How to Make Disciples: Living Out the Great Commission

When learning how to make disciples, imagine someone walking you step-by-step through the process of living out the Great Commission. Discipleship is easier than you realize and this online guide will encourage your heart and help you grow as a disciplemaker.

If you wonder what it means to disciple someone, discipleship is simply journeying with someone as they grow spiritually – even if you are only a step or two ahead of them in learning to closely follow Jesus.

In the Gospels, we see Jesus model a relational and intentional discipleship through his interactions with His 12 disciples. During the Last Supper in John 13:12-17, Jesus shows His disciples that serving others is a key component of living in His Kingdom by washing their feet and encouraging them to take a similar posture. 

The journey of following Jesus is one step at a time. Let’s walk through each simple step of a discipleship relationship and discover along the way what these steps could look like in your everyday life.

Prayer: The First Step in Discipleship

Here are three ways you can pray for a heart posture like Christ and take this first step of discipleship. 

1. Pray for wisdom, discernment, patience, and a heart ready to invest in others. 

Father, I ask for Your wisdom. Give me a heart ready and willing to invest in another through discipleship.

2. Ask God to lead you to the right person.

Father, just as You gave Jesus guidance for His 12 disciples, show me who in my life may want to grow in their relationship with Christ through discipleship.

3. Pray for a continued dependence on the Holy Spirit’s work in your life and in the lives of those you will disciple.

Father, teach me what it looks like to stay in step with the Holy Spirit and depend on His work in my life and in those I disciple.

Finding Someone to Disciple

You may be surprised that the person you could disciple is someone you already know. Here are three questions to help you discover the possibilities for discipleship from the people you interact with on a daily basis.

1. Who are the people in my existing circles that I already have a relationship with?

These names may come from your workplace, neighborhood community, sports and fitness groups, book clubs, or church community and small group.

2. What do I notice about having spiritual conversations with this person?

Discipleship isn’t solely for new believers, but for anyone wanting to grow in their relationship with Christ! If the topic of faith isn’t something that has come up, that may be your next step.

3. Which of these people seem to be Faithful, Available, and Teachable?

• Faithful – Committed to growing in their faith and following Jesus.
• Available – Willing to make time for discipleship and invest in learning.
• Teachable – Open to instruction, correction, and applying biblical truths.

After you’ve asked these questions, you may find that you have at least one person that you can ask to start a discipleship relationship.

Download this free resource: How To Find Someone to Disciple: 3 Questions to Ask

Stories of How Disciplemakers Found Someone to Disciple

Here are stories from disciplemakers about how they found someone to disciple. 

Simple and Intentional Discipleship in Jacksonville

Ahmani started getting involved with The Navigators when she was a student at the University of Central Florida. However, her journey as a disciplemaker really kicked off when she decided to join Navigators staff for EDGE Corps at Florida A&M University. Now as a therapist for kids in foster care in Jacksonville, she takes what she learned and shares the hope of Christ in the midst of hard situations.

Spreading the Gospel Through a Firefighter Bible Study

David has been growing a Bible study in his firehouse. After the end of their shift once a week, the men will meet at a coffee shop to share about their lives and go through Scripture and prayer. David has designed the group to be a safe place where non-believers and believers alike can feel heard and seen, pointing each other to truth.

The Approach: How to Ask Someone to Be Discipled

You’ve prayed for God to give you wisdom and guidance and you’ve found someone who seems to be a good fit for a discipleship relationship. But now comes the part that many of us are the most nervous about – asking that person if they would like to be in a discipleship relationship!

Whether it’s a fear of messing up, feeling awkward, or getting rejected, we all need to know that these feelings are common, legitimate, and nothing to be ashamed of. Name these fears and bring them to God, asking for His courage and guidance. Hold on to the promise that Jesus will be with you (Matthew 28:20b), even in this often intimidating step of starting a discipleship relationship!

