15 Skills of Effective Disciple Makers
Disciple-making is an art that requires specific skills. Skills modeled and taught by Jesus. And it’s a lost art. Only 10% of Christians seek to be active witnesses and disciple-makers in their sphere of influence. Are we giving them the skills they need?
Here are 15 skills that we’ve identified and are seeking to pass on to our church through our Equip Luncheons in 2025:
Being a Disciple
- Abiding in Christ – Identifying with Christ through faith and baptism. Then, developing a daily relationship with Christ through prayer, his word, and walking in the Holy Spirit.
- Knowing the Word -The Word of God is our master tool for disciple-making. Developing a knowledge of the word of God is an essential skill for disciple-makers.
- Listening to God – God is working to reconcile people to himself (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). He will direct the willing and ready heart to join him in his work. Through our abiding relationship with him, he will guide us to the people and opportunities for fruitfulness in disciple-making.
Building Relationships
- Love and Compassion for the Lost – Effective disciple-makers know what’s at stake for those who don’t know Christ. We are compelled by His love (2 Corinthians 5:15) to do all that we can to share the gospel and get other people on this disciple-making mission.
- Listening to Others – Being heard and loved are two sides of the same coin today. Knowing the broken beliefs of others so that we can share the hope of the gospel with them is essential to evangelism today. The challenge here is making time in disciple-making to listen to others. Jesus spent three years of daily life with his disciples.
- Building Trust – Disciple-making is relational. Being trustworthy as a friend lays the foundation for someone to consider your message and want to follow in your footsteps, which is the goal of disciple-making. Mark 3:13-15; 1 Corinthians 11:1
- Hospitality—Being welcoming, likable, and someone that others want to be around is a great skill to have if you desire to influence others. Jesus welcomed all kinds of people. You get the idea that they liked being around him, and he also enjoyed being around them. We must break relationships at some point, but we should lead with hospitality.
- Consistent Intercession – Knowing people, loving them, listening to them, building trust with them, welcoming them, and then diligently praying for their salvation and spiritual development. As Epaphras wrestled in prayer for his disciples in Colossae, Hierarpolis, and Laodicea (Colossians 4:12-13), we must develop rhythms of intercession for those we want to lead to faith and disciple-making.
Personal Evangelism – Multiplying Gospel Conversations
- Turning a Conversation toward Spiritual Things – This may be one of the most difficult things to do. Learning a few Evangelism Scripts and developing your personal rhythm of doing this is essential. Check out the 3 Circles Evangelism tool and the book Turning Everyday Conversations into a Gospel Conversations.
- Sharing the Gospel with Clarity – Being clear on the gospel and how to present it clearly to people at different points of need. Tons of books on this. Check out Evangelism in a Skeptical World by Sam Chan.
- Leading people to a response – It takes boldness to persuade people to respond to the Gospel. But persuasion was part of gospel presentations in the book of Acts and it should be for us. Pray for boldness. Develop a persuasive call to respond to the people you are witnessing to. The above books can help with that too.
Disciple-Making
- Teaching the Bible – Helping a new or growing disciple start the journey of a lifetime by teaching them how to abide in Christ and become disciple-makers.
- Patience and Perseverance—This road will have many ups and downs. People will reject you, fall away, and hurt you. Jesus taught in the parable of the sower that only one out of four would be fruitful. Patience with people and perseverance through the ups and downs are essential to the journey of disciple-making.
- Worship and Gratitude – All the glory for this work goes to God. Worship and gratitude keeps our eyes on him and off the difficulties and off of ourselves.
- Reproducing Yourself – The ultimate goal is the one we disciple, discipling someone else. Being able to lead them in such a way that they don’t develop dependence on us or on the church, but are able to lead their sphere of influence to Christ and disciple them. 2 Timothy 2:2 – “what you’ve heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”
What other skills would you add to this list?
Here’s a quick course on getting started with disciple-making – LINK.
The Ministry of Holding One’s Tongue
“The ministry of holding one’s tongue…. to speak about a brother is forbidden, even under the cloak of help and goodwill; for it is precisely in this guise that the spirit of hatred among brothers creeps in…”
… Dietrich Bonhoeffer #devo
The Shrinking Mid-Size Church
This week, a few bits of research on churches by size among Southern Baptists in Louisiana.
Churches by size:
- In 1999, there were 17 churches over 1,000 in attendance among Louisiana Baptist churches. In 2024, that number is still 17.
- In 1999, there were 31 churches between 500 and 999. Today there are only 15.
