Discipleship-Based Multiplication
The third core value of BMA Global Missions is discipleship-based multiplication. This value becomes significant when we analyze both the message and methodology of Christ. The clear message to us today is that cultural Christians are mass-produced, but disciples are not! Christ spent 90% of his time on earth in ministry pouring himself into 12 men. If you ever desire to read a clear presentation of the discipleship ministry of Jesus, I would recommend The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman. Jesus was all about making disciple makers. He so prepared these men that the Bible says in the book of Acts that they turned the world upside-down. Cultural Christians abound today with their minimal, superficial outward expression of Christian traditions. The problem is that there is no inward corresponding commitment to Christ.
Another lesson that the biblical example of discipleship multiplication screams is Christ never instructed us to merely count decisions; he instructed us to make disciples. Our churches produce cultural Christians because we have ministry metrics that celebrate cultural Christianity. We measure success in ministry with things such as attendance, additions, baptisms, creative worship, etc. There should be no surprise that we produce superficial, cultural Christians who measure their spiritual depth by church attendance or whether or not our church is “growing”…. even if it is transfer growth that only appeases our consciences but does not produce disciple makers. Baptisms and creative worship can also be part of the cultural Christian machinery in that we know` we can have all of these things happening and yet there is very limited multiplication ministry taking place. Here are some alternative metrics for ministry:
- Celebrate the multiplication of disciples, leaders, and churches instead of merely celebrating additions and attendance goals.
- Cultivate a genuine commitment to a local community of believers where each one is vested in worship, growth, and service. Someone said very well that there is no commitment if it has not jeopardized our personal convenience.
- View baptism and creative worship as mile markers on the path to spiritual maturity and fruitfulness, not as the final destination on that journey.
- Have a very clear discipleship pathway that fits your church’s mission and values. When the person in the pew/chairs is both a product of and a participant in your discipleship pathway, you are on your way to having a discipleship-based ministry.
Next time we will talk more in terms of how discipleship-based ministry must be a core value in global missions.
