A church should be built on disciple-making because that’s the mission Jesus gave it. Many churches today are built to minister to crowds, but they leave individuals confused and helpless. The biblical solution is empowerment: pastors equip regular people to make disciples. The payoff is a disciple-making church where every believer grows toward maturity, and the church becomes both healthy and growing.
The Problem: Crowds Without Shepherds
Jesus ministered to big crowds, but he never confused a crowd with a church full of disciples.
Matthew 9:35-36 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Jesus had just finished teaching and healing, and his response wasn’t celebration. It was compassion, because the people were still helpless. Many churches today are built the same way: they’re good at gathering crowds and preaching great sermons, but individuals leave confused, without anyone walking with them. Preaching matters, but it doesn’t accomplish the goal of discipleship on its own.
The Solution: Empower Regular People
Jesus didn’t solve the problem by preaching more. He told his disciples to pray for more workers.
Matthew 9:37-38 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. The answer is to multiply the workers. Paul says that’s exactly why God gives pastors to the church.
Ephesians 4:11-12 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
A pastor’s job isn’t to do all the ministry. It’s to equip God’s people to do the ministry. When regular Christians are sent out to make disciples at home, at work, and in their neighborhoods, the church’s reach multiplies far beyond what any staff could do.
The Payoff: Mature Believers and a Healthy Church
When every believer is equipped, the whole church grows up.
Ephesians 4:13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
A church can grow in attendance without being healthy. But a church built on disciple-making grows the right way: “as each part does its work.” Healthy churches measure success by how many people are maturing in Christ and helping others do the same. (For the practical side of this, see What Is a Disciple, and How Do You Make One?)
The Takeaway
A church should be built on disciple-making, not just great sermons or big crowds. Pastors equip regular people to make disciples, and the result is mature believers and a church that is both healthy and growing.