- In 1999, there were 94 churches between 250 and 499. Today, there are 56.
- In 1999, there were 305 churches between 100 and 349. Toda,y there are 200.
- In 1999, there were 785 churches under 100. Today, there are 884.
Louisiana Baptist Church attendance has declined by 20% over the last 25 years.
Among different size churches:
- Attendance in churches over 1,000 has grown by 8%. +2,344 worshippers. 24% of Louisiana Baptist worshippers attend a church over 1,000, up from 18% in 1999.
- Attendance in churches from 500-999 declined by 48%. -9,746 worshippers.
- Attendance in churches from 250-499 declined by 39%. -12,350 worshippers.
- Attendance in churches from 100-249 declined by 35%. – 16,540 worshippers.
- Attendance in churches under 100 in attendance increased by 12%. +3,912 worshippers.
- 53% of worshippers in 2024 attended a church under 250.
Of course, what’s happening is churches that were once 500-999 are now 250-499. Churches, once 250-499, are now 100 to 249.
Over the 25-year period, baptisms increased by 20% in churches over 1,000 but shrank drastically in every other church size.
- -54% in churches 500-999
- -48% in churches 250-499
- -52% in churches 100-249
- -38% in churches under 100
- -37% among all Louisiana Baptist churches 1999-2024.
Takeaways: (I’d love to hear yours)
- Large churches are effective but not easily reproduced.
- Mid-size churches have faced some of the biggest challenges to sustainability over the last 25 years.
- With the loss of the mid-size church is the loss of significant evangelistic impact.
- Developing tools to help small and mid-size churches is a must.
- Large churches are effective, but not as effective as they seem in the grand scheme. Only 2,344 worshippers were added over 25 years, and only 24% of worshippers are in them. We need healthy churches of every size to adequately reach our population.
As one of our Associational Missions Strategists says when I ask him how things are going – “Well, the big churches are getting bigger, and the small churches are getting smaller.” And this bit of research bears that out. But at what cost to the kingdom?
What are your takeaways? Questions? Concerns?
See some tables with this data HERE.
A Daily Walk
Colossians 2:6: “So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him.”
Kicking off this year at our church in Colossians 2, lifting a few commitments to make at the beginning of a new year from verses 6-7.
- Jesus is Lord – Beginning with the overarching confession of the believer’s life: Jesus is Lord!
- A Daily Walk
If the soul is awakened with the confession that Jesus is Lord, the soul is sustained by walking daily in a relationship with Jesus. We walk with Jesus through developing a personal devotional habit and daily practice. We have the promise of his constant presence with us through the person of the Holy Spirit. We have his words, which guide us and show us how to walk in his steps. We have the example of his abiding relationship with the Father through prayer and responsiveness to the needs of others. And we know that he wants a personal relationship with each of us.
God didn’t spell out the perfect formulas for our devotional habits. It never says in the Bible, “Spend 15 minutes a day reading the Bible, pray for 10 minutes, read a daily devotional published by a reputable publisher, then listen to a worship song or two before you go to work.” He’s left that up to us individually to determine the best ways to develop our relationship. And I’m reminded that a checklist of base touches does not produce a deep relationship with anyone and most likely will not with God.
Over 25 years of figuring out how to walk with God myself, here are the rhythms that have worked for me to this point:
- Wake up early. I’m a morning person, so I enjoy the early AM hours. It all goes downhill after 8am to me.
- Journaling. I start my day by writing prayers and commitments of devotion to God. (see my post, Morning Prayers).
- Reading Scripture. I follow one of the Bible in a Year Plans in the Bible App, which leads you through the Old Testament and New Testament in a systematic way (See my post How to Get a Grip on the Bible for answers to questions about the Bible & how to get started reading the Bible).
- Journaling. As I read, I write down the verses that jump at me. When I’m done reading, I read back through those verses and write down any Observations, Applications, or Prayers. (See the SOAP method). (Also, check out my post Allowing the Teachings of Jesus to Go Deep, for a plan to Journal through the sermon on the mount. Serves as a great introduction to journaling through the scriptures).
- Bible Memory. I also utilize the Bible Memory App to commit verses that jump out at me to memory. Reviewing memorized verses throughout the day helps me to stay in tune and meditate on God’s word all day long (see Psalm 1, Joshua 1:8). (See my posts on the Habit of Scripture Memory HERE).
- Devotional Reading. Sometimes, I read something extra. A few favorites: A Year with C. S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works, My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, Experiencing God Day by Day by Henry Blackaby, 21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leaders Day by John Maxwell. Lots of great devotionals are available.