When you get to the point of asking someone into Life-to-Life discipleship, remember that clarity, intentionality, openness to the Spirit’s guiding, and authenticity are key for defining a discipleship relationship, explaining the “why” of discipleship, and setting realistic expectations for a mutually fruitful and edifying discipleship relationship.  

1. Begin by sharing the “whats” of a discipleship relationship.

Try to avoid any “Christianese” terms that a young believer or non-Christian may be unfamiliar with, but lay out specifically what you would like to do with them.

• “I’d like to read the Bible with you sometime.”
• “I’d like to share some things that have been helpful for me in my walk with God.”
• “I’d love to share what I have been learning about prayer lately.”
• “I’d like to help you grow in your relationship with God.”

Consider what you want to accomplish in this relationship.

2. Explain the “why” of a discipleship relationship.

Share some of what you’ve observed about this person and why you want to disciple them.

• “I’ve appreciated the questions you’ve asked about Christianity and God over the past few months.”
• “When I was a younger Christian, I found it so helpful when someone mentored me in how to walk with God. I’d love to do the same with you.”
• “Reading the Bible has been so helpful and comforting for me when I’ve gone through hardship. I wonder if it might be helpful for you with what you’re going through right now.”

People are more likely to respond positively if you’re specific about the why of discipleship and communicate with intentionality.

3. Name the time, place, and frequency for discipleship.

The more ambiguous a commitment seems to be, the more fearful people are of entering into it, and the more likely they are to say no. How long are you proposing to meet? Being clear is helpful.

• “We could read the Bible together once a week over our lunch break. How does that sound?”
• “Could I share some practices that have been helpful to me in my walk with God while our kids play during our weekly playdates?”

In disciplemaking, try not to go more than two weeks without meeting.

4. Don’t be discouraged by a “No.”

If someone isn’t ready for a discipleship relationship, continue praying and be a supporting presence in their life. God may open up the opportunity again later:

Despite Matt’s initial lack of interest in God, Jon kept calling. He continued to build a relationship with Matt, even trying to help him find work and housing. After numerous spiritual conversations, Jon began to feel discouraged. Though Matt’s heart showed signs of softening, he wasn’t ready to surrender his life to Christ. Knowing that there wasn’t much else he could do, Jon entrusted Matt’s life to the Lord and continued to pray over him.

And then, after two years, something finally clicked.

“I remember that for years, Jon would call and reach out to me about God,” Matt says. “For a long time, I wasn’t trying to hear it. But Jon never stopped. He never gave up on me. And it changed my life.”

Download the free resource: 7 Tips for Starting a Discipleship Relationship

Asking Great Questions

Questions are an important part of discipleship because they encourage deeper reflection and personal application.

One question Jesus asked His disciples is, “What are you looking for?”

We are all in search of something. We are all on a quest. Jesus invites their internal, unspoken reality to the surface with a single question. At the very core, it is the foundational question of discipleship, of leadership, of life. What are you looking for?

The moment that particular question takes root in us we become students of what matters most to us in life. Only once we have wrestled with that question can we even compare it to what Jesus might suggest we begin to look for with our lives. The right question can do that.

Here are a few discipleship questions you could regularly ask those you disciple:

• What is God teaching you right now?
• How have you noticed God at work in your life?
• What challenges do you face in following Jesus?
• Use The Wheel Illustration as a resource to ask questions about where they would like to grow in their walk with Christ.

Download a free sample of Curious: The Unexpected Power of a Question-Led Life by Tom Hughes and published by NavPress.

“Teaching Them All I Have Commanded You”

In Matthew 28:20, Jesus shares with His disciples that He wants them to teach those they disciple to obey everything He has commanded them. One aspect of discipleship is helping others know and obey God’s commands. However, this isn’t about a checklist, but a growing relationship with Christ. As you ask those you disciple questions about what God’s teaching them, pay attention to where the Holy Spirit is already at work in drawing them into God’s love as a motivation for repentance, obedience, and closely following Jesus.

Lead by Example

When you’re new to following Jesus, the best way to learn is to watch first and then implement how you see another disciplemaker practically living out their faith and relationship with Jesus.

