As a disciplemaker, you have a genuine desire to share the ways a growing relationship with Jesus has changed your life. But, you may be surprised that the person you could disciple is someone you already know.
Here are three questions to help you find someone to disciple, encouraging them to also grow as a disciplemaker:
1. Who are the people in my existing circles that I already have a relationship with?
Think through your week and start naming people you see on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis. These names may come from your workplace, neighborhood community, sports and fitness groups, book clubs, or church community and small group. If you’d like to add to your list, look for ways to intentionally build relationships with those in your existing circles.
2. What do I notice about having spiritual conversations with this person?
Now take those people you named above and consider the spiritual conversations you’ve had with them. Have they mentioned anything that leads you to believe they may be a Christian or open to following Jesus? 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. Sharing a piece of your faith-journey story with someone may give them courage to share where they are on their faith journey, too.
3. Which of these people seem to be Faithful, Available, and Teachable?
Continuing with those who may already be a Christian or open to following Jesus, consider the F.A.T. acronym which will help you gauge their readiness for discipleship:
- 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. If no one seems open to discipleship, don’t be discouraged! All that means is that you may have opportunities to dive deeper into the people you already know or there may be new people that God plans to bring into your life.
Share this Navigators Discipleship Tool
Download a print friendly PDF of the How To Find Someone to Disciple resource to pass along. Navigators Discipleship Tools are designed for sharing with your Bible study, church groups, and those you are discipling.
I am a Volunteer Discipleship Coach with Search For Jesus of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Assoc. It is an online ministry and I am praying that God will give me some men who want to be discipled personally so I can minister to them one on one. Thank you for praying. I am already supporting Navigators.
Thank you! This has worked well for decades. 🙂
Question? How well do you think this model fairs with those moving in the direction to embracing Faith in Jesus but have not done this yet? My experience has been that this needs some tweaking for those folks. What is your experience?
I love how fun and simple the acronym is. I learned it years ago and doubt I’ll ever forget it. May we all be FAT Christians!
Phil. 2:12 -your take?
Simple steps to follow.
Father, please open my eyes to notice Your men for me to invest into.