How is Mission Related to Disciple-Making?

Discipleship (or the act of disciple-making) is a hot word among Christians now. Many books have already been written on the topic. The following is an excerpt from a paper I wrote recently on the topic. The specific focus is on missional disciple-making. I am putting it here with the hope that it will spur more Christians on to treat discipleship more seriously. Who are you discipling? And who are you being discipled by? I pray that if you do not have an answer for either one of those questions, this post will get you to rectify it immediately.

Relation of Mission to Disciple-Making

A popular text that has been used profusely in the past century relating to missions was Matthew 28:19-20, and in fact still is being used today. In this Great Commission text, the act of disciple-making (μαθητεύσατε) is the only imperative, rendering everything else as supportive of this one verb. A strong case could then be made that what God wants us to do above all else, at least in the realm of doing ministry, is to make disciples. Of course, there may be other things we do, but disciple-making is the central component in God’s commission to us.

Continuing the logic, if the act of making disciples is considered central when Jesus commissioned his disciples unto mission, it should be central for us as we do mission as well. Seen in this light, missional disciple-making is really the only way to make disciples. In order to understand missional disciple-making better, this is the first and most important point that one must make. As Alan Hirsch (2006, 120) puts it, “If disciple making lies at the heart of our commission, then we must organize it around mission, because mission is the catalyzing principle of discipleship. In Jesus they are inexorably linked.” In other words, making disciples in a non-missional context or with a non-missional agenda misses the point of disciple-making.

A second related point must be made that disciple-making is subjugated to mission. Disciple-making is not the ultimate purpose of Christians and the church, mission is. And both should be a form of worship from beginning to end. Just as going, baptizing, and teaching are methods of disciple-making, disciple-making itself is a method of doing mission. Moreover, it is the method given by Jesus as his last words in Matthew’s gospel, so disciple-making needs to be the priority in our thinking and doing.

Disciple-Making on the Go

Disciple-making can happen in many ways. It can happen in the classroom, where disciples are fed knowledge and depth of insight. It can also happen at a coffee shop where a disciple seeks guidance and is in turn counseled in many ways. Yet another way that disciple-making happens is in the field, doing hands-on ministry. It is this third type that best describes missional disciple-making. I would argue that it is this third type that is the most formative way of disciple-making.

When Jesus called his disciples, Scripture gave us no indication that Jesus trained them for many years before even allowing them to go out to do ministry. No, Jesus took them with him as he went from town to town, performing miracles and proclaiming the kingdom of God (cf. Mark 5:37-40). Jesus discipled them on the go, answering their questions and teaching them kingdom values while doing kingdom work. Jesus even sent out these disciples by themselves to do ministry without him (cf. Luke 9:1-9), possibly as a way to grow them more.

Disciple-making does require teaching and one-on-one time. But it must be done in the context of active ministry. Just as Jesus did disciple-making primarily on the go, I believe that disciple-making must primarily be done on the go for us too. Halter and Smay (2010, 94) says that we should be “becoming like Jesus instead of just knowing about Jesus.” It is being on the go that makes disciple-making missional and truly effective.