This is Lesson Two of 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. Sorry for the delay. I experienced some technical difficulties last week and until now!!

Copyright 2015, Chris and Kathy Scruggs, All Rights Reserved

Whenever a problem is solved, someone sees the problem, decides to solve it, figures out a solution, and gathers people to carry out the solution. For the gospel to spread, someone has to take responsibility to do what needs to be done. Someone has to take responsibility for sowing the seed of the Gospel in human hearts. For the kingdom of God to expand, for a church or Bible study to grow and prosper, someone has to step forward to and lead. In God’s Good News mission to the world, it is a person willing to disciple others, in this case a “Sower.”

When missionaries enter a mission field the need is vast. There is almost no one except the missionaries to meet that need. Something has to be done. The founders of the Church Growth Movement saw the need, but knew that traditional solutions would either not work or would take too long. One missionary working six days a week, twelve hours a day, can only reach so many people with the Gospel of wisdom and love a year or in a lifetime. Compared to the number of people who are far from God and who need to hear of God’s wise love, the number of people that can be reached by one or a few people in a year or even a lifetime is small. What is needed is a way for a visionary to lead a few, who lead a few, who lead a few, until the mission field is reached. Today, in the formerly Christian West, as well as in the traditionally unreached places of the world, the number of people who need to be reached are so great that a new method needs to be found. Focusing on people discipling people is that method.

Jesus: Our Guide As a Discipler

The best discipling leader who ever lived was Jesus. He was the best discipler and leader because he was totally related to God and totally committed to his disciples. In Luke, Jesus tells the following parable:

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. (Luke 15:1-7).

Jesus was was a loving shepherd. He had a heart for the world. The world needed Good News. If we have a heart for the lost, we will also be loving shepherds. What does a loving Shepherd do? He or she rescues sheep. Returning to the need for sowers, the first and most important thing Christian disciples do is share the Gospel and their faith in God. Sharing the Gospel is the first and most important step in rescuing sheep. But, it is not the only step. People have to be loved, nurtured, encouraged, and taught to be disciples. True sowers are more than just speakers of the word. They, like Jesus, become related to people for a long time as they grow and mature in Christ.

The Kind of Sowers God Needs

God needs sowers because there are a lot of people who have never heard the Gospel or if they have heard the Gospel they either never truly received it or they have drifted far away from God and from God’s people. We cannot know exactly who or where these people are. Therefore, we have to treat the world as God’s field and we have to learn to sow the Gospel wherever we are. We sow God’s word in at least two major ways:

1. We share the Gospel in Words
2. We share the Gospel in Deeds.

In order to effectively disciple people, we must first be disciples. In order to share the Gsopel in Word and Deed, we have to both know something to share verbally and live out our faith in deeds of love. To do this, we have to grow vertically (in relationship to God), internally (in relationship to one’s true self) and horizontally (in loving relations with others). Such persons want to experience:

Vertical Growth In Relation to God – An effective discipler is a person who cares deeply about his or her relationship with God as revealed in Jesus Christ and seeks to deepen it through prayer, active church participation, study of God’s Word, and above all humility. Such a person is positioned to reach others.

Internal: Growth: In Relation to Self – The Bible tells us that Christians should grow in faith, hope and love, and in the fruits of the Spirit, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, kindness, goodness and self-control. People who are not growing in maturity and self-confidence are prone to pride, gossip, and other forms of insecurity. Good disciplers, while not nearly perfect, exhibit maturity, self-understanding, and poise. They have or are developing well-integrated personalities. A person who has self-knowledge and who is in the process of overcoming sin and self-centeredness in his or her self is positioned to help others find God and grow in a relationship with God.

Horizontal Growth: In Service to Other^–s – An effective discipler is a person who is growing in his or her love for others and willingness to reach out to others in word and deed. John 3:16 Jesus shares the Gospel with Nicodemus in this form: “For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son so that whosoever believes in him will never perish but have eternal life.” God loved the world. Therefore, God reached out to the world in word and in deed by the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus. He reached out in loving service to a lost world.

If we are going to sow the seeds of the Gospel in the lives of other people, the first thing we must do is be sure we are growing in relationship to God, to our true selves, and to others.

Jesus had a relationship with God, who he called “Abba” or “Father” or even “Daddy.” Nothing is more important to being a good discipler of others than having a strong personal relationship with God through Christ. Second, we must be in the process of becoming more like Christ. To do this, we have to mature in our faith and overcome the sins of pride. Finally, we will not sow until we we have the same love for others that God has for the lost world.

Entering Your Field

A sower cannot sow until the sower gets into the field. Therefore, it is important to come to an understanding of what kind of field God is calling us to enter and into which we show the Gospel. This is where we need to take a moment and think about a Greek term, “Oikos.’ The word in Greek means “Household.” In the ancient world, families included parents, grandparents, children, servants, extended family members and often others. All of these persons were a part of the household. In contemporary language we would call an “Oikos” a “Social Network.” Our mission field is not so much a place as it is the people we know and with whom we can share Christ.