- Daily News feed. I also use Feedly.com to follow many authors, pastors, networks, and news sites that inspire and inform me.
- Sharing. As I’m reading, I’m asking if there is anything that I’d like to share with friends or family, with my church, or with my social media networks. I will also tag and file anything that may be helpful for my upcoming speaking and preaching schedule.
- Intercession. I keep a list of people and situations that I want to pray for every day. It includes my family, my church leaders, the team I work with, and others. I’m committed to making time to pray for them. Sometimes, that happens in the mornings during my devotions. Sometimes, it’s later in the day.
Roll with the punches. I wish I could say that this happens every day. Work, sickness, oversleeping, and poor time management happen, so I plan on rolling with the punches. Some tools we have to help with that:
- Technology. When I don’t have time to read in the mornings. I can listen to my Bible plan using the Bible App during my commute. My newsfeed and devotional are also on Kindle, so I can read them during my spare moments.
- Grace. Remember that my salvation is not based upon my ability to read the Bible every day. Only Jesus saves. Devotional habits are tools for our growth in grace. Don’t give up. Our life is ETERNAL, so missing a day occasionally does not mean losing.
- Presence. God is not with me only when reading the Bible and praying. God is with me all the time. I can stay connected with him through prayer all day long.
- Tomorrow. One of my favorite sayings is, “YESTERDAY ENDED LAST NIGHT.” The Bible says, “God’s mercies are new every morning” Lamentations 3:23-24. If you miss a day of devotional habits, put it behind you, celebrate the grace and presence you experienced that day, and let that build anticipation for tomorrow or when you can restore your habits.
Jesus said, “Man cannot live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4. Devotional habits are as crucial to the Christian as food and drink. Work out a plan that works for you, figure out how to do it every day, commit to it for life, and roll with the punches.
Christ Jesus as Lord
Colossians 2:6 “So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord”
Kicking off this year at our church in Colossians 2, lifting a few commitments to make at the beginning of a new year from verses 6-7. Beginning with the overarching confession of the believers life: Jesus is Lord!
The Christian life begins with the confession “Jesus Christ is Lord” (Romans 10:9). This confession serves as the soul awakening by God (Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 12:3) and the outset of the new birth and new life in the believer. This confession should also serve as our way of life and motto. To live under his Lordship and authority, allowing him to rule and reign in all our thoughts and actions. Living out Jesus as Lord means forsaking all other rulers, authorities, and priorities, intending that every day will be lived for his glory and pleasure.
Here are a few daily prayers to pray to surrender to his Lordship daily:
- Father in heaven, I exalt you as Lord, master, and King of my life, placing all that I am at your complete 100% disposal.
- Lord, whatever you ask of me today, my answer is yes.
- Lord, use me, teach me, change me according to your perfect will.
- Lord, rule and reign in all my thoughts and actions today.
Memorize One, Get Five for Free
This verse is repeated six times in the Old Testament and is great to memorize and meditate on during November.
1 Chronicles 16:34 – “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, his faithful love endures forever.”
(Also found at Psalm 106:1; 107:1; 118:1; 118:29; 136:1).
So you can memorize one and say you memorized six! Lol!
Thanksgiving Memory Verses
Join me in memorizing 30 Thanksgiving verses on the Bible Memory App this month: LINK.
I’ve used the Bible Memory App daily for over six years now. It’s been a great devotional tool. It helps me hide the word in my heart. And it’s only 100% better than scrolling Facebook/Twitter/Snapchat/TikTok, or whatever. Start a new habit with the Bible Memory App.
- Get Started with the Bible Memory App – LINK
- Cultivating the Habit of Scripture Memory – LINK
- Why and How to Memorize Scripture – LINK
- Develop a New Habit: Scripture Memory – LINK
- How to Get a Grip on the Bible – LINK
A Healthy Soul
Our church is wrapping up a Fall study of the New Testament book of 1 Peter. We tackled the book through the lens of Soul Care, exploring what is a healthy soul. Here’s a list of statements gleaned from the series defining a healthy soul.
