Why Make Disciples?
We make disciples because Jesus commanded it, because it’s his strategy for building the church, and because people need personal help to follow him. Making disciples isn’t just for pastors or outgoing Christians. It’s for every follower of Jesus. And you don’t have to be spiritually mature to start, because we grow as we help others grow.
Going Full Circle
So far in this series, we’ve covered the first two parts of a “full circle” faith: trusting Jesus (Lessons 4–6) and honoring God (Lessons 7–9). Most churches teach these basics. But for many Christians, that’s as far as it goes. Jesus had something more in mind for his followers. The final three lessons cover the third part of the journey.
Let’s make this personal: Jesus wants you to make disciples. Here are three reasons why.
1. Jesus Commanded It
In one of his last conversations with his disciples, Jesus made his expectation plain.
Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.”
Jesus wasn’t making a suggestion. He had spent three years discipling his followers, and now it was their turn. Imagine your dad clearly asking you to take out the trash and you refusing. Jesus made disciple-making one of the last things he said on earth. Obedience to the Great Commission should be reason enough to start.
2. It’s Jesus’ Strategy for the Church
Jesus envisioned a church where leaders equip people and the people do the ministry. Paul explained this strategy to the church in Ephesus.
Ephesians 4:11-13 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 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.
In many churches today, the pastor ministers and the people watch. But in a biblically functioning church, pastors equip everyone to do the work of ministry. Pastors don’t burn out, people grow in their faith, and the church becomes healthy and full of love (Ephesians 4:16).
3. People Need Personal Help
Look around. People are confused and hurting. Sermons are important, but they aren’t enough. Jesus himself made this point after teaching huge crowds.
Matthew 9:36-38 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 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.”
Jesus’ heart broke because the crowds needed more help than they could get from a sermon. People need to process truth in a caring, personal relationship. Jesus told his disciples to pray for more workers, and in the next chapter he sent them out to answer that prayer (Matthew 10). Today, you are the answer to that prayer.
You’re Mature Enough
Maybe you’re willing but don’t feel qualified. What if they ask a question you can’t answer? Those fears keep many Christians on the sidelines, and that’s exactly where the enemy wants them. But Jesus chose fishermen and tax collectors, not religious experts (Matthew 4:19). They grew as they made disciples, not before.
Ephesians 4:14-15 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
Paul says we grow up and gain spiritual discernment as we speak the truth in love. Disciple-making comes first, and maturity follows. In Lesson 11, we’ll look at how to do it.
The Takeaway
We make disciples because Jesus commanded it, because it’s his strategy for the church, and because people need personal help to follow him. You don’t have to be an expert. As you help someone else pursue God, you’ll grow in your own faith too.
How Do I Make Disciples?
Making disciples means helping someone follow Jesus, and then helping them help someone else do the same. You don’t need a seminary degree or a stage to do it. If you can have a conversation, you can make a disciple. A simple, relationship-first approach follows three steps: engage people where they are, establish the basics of faith, and empower them to pass it on.
It Starts with Jesus’ Command
Before he returned to heaven, Jesus gave his followers one clear assignment. He didn’t ask them to build impressive buildings or win every argument. He told them to make disciples, helping people become lifelong followers of Jesus who learn from him and live out what he taught.
Matthew 28:19-20 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.
Notice that Jesus’ command has two parts: bringing people to faith, pictured in baptism, and teaching them to obey. A convert makes a decision, but a disciple keeps following. And this was never a job reserved for pastors. Jesus handed it to ordinary people and promised to be with them every step of the way. If you’re still wondering why it matters so much, revisit Why Make Disciples?
Step 1: Engage People Where They Are
Jesus rarely opened with a sermon. He asked questions, shared meals, and talked with people about water, fishing, money, and family. Disciple-making begins the same way, with genuine interest in the person in front of you. Find out what’s on their mind, and let the relationship grow before you steer toward spiritual topics. Paul explains why that patience matters.
1 Corinthians 2:14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
If biblical ideas sound strange to someone at first, pushing harder rarely helps. Starting with what they already care about, whether that’s marriage, anxiety, parenting, or honest questions about God, builds trust and shows that following Jesus speaks to real life. One practical way to begin is to browse topics like Faith & Bible or Life & Culture together and let them pick a starting point.
Step 2: Establish the Basics of Faith
At some point, the conversation turns. Maybe they ask what you believe, or they start wondering where God fits into their story. That’s the moment to walk through the core of Christianity: God’s heart for people, the reality of sin, salvation through Jesus, how God changes us over time, and what it means to follow him. This series, The Pursuit, was built to guide exactly those conversations, starting with Lesson 1.