In the first Century, the Gospel grew very rapidly, primarily though sharing the Gospel within households and human relationships. There were no church buildings. There were no church programs. Churches did not sponsor concerts and other community activities. The Gospel was shared person to person, primarily through households. Slaves shared the Gospel with other slaves and with their masters. Masters shared the gospel with their farm workers. Family members shared the Gospel with other family members. Friends shared the gospel with friends. Students shared the gospel with other students. In the end, almost every Christian shared the gospel with someone close to them. Many people who have studied the church today think that we need to return to this “Household to Household” method of sharing the Gospel.

Set out below is a graphic of what it means to have an “Oikos” or “Social Network” within which the Gospel can be shared.

We all have friends, relatives, neighbors, coworkers, school friends and others we see regularly. These persons make up our social network within which we can most effectively disciple people.

It takes a while to really understand the implications of the notion of evangelizing a social network For example, most of us would not think of our hairdresser or barber, our yard men or repairmen, the people who check us out at the grocery store, the barista at Starbucks, the people at the gym or on the running trail—all the many, many people with whom we come in contact every day as part of our household, but they are. We all know a lot of people with whom we can share the gospel if only we reflect on who and how to share.

If the Christian faith is to grow in our culture and in other cultures, Christians will beed to return to the notion that the Good News is important for everyone. It contains the secret to a happy life for all people. It was never meant to be a private thing that Christians possess. Christian faith is meant to be shared with others. Sharing was never meant to be something a few talented evangelists do. It is meant to be something all Christians do to the best of their ability.

Take a moment and think about people you know with whom you can share the Gospel:

 

Family members:

 

Friends:

 

Neighbors:

 

Co-Workers:

 

Schoolmates

 

Others:

This is Lesson One of  the 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. Please help us by subscribing to this blog, commenting on each lesson, and encouraging your friends to do so as well. This blog is dedicated to helping people on the journey of life, living a life of wisdom and love.

Copyright 2015, Chris and Kathy Scruggs, All Rights Reserved

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Luke 10:2). In any discipling movement, Christians are asked to hear God’s call and go into God’s field to share the gospel in word and deed. In order to do this, we must hear the voice of God calling us from our current pattern of life, including our some small portion of our  hobbies, activities, and church activities, into the world which is God’s field to share the message and reality of God’s love with those we find there. God is not asking most of us to do anything radical. Instead, he is asking us to order our lives in love and wisdom to make the world a better place by sharing his love with others.

Jesus came to announce the Good News of the Kingdom of God. He came to announce that God loves people, forgives people, and wants people to receive his Spirit so that they can live in his power. Mark begins his gospel with Jesus saying, “The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). To be a part of God’s kingdom, the kingdom of Jesus, someone has to call people to repent, turn around, look at themselves, recognize how far they are from God, and then turn from the kingdoms of this world to his Kingdom of Wisdom and Love.

People will never repent unless they believe there is a better, healthier, more joy filled way of life available in Christ. In other words people must believe and put their trust in the gospel that Christ proclaimed: that God loves us, sent his son to die for us, wants us to be his children, part of his family, members of his kingdom (John 3:16). When we are sent into the harvest, we are sent to proclaim in word and deed the gospel of the kingdom in ways that cause those who are open to hear, believe, and enter God’s gracious kingdom of love.

Our church and other churches are filled with people who have never shared their faith with another person. Some students of discipleship estimate that many, if not most, Christians have never shared their faith with another person. This is too bad. These people are good people. They believe in Christ. They know that their life is better off because of their faith in God. However, they do not have a real heart for those who struggle with a sense of the meaninglessness of their lives. They love their neighbors, but too often miss the emptiness in their hearts and the struggle of their lives.

Romans 8 is one of the most beautiful texts in the entire Bible. Here is the part of what Paul has to say in this lovely passage:

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory (Romans 8:14-17).

Here is the idea Paul is communicating: God by his Spirit is calling us. He has made us so that we desire to connect with an ultimate meaning and purpose. We have a longing for the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. We have a longing for God built into all of our souls. This is reflected in St. Augustine’s famous line, “our heart is restless until it finds its rest in you.” [1] God in his great mercy has made us with hearts that yearn for meaning, purpose, faith, goodness, wisdom, beauty, and love.

The World is God’s Field

In Mark, Jesus tells a parable of the Kingdom of God. He says that his kingdom is like a farmer who goes out into a field that shows seed:

This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk then the head then the full grain in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe he puts the sickle to it for the harvest has come (Mark 4:26-29).

This parable is a story about the kingdom of God and about sharing the Good News. A farmer has a field. In the case of God, the whole world is God’s field. This is why John can say, “For God do loved the world that he sent his Only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in him would not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The world is the place where God intends to plant his kingdom and harvest a great crop of human beings filled with the fruit of the Spirit.