Try these ideas with those you disciple:

• Introduce a spiritual discipline that is new to the person you’re discipling by first practicing it together for a season and then encourage them to continue this practice on their own. This could be praying, reading the Bible, or even memorizing Scripture together before encouraging these individual practices.
• Emphasize the importance of a daily quiet time with God and walk them through how you spend this time.
• Share about your own walk with God, including the highs and lows. When someone you disciple hears you vulnerably share about your struggles in this spiritual journey, they may be more open to share their struggles with you.
• Remember that as you seek to disciple others, also have someone in your life who is discipling you — encouraging your spiritual walk with Christ and helping you grow as a disciplemaker. It’s through this that you will model a life of obedience, service, and love for others.

A Note on Life-to-Life  Discipleship

When it comes to discipleship, The Navigators has a particular model they’ve held to for more than 90 years — Life-to-Life discipleship. This type of discipleship is inviting someone in your life to grow in Christ by reading the Bible together, praying together, and intentionally walking in everyday life together.

This takes discipleship beyond absorbing information at weekly meetings and incorporates everyday life moments and conversations that lead to noticing God and the ways His Spirit is transforming lives. These Life-to-Life discipleship moments could include: sharing a meal at home, walking in the park, running errands, or serving together.

Even Jesus modeled Life-to-Life discipleship as He invited His disciples to share meals, travel, ministry, and conversation with Him for three years.

Disciples Who Make Disciples

When Jesus invited His disciples to follow Him, He knew there was a larger vision at play of disciples who make disciples. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus clarifies this and tells His followers to go and make disciples of all nations. You’re included in this vision of spreading the gospel, inviting others to follow Jesus with you, and in turn helping them to grow in their faith so they can also make disciples.

You may be thinking, I’m only one person. Did you know one person who follows Jesus could have a significant spiritual impact in this world? Ponder this spiritual equation:

If you could disciple one person for a year — meeting together to study God’s Word, pray, and experience life alongside each other as you put Jesus’ teachings into practice…

Then, the next year the two of you do the same thing with two more…

And the year after that, the four of you with four more….

In 34 years, through just 34 friends you could disciple over 8 billion people (8,589,934,592)!

This is what we call a lineage of spiritual generations or spiritual multiplication. 

Being a disciplemaker can be as simple as sharing what you learned or how you’re growing that week in your relationship with Christ with one other person. Each time you learn something new, you have a new simple next step to pass it along to those you disciple. Then you can encourage them to pass this on to someone they’re discipling.

Even the apostle Paul shared with Timothy the importance of passing on what he had learned from him — from both what Paul said and how he lived his life. “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” 2 Timothy 2:2 (NIV).

Stories of Disciples Who Make Disciples

Here are stories about everyday disciplemakers who are living out the Great Commission and seeing God create spiritual generations of disciples making disciples.

The Contagious Power of Transformation

More and more students started to notice the changes in Caleb’s life and wanted to see the same kind of positive changes in their own lives. “I started meeting with as many young men as I could possibly fit in a 24-hour day,” Caleb says. “Soon, through prayer and testimony and time, five men became 10, and 10 became 20. Now, there’s a Bible study of 40 young men meeting on Saturday mornings, all struggling with the same things.”

How Two Men Passed on a Legacy of Faith and Friendship

Did you know that an intentional friendship can change the course of someone’s life? This was the case for Tyler — a recipient of generational discipleship whose perspective on friendship was forever altered after two Navigators poured into his life over the span of 20 years.

Generations of Impact at Eagle Lake

For Jasmina, seeing her brother come to camp has been encouraging and a reflection on her time as a counselor, where she has similarly poured into kids who are like Zayan and experiencing the gospel for the first time.

Zayan’s story is just one of the many campers that come through Eagle Lake’s overnight and day camps. As he comes back to serve on the same program his sister did, he is an example of the generational effect of discipleship and impact that campers experience at camp.

Your Next Step for Learning How to Disciple Someone