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Foundations, no. 1

Foundations

What Is Discipleship?

One believer helping another become a wholehearted, obedient follower of Jesus — with the aim of multiplying it all in someone else.

One Christian helping another Christian become a wholehearted, obedient follower of Jesus by pointing them to the cross, encouragement, and exhortation — with the goal of multiplying what they've learned to others.
2 Timothy 2:2  ·  Matthew 28:19  ·  1 Thessalonians 5:11  ·  Hebrews 3:13

At the forefront of discipleship should be the goal of making new disciples — not just keeping up an existing meeting for the sake of meeting.

Reflect

If the people you disciple now eventually disciple others the way you disciple them today, what would they produce?

The Cycle

Model, Assist, Watch, Leave

I

Model

The life of Christ to those you're discipling. "For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth." — John 17

II

Assist

Those you're discipling with overcoming sin, spending time with Jesus, finding areas to serve the church, and finding new disciples.

III

Watch

Your disciples' lives to see if they're applying what they're learning — watch for hunger, and for humility.

IV

Leave

Empower them to invest in others how you've invested in them; act as a resource as they have questions.

In Practice

How Is It Done Practically?

Discipleship isn't just hanging out, dumping emotions, or venting — it's encouraging and challenging one another to obey the next thing Jesus commands.

Connect

Build family and relationship — it will be hard to go deep with people when you don't know each other.

  • How was your day / your week?
  • Find shared interests (sports, hobbies)
  • Spend time together outside of discipleship (studying, cooking together, etc.)

Accountability

Spend time holding each other accountable to action steps shared in previous discipleships.

  • "You said you would not go on Instagram anymore, how's that going?"
  • "How's waking up early been?"
  • "Since we last met, what happened as a result of…?"
  • See also: John Wesley's 22 questions

Principle

Each discipleship should end with homework or a challenge for the group. This moves things forward and keeps it from becoming a cesspool of shared struggles with no momentum.

  • Could come from a book you're reading together, a Scripture to obey that week, or an action step from something shared
  • "Invite that guy in your study group to lifegroup this week."
  • You always want to leave them with something.

Pray

Always end in prayer. The only way anyone leaves envisioned or transformed is by the help of the Holy Spirit. Model dependence on God for what you've discussed, and trust Him to carry it out.

Not Just a Meeting

Life-on-Life, Peer-to-Peer

Discipleship isn't just a meeting for two hours on a Tuesday morning — it's a life-on-life relationship. That means actually spending time together throughout the week. Be creative: invite your discipleship group into things you're already going to do.

  • Study together, make meals together, run errands together
  • You're not anybody's mentor — you're peers pointing one another to Jesus

It's from spending time together outside of a structured discipleship that you actually see more of a person's heart, and their responses to circumstances — positive or sinful.

  • Your disciple gets cut off in traffic — how do they respond? That's discipleship material.
  • You fail a test — how will you model your response to your discipleship group?

There's grace when we respond poorly, but life-on-life takes the "holier-than-thou," hierarchical feeling out of discipleship — reminding us we're all trying to follow Jesus together.

Reflect

What percentage of your time in discipleship is spent catching up versus intentionally helping one another follow Jesus? Is it a good balance?

If you only saw your discipleship group for one hour each week, what would you miss about their life?

The Aim

What's the Goal?

2 Timothy 2:2

The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Matthew 28:19

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The goal of discipleship is to invest in others who will go on to invest in others, who will go on to invest in others — until Jesus returns. You're entering a long line of discipleship, even in this church. Don't let it end with you.

Reflect

Imagine a freshman comes to Christ this fall because someone you discipled shared the gospel with them. How would that change the way you disciple today?

Looking at MAWL, which stage do you think is most often difficult? Which is the easiest?

Setting Expectations

Define the Relationship

An important part of discipleship is defining the relationship up front. In college ministry, a typical discipleship lasts a semester — share this vision at the very beginning.

Our hope is that every student who leaves the college ministry has made disciples and multiplied themselves at least once — completing the MAWL cycle at least twice.

Multiplication isn't for the sake of multiplication, but to see students carried all the way through:

Saved→ Sanctified→ Healed→ Delivered→ Empowered→ Sent→ Multiplied

Who to Invest In

What Makes a Disciple?

If you could only disciple one person this semester, who would you choose? Look for FAT people.

F

Faithful

Not just showing up every week — committed to the things of God, with a desire to respond to Jesus' commands.

A

Available

Present, and making time for the people they're with. They show up early and stay late — their desire is to be with God's people.

T

Teachable

A desire to learn from those around them. They take feedback well and apply it — you see a pattern of growth in their life.

All that to say: look for people who are hungry and humble. If our goal is to multiply, these are the kinds of people worth investing our time in.

There will be many people who try to take up your time — whether quarrelsome, defensive, or suspicious. It's a balance: you don't want to write someone off because you don't see immediate growth. Sometimes you take risks. But at all times, you need discernment and prayer.

Reflect

Can you think of someone who didn't seem like they'd become a disciple, but surprised you? What changed?