Each of us lives and works in some small part of God’s field. We may live in a large city or in a small town. We may live in the center of a city or in a suburban neighborhood. We may live in a wealthy nation or a poor nation. Wherever we live and work, that is our field.

Like any good farmer, God wants to see the day when his entire field is bearing a crop. Therefore, he sends a sower into his field. Jesus was the first sower of the Gospel, but others, the prophets especially, came to proclaim God’s love and God’s will to the people of Israel. In Jesus case, he came into the world to proclaim and to bring into being God’s gracious kingdom of love. Jesus was, however, not the last or final sower. He has sent us into God’s field with the same commission as he received from the Father.

Sowers in God’s Field

In John, Jesus speaks to his disciples one the night after his arrest, trial, crucifixion, death and resurrection. He records Jesus entering the room the disciples were in and then speaking to them:

Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”  When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained (John 20:19-23).

Jesus spent three years with his disciples sowing the Kingdom into their hearts. As his time on earth was ending, he would no longer be restricted by time and by space. He could be present to his disciples by the Holy Spirit he breathed upon them. What did he say? He said, “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you” (John 20:22). Jesus had been sent to proclaim the good news of God’s forgiveness of sins. Now, Jesus is sending the disciples into the world to sow the seed of God’s kingdom just exactly as Jesus sowed the kingdom when he was physically present with his disciples. The twelve were going to disciple people, and those people were going to disciple people, and those people were going to disciple people until God’s kingdom grows throughout the whole world.

Jesus never intended building the kingdom of God to be the preserve of a few evangelists or charismatic pastors. God does not want evangelism to be accomplished just by pastors or by specially trained laypeople. The reason God chose twelve ordinary people to be his first disciples is that he intends for all of us, all Christians, to participate in building his kingdom. He wants us to do so where we live, work, play, and meet people, etc.—everywhere we go. Just as God sent Jesus to us, we are sent by Jesus into our world to share the Good News with others. God does not just work through special people to share his love. He works through every heart captured by his love.

The Seed is the Gospel

It is no good for a farmer to have a field and the ability to sow the field if there is no seed. A sower needs seed. In the same way, disciples of Jesus need seed as they go out into the part of the world that is their particular field. The seed is the gospel. Most Christians know of the Gospel, but when asked to put it into words, they do not how to communicate that Good News to others. One of the primary purposes of this study is to equip people to share the good news by developing the ability to communicate it to other people in a simple, concise, non-threatening way.

Jesus came proclaiming the gospel. In Jesus’ words, the gospel was the Good News that the long wait of Israel for the Messiah was over. In Jesus, the Kingdom of God had arrived (Matthew 4:23; Mark 1:15). In Luke, the birth of Jesus is portrayed as being announced by angels in such a way that it is clear that the birth of Jesus is the long awaited Messiah. Jesus begins his ministry proclaiming the Good News, saying:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me  to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:18-20).

The Good News is that the Messiah has come to undo the effects of sin and oppression in the lives of the people of God. As God’s commissioned disciples, we are called to go into the world and continue building God’s kingdom  of wisdom and love, sharing his Gospel just as the original disciples went into the ancient world.

The first disciples, as they went out into the world to share the gospel, had to develop a way to explain to people the meaning of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The Apostle Paul, who was perhaps the most effective of these early missionaries several times tells his disciples what the Gospel is. Near the end of his ministry, writing to Timothy, his beloved helper, he said: “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the worst” (I Timothy 1:15). Embedded in this little sentence is every element of a good testimony. The way to salvation is Jesus Christ. Christ came to save sinners. We are all sinners in need of salvation. Perhaps Paul’s longest version of the Gospel occurs in First Corinthians where he says:

Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born (I Corinthians 15:1-8).

In this passage, Paul outlines the gospel in narrative form. He begins by stating the importance of the Gospel. He then tells the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection, emphasizing that Jesus died for sinners, just like all of us.

I Corinthians was one of Paul’s earliest letters. 2 Timothy was one of the last. In 2 Timothy Paul speaks again of the Gospel:

So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (3 Timothy 1:8-10).

Although the context and wording is different, the Gospel is the same. God’s appointed savior Jesus the Christ came because of God’s foreknowledge and was apparent in the death and resurrection of Christ. This Gospel provides a means of salvation for everyone who believe in Christ and accept the gift of the forgiveness of sins and new life God offers them.

One thing we will do in this training is to develop the ability to make a short presentation of the Gospel. For the time being, it might be enough to take the time to write out in your own words what you think the Gospel is. Try writing it down in your own words.

[1] At. Augustine, The Confessions of St. Augustine tr. John K. Ryan (New York, NY: Image Books, 1960) Book 1, p. 43.

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.