- A healthy soul doesn’t get too attached to this world. 1 Peter 1:1-2
- A healthy soul has experienced the new birth. 1 Peter 1:3-12
- A healthy soul is fixated on God’s grace. 1 Peter 1:13-25
- A healthy soul grows healthier by feeding on God’s Word. 1 Peter 2:1-10
- A healthy soul trusts Christ to deal with sin. 1 Peter 2:11-25
- A healthy soul is a ready witness of God’s goodness. 1 Peter 3:1-17
- A healthy soul is friends with God. 1 Peter 3:18-22
- A healthy soul serves others through the power of God. 1 Peter 4:1-11
- A healthy soul trusts God to deal with the injustice of Christian suffering. 1 Peter 4:12-19
- A healthy soul is a gracious, humble soul. 1 Peter 5:1-7
- A healthy soul overcomes this world. 1 Peter 5:8-14
I’m grateful for our Preaching and Teaching Collaborative at Bridge Church, which works together to deliver messages to our congregation: Adam Bourne, Chris Guillott, Larry Johnson, Evan McGinty, and myself. We’ve been using a team approach for a few years now, and I love it, especially with a bi-vocational staff. You can listen to these sermons at Bridge Northshore on iTunes or here.
A Disciple is…
According to the Book of Acts, a disciple is an individual who has placed his faith and trust in Jesus Christ and is following Jesus Christ’s teachings and direction for his life. A disciple is connected with other disciples through the church and participates in Jesus’ mission to spread the good news to the ends of the earth.
A disciple is an individual. While Acts points us to the church’s work as a gathered group of disciples, we do not escape the spiritual reality that God deals with us as individuals. Each person is responsible for their sin, as in the case of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5, and individuals are invited to call on the name of the Lord and be saved (Acts 2:21).
A disciple is an individual who has placed his faith and trust in Jesus Christ. What makes one a disciple is a personal and individual decision to follow Jesus by faith. Peter, who gave the first post-ascension proclamation of the good news about Jesus, had responded in faith to Jesus in Matthew 4:19-20, when Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you a fisher of men.”
A disciple is following the teaching of Jesus Christ. Disciples are seen in the book of Acts, acting in obedience to the words of Jesus Christ. They obey his words and pray in an upper room in Jerusalem, waiting on his promise (Acts 1:12-14). They obeyed his words and witnessed about him across the known world (Acts 1:8, Acts 8:1-4). Paul obeyed his words even at significant cost to his reputation, physical body, and life. Disciples are always responsive to the words of Jesus.
A disciple is following the direction of Christ through his Holy Spirit. Not only do we observe the disciples obeying the teaching and commands of Christ, but we also see them being responsive to Christ’s leadership through the Holy Spirit. Cornelius responded when directed to go and seek out Paul after his Damascus Road experience with Jesus. Paul and Barnabas responded when the Holy Spirit directed them not to go in a particular direction on their missionary journey. Disciples listen and obey both the words of Jesus and the direction of his Spirit.
A disciple is connected with other disciples. There are few instances in the Book of Acts of disciples acting alone. Jesus modeled and commissioned his disciples to serve and share the gospel in groups of two or more. Jesus sent his disciples out in pairs. Jesus prayed for a unified mission force in John 17. The only ministry interaction in the Book of Acts that is not done as a team is Phillip’s remarkable evangelistic exchange with the Ethiopian Eunuch. From the beginning of the ministry of Jesus, through the book of Acts, we see that disciples are meant to relate to other disciples in fellowship and in pursuit of Jesus’ mission.
A disciple participates in Jesus’ mission of spreading the good news to the ends of the earth. Throughout the book of Acts we see disciples walking in obedience to Jesus’ commission to be witnesses of him. Peter proclaimed the Gospel everywhere he went, beginning in Jerusalem. Phillip shared the gospel cross-culturally with the Ethiopian Eunuch. Paul proclaimed the gospel everywhere he went and taught others to spread the gospel throughout his three missionary journeys. The most remarkable statement in Acts 19 is that all of Asia heard the word of the Lord. A disciple is obedient and responsive to the words of Jesus and the promptings of the Spirit, and those words and promptings throughout the book of Acts guided them toward gospel proclamation. Disciples will find a way to participate in Jesus’ mission to spread the good news of his death, burial, and resurrection to the ends of the earth.
A Church is…
The book of Acts provides a compelling and comprehensive model for a healthy, evangelistic church. Throughout the book of Acts, we observe God’s activity through his people, which leads to exponential growth in the number of disciples of Jesus and the working out of health in developing a local, regional, and cross-continental first-century evangelistic movement. The foundation for healthy churches that we see in the Book of Acts gives us a clear definition of a healthy church. We also see foundational insights for understanding the identity and role of an individual disciple. We also observe evangelism in its purest form and how evangelism and disciple-making relate. We also get a sense of what the earliest growing churches celebrated as success in evangelism. In the Book of Acts, we can explore these foundational elements of growing healthy, evangelistic churches through the foundational lens of the first churches formed after the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.
