Discipleship

DISCIPLING ANOTHER TO LOVE JESUS (DA2LJ)

QUESTION: Why do most believers and churches not disciple today?

Everyone has their reasons, but we typically find 2 main objections given when we ask pastors and church members why their church is not more involved in discipleship, and both objections are fear-based.

Fear 1 – “I don’t know how to disciple.”

If you ask 10 Pastors or church members today if they would know what to do, specifically, with a new believer to help ensure that the new believer will not fall away, 9 out of 10 will answer that they do not know. We have verified this with large and small groups of pastors and church members.

The DA2LJ ministry takes this fear away by teaching you, specifically, how to disciple new believers to love Jesus AND by giving you the materials necessary to be able to disciple others.

Fear 2 – “I don’t have the time to disciple others.”

Most fear that discipling means dealing with a lot of people who have problems in their lives and having to become their best friend, counselor, coach, and buddy for the next 10 years. Many know they should disciple but are afraid of the commitment.

The DA2LJ ministry trains you to simply disciple one person a year and to spend only about 10 hours with that one person. There is no huge expectation on your time and there is no expectation on your time and there is no expectation that you will have a long term relationship with your disciple.

QUESTION: What are the Fundamental Principles behind DA2LJ?

I. Discipleship is most effective when done ONE-ON-ONE.

Every new believer in the church should be discipled one-on-one by a trained discipler in his church. Discipleship is not best practiced as a class or a group event. Biblical-discipleship requires that the discipler be not only an instructor but also a role-model for the disciple. Jesus taught and modeled what He wanted His followers (disciples) to do.

II. Discipleship must occur in first 3 months of a new believer’s life.

Studies show that most new believers end up walking away from the Lord and they do it in the first 3 months of their being a believer. The best way to help a new believer from falling away (as the majority does) is to disciple them AS SOON AS THEY GET SAVED! Of course we believe that everyone should be discipled, and in fact we do not allow anyone to be a discipler until they have first been discipled. BUT, the real goal of DA2LJ is to disciple new believers; and to disciple them as quickly as possible.

Farmers who raise corn know that the real fight occurs during the first part of the growing life of the corn. The weeds around the corn grow faster and are healthier than the corn stalk. The farmer must constantly fight the weeds or they will destroy the corn. After some time, however, the situation reverses and the corn starts to grow more quickly and becomes too strong for the weeds to have an adverse effect. This principle of the weeds is the same with discipling new believers; we need to help them the most when they are young and being attacked by the enemy and the world, so that they can get to a place where they start to be able to stand on their own.

III. Discipleship should focus on four basic disciplines of the faith

It is our experience and observation that when young believers learn and use the following basic disciplines they tend not to fall away from faithfulness to the Lord. These disciplines become applicable and even enjoyable to the new believer as he learns THE LAW OF SPECIFICITY. All this means is that prayer should be specific, Bible study should focus on specific and relevant passages, etc.

Prayer – learning to pray and more importantly, learning to pray SPECIFICALLY. If a person prays, “God bless me”, God may bless them but how will they ever know that God has? DA2LJ teaches the disciple to pray specifically; “God, I must have $100 by Friday or my electricity will be turned off – please help me!” If the $100 shows up, the disciple KNOWS that God has heard and answered the prayer.

Bible Study – making it APPLICABLE through Life Verses against Besetting Sins. DA2LJ encourages the disciple to begin to read scripture in an organized manner, and to MEMORIZE scriptures that directly help the disciple to OVERCOME their main areas of sin. For a disciple with a WORRY problem, instructing is given to help the disciple memorize 3-5 scriptures dealing with overcoming worry and with the peace of God.

Evangelism/Discipleship – New believers often make great evangelists because of their zeal and lack of theological barriers. DA2 LJ teaches new believers to begin to evangelize right away and to prepare to become a discipler themselves once their initial discipleship time is completed.

Fellowship – Satan wants to get new believers to walk alone so they become very vulnerable to his attacks. Satan often manipulates this by causing negative experiences with other Christians to happen. New believers must make Christian friends quickly or they will likely fall back to their old friends. DA2LJ encourages disciples to join a small group, to become qualified to disciple others, to serve in the church, and to make friends.

IV. Discipleship addresses Similar Temptation Patterns of new believers

Most new believers struggle with Doubt, Temptation, and Priorities for Life. What is God’s Will, and almost all will quickly face a Moment of Discouragement. DA2LJ, through training in (and modeling of) Specific Prayer and Applicable Bible Study, teaches the disciple how to know that discouragement will come but also how to not give up when it does.
Let’s all help to restore the lost art of the Church – DISCIPLESHIP – to its proper place so that many can grow and stand firm in their walk with the Lord!

-- An excerpt from “Discipleship – A Lost Art Of The Church Today” by Pastor Rick Ives, Fellowship Christian Church, Springfield, OH.