How do you know when the time is right? Pray, pay attention, and trust God to open the door.
Matthew 10:19-20 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Jesus spoke those words about standing trial, but the principle carries into everyday conversations about faith. You don’t have to script every answer, because the Holy Spirit’s role in disciple-making is far bigger than yours. And this step isn’t only for people who are far from God. Plenty of longtime churchgoers have never had someone walk them through the basics.
Step 3: Empower Them to Make Disciples
The goal of discipleship isn’t someone who depends on you forever. It’s someone who can do for another person what you did for them. Once they’ve worked through the basics, help them see that they’re qualified to mentor someone too. Most people feel unready, so they’ll need your encouragement as much as your instruction.
2 Timothy 2:2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.
Count the generations in that one verse: Paul, Timothy, reliable people, and others. That’s spiritual multiplication. Your part is to help someone become a disciple-maker by connecting them with a person who needs a mentor and staying in their corner as they get started. For guiding principles along the way, see What Are the Essentials for Disciple-making?
The Takeaway
Making disciples starts with a simple yes to Jesus’ command and a little intentionality with the people already in your life. Engage them where they are, establish the basics of faith, and empower them to pass it on. If you can have a conversation, you can make a disciple.
What Are the Essentials for Disciple-making?
The essentials of disciple-making are simpler than most people expect: build a real relationship, share the right truth at the right time, do your part and trust God with the rest, keep Jesus at the center, and pray for the people you’re helping. Helping someone follow Jesus isn’t a job reserved for pastors, and these essentials keep the process personal, patient, and focused on Christ.
1. Commit to a Real Relationship
Discipleship isn’t a classroom lecture. It’s a relationship. Jesus didn’t hand his followers a syllabus and send them off to study. He ate with them, traveled with them, and loved them through their failures.
John 15:12-13 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
That kind of love sets the tone for every mentoring relationship. People can tell whether you see them as a project or as a friend. So show up, ask good questions, and remember what matters to them. That’s why engaging people where they are is the first step in making disciples.
2. Share the Right Truth at the Right Time
When you love Jesus, it’s tempting to unload every theological idea you know on someone who’s just getting started. Effective disciple-making takes more discernment than that. Pay attention to the questions and struggles the other person is actually facing.
1 Corinthians 2:14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
Truth offered before someone is ready can sound foolish. That doesn’t mean you water anything down. It means you listen to the Holy Spirit, who knows exactly what this person needs to hear today. (We unpack that more in The Holy Spirit’s Role in Disciple-making.)
3. Do Your Part, Not God’s
One of the heaviest burdens a mentor can carry is feeling responsible for another person’s spiritual growth. You can’t make anyone pursue God. Your job is to be a faithful guide. Changing hearts is God’s work.
1 Corinthians 3:6-7 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
That frees you to serve without pressure. If the person you’re discipling takes off, celebrate what God is doing. If they stall out or walk away, keep loving them and keep the door open, but remember that their journey is ultimately between them and the Lord.
4. Point Everything to Jesus
The goal of disciple-making isn’t to make someone a better person or a smaller version of you. It’s to help them meet Jesus and follow him for the rest of their life.
Colossians 1:28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.
Paul’s message was Christ, and his goal was maturity in Christ. For someone who hasn’t yet trusted Jesus, that means listening for their defining moment and gently inviting them to respond. For someone who already believes, it means helping them keep their eyes on Jesus rather than on rules, performance, or you.
5. Pray, Pray, Pray
You can’t mentor someone well without talking to God about them. Prayer places the person you’re discipling in the hands of the only one who can truly change them. Paul modeled steady, specific prayer for the believers he cared about.
Colossians 1:9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives.
Keep a simple mentor journal to remember the specific needs of the people you’re mentoring, and bring those needs to God regularly. Better yet, let them know you’re praying for them. It builds trust and reminds them they’re not walking this road alone.
The Takeaway
Disciple-making is simply one person helping another take their next step toward Jesus. These essentials keep it on track: invest in a real relationship, share timely truth, trust God with the results, point everything to Jesus, and stay grounded in prayer. Do that, and you can help fulfill the Great Commission right where you are. You’ve now gone full circle, so start with Lesson 1 and help someone else begin their pursuit of God.
Find additional training topics in the #Mentors tab on this series page.
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