IF YOU WERE LEADING

A “SUCCESSFUL”
CHURCH WHAT WOULD
IT LOOK LIKE?
HOW MIGHT YOU
MEASURE SUCCESS?
 IN JOHN 17:4 JESUS PRAYS,
 I GLORIFIED YOU ON EARTH,
HAVING ACCOMPLISHED THE
WORK THAT YOU GAVE ME TO DO.
WHAT WAS THE WORK THAT JESUS HAD
DONE. LIST AS MANY PARTS OF IT AS YOU
CAN?
 MAKING
DISCIPLES #1
As Jesus was about to return to heaven he issued a
command to his followers,
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I
have commanded you. And behold, I am with you
always, to the end of the age.”
 Which of these words are
As Jesus was about to return to heaven he issued a
commands to do something?
command to his followers,
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I
have commanded you. And behold, I am with you
always, to the end of the age.”
These words are still at the heart of our mission 2,000
years after Jesus ascended.
This course will help us to understand what Jesus
meant by these words. Answer these questions:
These words are still at the heart of our mission 2,000
What did Jesus mean by
years after Jesus ascended.

“make disciples”?
This course will help us to understand what Jesus
meant by these words. Answer these questions:
 What did the eleven
These words are still at the heart of our mission 2,000
years after Jesus ascended.
understand it to mean, what
This course will help us to understand what Jesus

did they do?

meant by these words. Answer these questions:
 How does the church you
These words are still at the heart of our mission 2,000
years after Jesus ascended.
attend, understand and
This course will help us to understand what Jesus act
upon this command?
meant by these words. Answer these questions:
How do you understand this
These words are still at the heart of our mission 2,000
years after Jesus ascended.
command. What have
This course will help us to understand what Jesusyou
done to obey it?
meant by these words. Answer these questions:
Assignment: Memorise
Matthew 28:18-20
If we copy his example then
we are likely to produce
disciples like he wants.
This course looks at how
Jesus did this, what his
example shows and teaches
us.
- Jesus took people with
normal lives and made them
foundational in his plan to
change the world.
- What he did with the
Twelve will help us to
understand this command.
Colossians 3:16 says,

Let the word of Christ dwell in

you richly

What does this mean?

- E.g. the sayings and teachings of
Jesus
- These words were passed on from
disciple to disciple before being put
together in the Gospels.
- To know what Jesus wants me need
to be I must know these books and
what they say.
“True discipleship has enormous
potential...taking Jesus’ words
seriously is dangerous and rewarding
at the same time…the Great
Commission, still relevant to the
twenty-first century...remains a major
key to the advance of God’s kingdom.”
Tony Pullin, Making Disciples
11
 MAKING
DISCIPLES #2
 PART 1: HOW
JESUS TEACHES
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority
in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have
commanded you. And behold, I am with you
always, to the end of the age.”
 “Discipleship doesn’t come after
mission—discipleship is our
mission”
Jim Pullin
 GO TO GALILEE

Post-resurrection Jesus gave the Great

Commission when in Galilee…where
the disciples had seen much of his
ministry, where much of their learning
had occurred.
 GO TO GALILEE

