see.”
You can do the same thing. You might be thinking, “What if I make a mistake? What if I say something wrong? What if someone asks a question I can’t answer?” It doesn’t matter! Philip didn’t know everything and some of what he said was wrong. It didn’t stop him from telling Nathanael what he knew. If you don’t know how to answer, you can say, “I don’t know, but I know someone who does. Let’s go ask!”
There’s another example of ‘Evangelism By Invitation’ in John chapter 4. Jesus had been talking to a woman who came to get some water at the well. Verses 28 and 29 say, “Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”” (NIV)
The woman still had some doubts. She certainly didn’t know a whole lot about Jesus. But on the basis of what she did know, she wondered whether Jesus was the Christ, and she invited her neighbors to see for themselves. Just like that woman, you may still have doubts and questions. That’s great! You can still ask others to join you as you look for those answers.
2) Young Faith – Evangelism By Testimony
The second category is those whose faith is still young. By now most of your basic questions have been answered. You are starting to develop the habits which will lead to further spiritual growth. Most importantly, your faith is starting to make a difference in your lifestyle. At first the changes you make might just because you’re trying to be obedient. But some of it is because you are changing on the inside. People who know you can see the difference in the things you do and how you react to situations.
When you’ve progressed to this stage of faith, ‘Evangelism by Testimony’ becomes possible. When people see changes in you, or that you respond differently to situations than they do, they are going to be curious. When they ask what’s going on, it’s a perfect opportunity to tell them why you’re different. Here are some examples of this kind of evangelism:
1) (Luke 8:38-39) “The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.” (NIV)
In this case Jesus had healed a man who was demon possessed. The people of the region were so frightened that they asked Jesus to leave. But because of the testimony of the man who had been healed, when Jesus returned a few months later, the people welcomed Him.
2) (John 9:24-25) The context is that Jesus had healed a man who had been blind from birth. The religious leaders questioned the miracle and interrogated the man about who he thought Jesus was. “A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”” (NIV)
Notice that this man didn’t have all the answers. The one thing he did know is how Jesus made a difference in his life. Like the former blind man, you may not have all the answers, but no one can challenge your experience. You know what a difference Jesus has made in your life. When you tell others about those changes, it will do one of two things. Either it will lead those who like the changes they see in you to see whether He can change them, too, or it will cause them to harden in their opposition to Jesus.
There’s another benefit to sharing with others what Jesus has done for you. It will increase your own faith. If you read the rest of John chapter 9, it’s really interesting to see the progression of faith in the former blind man and the progression of unbelief on the part of the religious leaders.
By the way, if you’ve been a follower of Christ for a while and there aren’t any changes in your life, then it is legitimate to question whether you have truly been converted. Scripture tells us that we are being transformed into the likeness of Christ (Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Ephesians 4:13). If you can’t see that transformation taking place in your life, then something is drastically wrong.
3) Deepening Faith – Evangelism Through Service
Let’s say that you’ve moved beyond the basics. You can see the changes Christ is making in your life. Most of your doubts have been answered. Your faith is growing deeper as the spiritual disciplines become habits. How does this affect your approach to making disciples?
Many of us came to Christ for selfish reasons. Some of us were motivated by fear. We didn’t want to fry in hell. Others become Christians because they think that Jesus will help them overcome some of their problems. There’s nothing wrong with those motivations. However, as we mature in our faith, we become less self-centered and more focused on others. As a result, we will start helping or serving others. This is ‘Evangelism Through Service.’
There’s a rather dramatic example of this in Acts chapter three. Peter and John were on their way into the Temple in Jerusalem when they were accosted by a beggar. Peter’s reply was classic, “…Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” (Acts 3:6 NIV) Peter met the man’s real need instead of giving him money and, as a result, was able to preach to a whole crowd of people about Jesus.
Now, chances are that you won’t be able to cure anyone with a word. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of other ways in which you can serve people. And when you serve in the name of Christ, it will create opportunities to make disciples. Paul describes his ministry to the people at Thessalonica in these words, “…we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.” (1 Thessalonians 2:7-9 NIV) Paul didn’t just give these people information, he shared his own life with them. He served them, he says, like a mother. When we care for other people and sacrifice for them as much as a mother does for her children, we will have plenty of opportunities to tell them about Jesus.
4) Mature Faith – Evangelism By Replication
The next stage or level is the mature in faith. If you’re in this category the fruit of the Spirit is very evident in your life. Not only do you act in a Christlike way, the way you think is now very different than those who are outside of Christ. You see everything through the lens of Scripture. God’s Word is ingrained into your character. How does this change your approach to making disciples?
Though you will still practice ‘Evangelism By Invitation,’ ‘Evangelism By Testimony’ and ‘Evangelism Through Service,’ another method is available to you. You’ve reached the place where you can make disciples indirectly. You teach and mentor other Christians so they are more effective. We can call this ‘Evangelism Through Replication.’
To put it another way, your emphasis has shifted to the second part of Jesus’ command. You’re not just making disciples, you’re teaching those who are disciples to obey everything Jesus commanded.
This can be done in both informally and in a formal, intentional way. On the informal side, Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1 NIV) As an example of an intentional mentoring relationship, we have Paul recruiting Timothy to go with him on his preaching tours (Acts 16:1-3). Later, Paul instructed Timothy, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Timothy 2:2 NIV)
It is tremendously fulfilling to see the spiritual growth in those whom we teach and mentor.
To summarize, Jesus expects all of us to be involved in making more disciples regardless of where we are in our spiritual journey. Evangelism and making disciples is not something which is confined to the church building, nor is it something that only preachers are supposed to do. Instead, Jesus expects us to take advantage of the teachable moments which occur as we go about our daily activities.
An author put it this way:
“In the primitive church the saints met to worship and scattered to preach. The bench of the cobbler, the plowhandles of the farmer, the desk of the tax collector; these were the only pulpits known. The Christians took the good news to the world; they did not build houses and tell the world to come. The kingdom was spread like leaven works in dough. Just as the yeast affects one particle of the mixture and it then permeates every other particle with which it comes in contact, so Christianity filled the hearts of men, and from them spread to other hearts as they came in contact in the pursuit of daily tasks. The slave girl whispered the story of freedom into the ear of her haughty mistress as she combed her tresses and applied the unguent; the bazaar keeper talked to the prospective purchasers as they examined his wares; the banker heard about the lowly Nazarene at the public bath; the clerk in his counting house; the farmer at the local inn. The Ethiopian treasurer learned of Christ as he rode along in his chariot; the jailer in his dungeon keep; Lydia out on the river bank. Everywhere men were persuaded by those who said, “We have found him of whom the prophets have spoken.”
“Those who were Christians did not speak of “entering the ministry.” They were already in it. Everyone entered the ministry at baptism. To be in Christ was to be in the ministry. No one went away to study for “the Ministry.” Each one began where he was and announced the Messiah who had come. People did not send for a preacher. They just began preaching. All who had been inducted into the kingdom could tell what they did and why they did it. Every Christian was a minister, everyone was a priest. The congregation was a priesthood – a royal priesthood composed of all believers.” (Ketcherside, W. Carl, The Royal Priesthood, Mission Messenger, 1956, pp.190-191)
May God bless you as you go and make disciples!