So What is a Church?
According to the book of Acts, a church can be defined as a family of baptized believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, on a mission together to spread the good news about Jesus Christ to everyone everywhere by the power of the Holy Spirit.
A family. Acts 2:42-47 describes an overview of the life of the earliest post-ascension church. The descriptions given leave you with a distinct image of family. They ate together, met one another’s needs, and prayed and worshipped together, adding spiritual components to their lives as a family. New Testament writers confirm this distinct practice by calling the church a household, a body, and a family and instructing them to care for each other’s needs as families would.
A family of baptized believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. What made this church a family was their common faith in Jesus Christ and their common initiation into this family, which was believers’ baptism. Through baptism, they identified themselves with this new form of the family of God in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:27). They also identified with his death, burial, and resurrection, perfectly symbolized through the believer’s immersion (Romans 6:3-4). As ancient families had in common their coat of arms and the family inheritance of land and treasure, this family had the common faith in Jesus and experience of baptism into his body.
A family on a mission together to spread the good news about Jesus Christ. The mission of this family is to expand (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8). Expand the family and expand the kingdom of God by spreading the good news about Jesus’ death for sin, burial, and resurrection, as well as the new life that believing can bring to anyone who puts their faith and trust in him. We see the family breaking out of Jerusalem in Acts 8:1-4, and the gospel’s message and transforming power begins marching across Asia Minor with the disciples scattering in response to persecution.
To everyone everywhere. In Acts 9, God begins breaking down the barriers in the hearts and minds of Jewish believers toward those outside of Judaism. In Acts 10, God revealed to Peter that all races, nationalities, and languages were equal before God and needed salvation through Jesus Christ. With the Apostle Paul’s conversion in Acts 9 and his call to take the gospel to the Gentiles, we see how the message of Jesus Christ broke down the walls of sin, racism, and nationalism and immediately made the disciples cross-cultural missionaries.
A family on a mission together to spread the good news about Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised his Holy Spirit to the disciples in John 14 and 16. In Acts 2, we see the Spirit pouring his power on the disciples. The power behind the church was and is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit transformed their fear into bold faith. The Holy Spirit directed them to the opportunities leading to the fastest spread of the gospel – as in Acts 8, with Philip and the Ethiopian, and in Acts 13:1-4, with the sending out of Barnabas and Saul. The book of Acts is genuinely the Acts of the Holy Spirit as he empowered and directed the mission of God’s people in their world.
A church is a family of baptized believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, on a mission together to spread the good news about Jesus Christ to everyone everywhere by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Soul-Winning Church: Six Keys to Fostering a Genuine Evangelistic Culture
One of my summer reads was a great new book from Jeff Medders and Doug Logan: The Soul Winning Church: Six Keys to Fostering a Genuine Evangelistic Culture.
The Keys are Praying for Conversions, the Posture of Your Converts, Preparing for Conversions, Personal Evangelism, Preaching for Conversions, and a Process for New Converts.
Some great thinking on these essential elements of an evangelistic culture. The book could be a great tool to help build or to revitalize these areas of your church. It even offers an evaluation tool to score your church’s effectiveness in these six areas. It’s here:
I scored my church at 31 out of 60, so it’s given me some good leadership challenges to work on this Fall.
Here are some favorite quotes and highlights from the book:
- Lost people can’t make themselves “unlost.”
- Most church growth is actually transfer growth.
- Jesus calls us to make disciples, not move them.
- “Effective Evangelism begins with seeking the Effector of the evangel.”
- “Diminished prayer reveals elevated levels of confidence in our natural abilities.”
- Great section on How to Revive your prayer meetings: Pray more + Vary the voices + Try a different time + Start Small + Lead + Celebrate Answers to Prayer + Clarify Expectations
- Are we forming the kind of people who evangelize? Is our discipleship forming the kind of believers in whom evangelism bubbles up as a natural part of their lives?
- Excellent chapter on eight Postures that give rise to evangelistic people: Holiness, Gentleness, Patience and Dependence, Eternal, Boldness, Hospitable, Christ-excited, Ambitious
- Good works prepare the hearer and gives a platform to the teller.
- On Good Works – Two Dangers to Avoid: Treating mercy ministries as equal to evangelism. Treating mercy ministries as optional to evangelism.
- We cannot be evangelistic churches without a culture of every member personal evangelism.
- The problem is not that people reject our witness so much as we do not witness in the first place.
Find some case studies of churches applying these six keys well and other resources at http://www.thegoodbook.com/soul-winning.