What things would they have

seen and experienced there?
e.g. Matt 4:12-17
- Miracles and healings
- Teaching - Preaching
- The Sermon on the Mount
- In Galilee many of them had been
called by Jesus to follow him
They had travelled with Jesus to
Jerusalem, knowing his words
predicting all that was to come.
They saw him suffer and be crucified—
then found out he was alive and calling
them to meet him in Galilee.
How do you think the disciples felt as
they walked back from Jerusalem to
Galilee for this meeting?
Read Matthew 28:16-20
Explain what this passage tells us,
what it means and think about
what is new (what the disciples
were finding out for the first time)
 And Jesus came and said to them, “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been
Read Matthew 28:16-20
given to me. 19 Go therefore and make
Explain of
disciples what this passage
all nations, tells
baptizing us, in
them
what
the nameit means and think
of the Father about
and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching
what is new (what the disciples them to
observe all that I have commanded you.
were finding out for the first time)
And behold, I am with you always, to the
end of the age.”
Jesus tells them that he now has “all
authority”. This is new, the Kingdom of
God has broken in.
The cross had changed everything in the
seen and unseen worlds.
Jesus then commissions his disciples,“You
go and you disciple others”
Jesus is saying to them,
“What I have been doing for you over
these last three years I want you to go
and do in every nation”
What did Jesus mean that they
should do?
What had Jesus done with his
disciples?
This might include; - Challenging
- Investing in them attitudes
- Spending time - Showing them
with them how to live and how
- Eating meals to serve
- Encouraging - And more…
 What have been the
things people have
done in discipling you
that have most helped
you grow?
23
Remember that there was also ministry
activity that takes place in church.
Jesus had discipled his followers—they
had the best possible example.
What words would you use to describe a
disciple?
Strong’s Dictionary offers this definition: 3101
mathētḗs (from math-, the "mental effort needed to
think something through") – properly, a learner; a
disciple, a follower of Christ who learns the
doctrines of Scripture and the lifestyle they require;
someone catechised (teaching by Q&A) with
proper instruction from the Bible with its necessary
follow-through (life-applications).
Bible.org says, “The Greek term μαθητής
(mathētēs) refers generally to any “student,”
“pupil,” “apprentice,” or “adherent,” as opposed to
a “teacher.”
A word that is often used is apprentice.
One dictionary defines apprentice as,
a person who is learning a trade from a
skilled employer, a beginner: an
apprentice.
In Jesus’ time an apprentice learned
under the instruction of a rabbi, usually
living with him during this time of
training. The words pupil or learner are
also used.
Public teaching in the Church is enriching
and helpful and part of the process of
making disciples, but discipleship is
more than that.
Making disciples isn’t simply telling
people about Christ and leading them to
salvation, but about a relationship where
they are helped to learn and grow to
become like Jesus.
Paul had at least 27 people who travelled with him
at one time or another.
They shared in Paul's life and learned from him—
not simply listen to him teaching and preaching.
[Paul’s sufferings would have been seen close up
by these people].
What experiences do you think would have
been part of every day life in travelling with Paul?
What would a disciple learn from these?
• ________________________________
• ________________________________
• ________________________________
• ________________________________
Disciples of Jesus:
- he is Saviour and Lord
- We follow him—discipleship puts him first in
everything (Luke 14:25-27).
- Our ambition is to serve him by the help of the
Holy Spirit.
 - HS brings God’s life and love into our
experience, and draws us closer to the Father,
to Jesus and to one another;
- he teaches, guides and empowers us.
God wants us to be encouraged and helped in
our walk as disciples by the body of Christ, the
church.
How have you been
helped in being a
disciple by other
Christians?
So if I am going to be truly
discipled;
• I will need to be willing for
someone else to speak into my
life.
 • I will need to be open with
someone who can help me to
grow into the image of Jesus.
 • What should a discipling
relationship look like, what
questions are good (or bad)?
 PETER—AN APPRENTICE WHO
BECAME AN APOSTLE

Jesus making disciples of the twelve was

their example for making disciples, they
in turn would fulfil his commission.
 PETER—AN APPRENTICE WHO
BECAME AN APOSTLE

Pullin looks at Peter from his first meeting with

Jesus up to the day of Pentecost.
This is helpful for all involved in discipling. “Peter
shows human weaknesses, impulsiveness,
enthusiasm, the flaws, all mixed together. He was
like us. He lived in the northern part of the country
and spoke Aramaic with a northern accent. He was
born in a lakeside town, married and a bit of an
entrepreneur; he part-owned a fishing business
with two friends...He was a loveable hothead,
whose heart was basically in the right place.“
This course primarily looks at how Peter
was trained as a disciple by Jesus.
For him, and the other disciples, the
commission they received from Jesus
shaped the rest of their lives.