How Do I Disciple Others?

Being a disciple-maker means investing in others and helping them follow Christ as you follow Christ. That sounds simple enough, but how do you put this into practice? It comes down to one word: intentionality. This is what Jesus did.

Look at John 1:35-51 to read Jesus’ first encounter with his disciples. Then go to Mark 1:16-20, and you see his second meeting where he states his famous phrase, “Follow me.” And then Jesus finally chooses his twelve primary disciples in Luke 6.

Jesus did not sit around and wait for disciples to come to him. He went to where they were, offered them an invitation to follow him, evaluated their progress, and then selected them to be his twelve apostles.

There is a reason we automatically think of Jesus’ twelve disciples whenever we think of him. That’s because he made them part of his story. They weren’t side projects or people he spoke to from a stage. They were everyday people who walked with him through joy and pain.

Five Key Steps

While I’m far from being a master at developing apprentices, here are a few steps I’ve found helpful.

Step 1: Break Down Barriers: Our culture loves barriers. We enjoy being disconnected from people and “having our space.” It is not enough to have a few trees around our house that protect us and offer some privacy from our neighbors.

Now, we have privacy fences, gated communities, and garage doors that we control from our cars. In other words, anything that will keep us from having even one second of meaningful conversation with our neighbors. But if you are going to reach others, you must be someone who constantly creates a friendly environment around you.

Step 2: Practice Faithful Presence: It’s critical to make ourselves available. Jesus was what David Fitch would call “faithfully present.”^[1] “God’s work is necessarily twofold,” Fitch writes, “God first is present and active in the whole world. But God also chooses to become present in and through a people locally.”^[2]

The macro and the micro. Jesus practiced faithful presence. In fact, his entire ministry remained within a 100-mile radius. Face-to-face communication is paramount in an age where it’s convenient to hide behind a screen and hold others at arm’s length. When we sit with a person, we pick up on their emotions—both good and bad. There is power in proximity.

Step 3: Focus on the Basics: It’s easy to think, who am I to disciple others? This can be a big struggle. But this is where I’d encourage you to lean into the words of Jesus. View disciple-making as an active step of faith, trusting that the God who made you and called you to act will give you the wisdom and strength you need.

Step 4: Remember Your Role: Your goal isn’t to help people fall in love with you. Yes, you’re inviting them to be part of your story, but your larger aim is to help them be part of God’s story. The motto of effective disciple-makers can be found in 1 Corinthians 11:1 when the Apostle Paul said, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”          

Step 5: Guard Against Pride: The moment we start mentoring others, it’s easy to develop an air of superiority. We start talking down to people who live the same way we used to live. And rather than acknowledge our own shortcomings, we talk down to people. 

Isn’t This Weird?

If the whole concept of disciple-making seems weird to you, I’d challenge you to keep it simple and take these additional actions.