Soul Care - Make Disciples

by Mary Elsbury

Who is in your sphere of influence? We all have family, friends, and acquaintances that we are in contact with on a regular basis. It might be a barista at the local coffee shop or the worker at your local fast-food restaurant that you visit. As a parent, how you act and react sets an example for your children as they grow. How you interact with a waitress in a restaurant sets a tone for your dining experience.  

“Making disciples” describes what Jesus meant in 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.” These verses provide clarity on disciple making. Within the Greek text of these verses, there is one imperative command, make disciples, and three participles describing how we do it: go, baptize, and teach. 

Any individual that crosses your path is someone that you can influence. While it might be that of a parent where you have authority and sway, any person you come in contact with can be impacted and encouraged. 

Jesus modeled how to enter into relationships by being intentional. He sought out those on the fringe and showed them love. It’s taking the time to make someone feel like they are special and that you care about them. 

While serving on the production team, I had to get to Sunday morning rehearsal at 6:45am. On my way to church, I always stopped at my local fast-food spot to get a cold drink that would get me through the mornings. The same worker was there every Sunday morning, and over the years we got to know each other. She knew I was going to church, and I knew that she was struggling. I prayed for her as I pulled away from her window. I eventually got bold enough to pray with her – and that opened up more opportunities to talk about Jesus. Did she accept Christ as her Lord? I have no idea; she moved away, but I was able to plant that seed for someone else to water. 

Disciple making is entering into relationships to help people trust and follow Jesus while having conversations about God’s grace, promises, and faithfulness. It is sharing how life is transformed by relying on Christ rather than self. It is a natural, loving expression that is based in relationship – as Jesus showed us – and includes love, instruction, guidance, and coaching and more. In a postmodern world, it takes sensitivity. We are not imposing something on others. Instead, we are influencing – with personal sharing, patient explanation, guidance, and by modeling the truths Jesus expects of His disciples. 

Bobby Harrington and Josh Patrick in The Disciple Makers Handbook, write “We like to say that disciple making begins at ‘hello’ and ends in ‘go and do likewise!’ It begins, as Jesus showed us, with the invitation to just ‘come and see’ and it leads to the commission to ‘go and repeat’ what the disciple has learned from the disciple maker, multiplying the process.” 

So regardless of your sphere of influence, making disciples means telling someone about Jesus. As we share the Gospel and help others follow Christ, we do so along with believers who have joined God in His work. We collaborate with fellow members of the Body of Christ to make disciples of all nations. We won’t be the only ones involved in the process of helping others grow, but as servants we can make sure disciples get the practical help they need. Together we help create a healthy environment for growth to happen. 

Be bold and fearless as you help make disciples for generations to come. 

With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.  

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 NIV