This is the introduction to a training manual Kathy and I are writing. We would very much enjoy any comments for improvements and corrections anyone has. We will be teaching this training program for 26 weeks this next year. This is a group project!!!

Copyright 2015, Chris and Kathy Scruggs, All Rights Reserved

Jesus gave the Church a commission: “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” (Matthew 28:19-20). Making disciples is the God’s supreme desire for the entire church. It involves going to where people are, bringing them into the fellowship of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them the things of God, showing them how to live a life pleasing to God.

The Greek word we translate “disciple” refers to one who learns from another person. However, Christian discipleship is not just about learning information. We believe that Jesus Christ is the “the Way, the Truth and the Life.” In other words, the key to abundant living is not an idea, but a person. Because being a disciple involves getting to know a person, we must believe in that person and spend time in the presence of that person. Jesus promised us that, “where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matt. 18:20). If we are to meet Jesus, a person must introduce us to him. If we are to understand what it is like to be a Christian, we must be mentored by someone who is further along the path of discipleship that we are. If we are to learn of Jesus, we must spend time with his people. This means that we need to be a part of a Christian fellowship that is trying to spend time with him. One way we do this is when we become part of a group of people who are seeking to follow Jesus, who is the Way.

“T4T” or “Training for Trainers” and “Discipleship Making Movements” or “DMM” are techniques that have been and are being used all over the world to disciple people, plant churches, and grow the kingdom. [1] Many of these programs have seen great success in growing the kingdom of God by bringing people into small house churches where they can be discipled as followers of Jesus. There is nothing wrong with any of these programs. Many of them are sponsored by independent churches that practice believer baptism, have weekly worship and communion services in small house groups, and conduct their business in ways that are not easy to emulate in the Presbyterian tradition. This set of lessons seeks to outline a way in which Presbyterians can participate in this movement without ceasing to be Presbyterian.

Having said this, it is important to underscore the debt Presbyterians owe to the Church Planting Movement, those who developed T4T and DMM, and the way in which they have been used by God to grow his kingdom. This booklet is not intended to denigrate what these movements have done worldwide. In fact, it is intended to honor that movement as we seek to find a way to appropriate it into the Reformed tradition. Those who envisioned and designed this program did a wonderful thing that has enriched the kingdom of God across the globe.

Finally, it is important to point out that this Presbyterian introduction is not a substitute for the voluminous literature that is already in existence. If one were to undertake to even summarize this vast literature, it would involve creating a book no one would ever be able to read! This work is just a series of chapters that deal with a discipleship in a general way, hopefully in sufficient detail that Presbyterians can become involved more easily than if the manual did not exist. We encourage pastors and congregations who are interested in T4T, DMM, and other Church Planting programs to read the primary sources as well as this work.

Jesus: The Great Example

There is one reason, more than any other why every Christian should either be involved leading people to Christ in some kind of a small discipleship group: Jesus brought people to himself and was in a small group of people he was actively discipling. Other religious figures have written books. Jesus did not. He chose twelve average human beings and lived in community with them for his entire ministry. Their memories of him are contained in our Gospels. It was their memories of Jesus and their time together that propelled them to carry the Good News on a continuing journey to every nation on the face of the earth. The way the early church grew was by reproducing what Jesus had done while he was with them. This is important to us. The best and most authentic way for the Kingdom of God to grow in our communities and around the world is by ordinary men and women bringing people to Christ, calling people together into discipling groups, training new believers, and continually reproducing this process through generations of discipling people.

According to Matthew, when Jesus ascended into heaven he left his disciples with a job to do and marching orders to do that job. Matthew ends his gospel with the following commission for his disciples (and for us):

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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” (Matthew 28:18-20).

There are several features of this commission that many Christians have forgotten:

We are to go. In fact, we are all going somewhere—to work, to the office, to school, to a social club, to work out, to church, to our homes, to our family, etc. In fact we are going somewhere most of the time.

We are to share. As we are going we are to make disciples of all nations, or as it would be in the original, of all people groups. In other words, we are to share the gospel with everyone and make disciples of anyone who responds.

We are not alone. Christ has not abandoned us. He is with us by the power of the spirit.

In our congregation, we have an older retired pastor who grew up on a farm. Robert is in is 80’s. He has been a pastor and a missionary. He has worked in the area of evangelism. When he translates the Great Commission, he puts it something like this:

As Y’all are going wherever you go, be sure and share the Good News with others and make them disciples. As you do this, baptize those who come to believe. But, don’t stop there. Be sure you teach them all about me and to live the way I have taught you to live. Along the way, don’t be scared. I will be with you all the time, everywhere you go.

You actually have to know a little Greek to understand that Robert has captured the essence of what Jesus is saying. The word “Go” is a participle. It can mean, “Go!” but it also connotes “As you are going” in the imperative. Jesus does not say, “Get people to say they believe in me.” He says, “Teach them so that they can obey.” Too often evangelism programs stop at conversion. This is not what Jesus asked us to do. He asked us to make disciples.

It is very important right at the beginning to get firmly in mind the following principles of the Great Commission:

Go: Coming to church is not what the Christian life is about going into the world making disciples.

Share: Share with everyone you can, not some people you like.

Make Disciples: We are not called to make people Church members; we are called to make disciples. [2]

Jesus: Up In and Out

The essence of discipleship is having a relationship with Jesus. Discipleship involves a kind of triangular relationship. We have a vertical relationship with God that is the ground of all we say and do. That vertical relationship with God in Christ results in deep changes in our inner being as we become a part of the community of Jesus and walk with him and other believers. We become more like Christ. Finally, our vertical relationship with Christ and our inner transformation in Christ causes us to reach out to others with the love of God. We become a part of the Christian community and what God is doing in and through his people. This is important to get straight right at the beginning. God wants a personal relationship with us. God also wants a communal relationship with us through the church, the people of God, the ecclesia, those God has called to be his special witnessing people. Finally, God wants us to reach out and share what we have experienced in Jesus Christ with others.

The life of a disciple must be built around all three points in the triangle: We must be passionately in love with God and willing to follow Christ and obey God’s commands. To do this, we must be part of God’s radical community, the Church, where we can learn to live in wholeness, peace (Shalom) and love as God intended us to live bound together by the Spirit. Finally, we must reach out into our communities with the love of God so that others may experience God’s wisdom and love. [3]

We hope that you will enjoy your training to be a leader in this very important ministry in our church. This manual is for you to use now and in the future and to help you grow in your walk with Christ. We want to thank everyone who made it possible. In particular, we thank the many experts in the field of evangelism, leadership training, and small groups whose works were consulted in preparing this Guide.

[1] There are three main streams within what is sometimes called, “The Church Planting Movement.” T4T, DMM, and what is sometimes called DMS. They are similar, but have different strategies. This lesson book is not a place to talk about the differences. In this guide we draw on strategies and tactics from all three approaches.

[2] See, Steve Smith & Ying Kai, T4T: A Discipleship ReRevolution (Monument, CO: Wigtake Resources, 2011). This book is the single most important source for learning about T4T.

[3] See, Mike Breen & the 3DM Team, Building a Discipleship Culture: How to Release a Missional Movement by Disicpling People like Jesus Did (Pawleys Island, SC: 3DM Resources, 2011). Many churches and congregations use this triangle approach.