If you’re a pastor of a small church, you already know discipleship is the core of Jesus’ Great Commission:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations...” (Matthew 28:19, ESV)
But let’s be honest—while we all agree discipleship is essential, most churches don’t have a clear discipleship process. After 20 years of pastoring, I've come to the conclusion that this is the biggest single challenge we're facing right now as a church! If you’re tired of “winging it” every time someone comes to Christ, this guide is for you.
Why You Need a Clear Discipleship Process
Without a plan, discipleship often turns into:
Random Bible studies with no clear goal
A one-size-fits-all approach that doesn't meet individual needs
Good intentions but little actual disciple-making
A clear discipleship process ensures that every believer in your church knows exactly how to grow in their faith. It provides structure, accountability, and clarity, so discipleship isn't left to chance.
Step 1: Define What a Disciple Looks Like
Before you build a discipleship process, ask yourself: What does a mature disciple of Jesus actually look like?
Many churches assume discipleship is just about learning more—but Jesus didn’t just tell His disciples to know His teachings. He told them to obey them (John 14:15). Instead, I encourage you to "reverse engineer" your discipleship process. Begin with what you're trying to produce, then work backwards, asking: What kind of habits would create this kind of result?
A strong discipleship process should aim to create believers who:
✅ Know the Word of God
✅ Obey Christ’s commands
✅ Share their faith with others
✅ Serve in the body of Christ
✅ Love God and others deeply
If you don’t define what a disciple is, your process will lack direction! As the Cheshire cat said, "If you don't know where you want to go, any road will take you there!"
Step 2: Establish a Clear Pathway
A good discipleship process should guide a new believer step-by-step into maturity. Here’s a simple four-stage discipleship pathway you can implement:
1. New Believer Stage (0-3 months)
✅ Assign a mentor
✅ Daily Bible reading & prayer habits
✅ Basics of faith (Who is Jesus? What is the Gospel?)
✅ Baptism & church involvement
🛠 Resources I'd recommend: NewStart Discipleship Journal (50-day Bible reading plan for new believers). You can download it for free right here:
2. Growing Disciple Stage (3-12 months)
✅ Learning obedience to Christ’s commands
✅ Understanding biblical doctrine
✅ Developing spiritual habits
✅ Joining a small group
🛠 Resources I'd recommend:
The Obedience Challenge (90-day study of Jesus’ commands).
How to Pray the Psalms (21 days of training praying Scripture)
3. Serving Disciple Stage (12-24 months)
✅ Discovering spiritual gifts
✅ Learning to serve in the church
✅ Leading in small ways (helping in ministries, praying for others)
🛠 Resources: Moving From Me to We (40-day study on biblical community)
4. Reproducing Disciple Stage (24+ months)
✅ Mentoring new believers
✅ Teaching others
✅ Leading a small group
✅ Evangelism & outreach
🛠 Resources I'd recommend: Training on how to disciple others, such as these that are included with NewStart Discipleship:
You can learn more info about these at these posts about:
Step 2: Choose a Discipleship Model
Now that you know what kind of disciple you want to make, the next question is: What model will you use?
Different churches take different approaches to discipleship. Here are 9 models to consider. See full descriptions and diagrams in this post about 9 Models for Discipleship.
1. One-on-One Mentorship
A mature believer disciples a younger believer in faith.
Example: Paul mentoring Timothy (Philippians 2:22).
✅ Strengths: Highly personal, deep accountability.
❌ Weaknesses: Hard to scale in larger churches.
2. Small Group Discipleship
Groups of 6-12 meet for Bible study, prayer, and accountability.
Example: The early church met in small groups (Acts 2:46).
✅ Strengths: Builds community, easy to implement.
❌ Weaknesses: Some people stay passive and don’t engage.
3. Classroom-Based Discipleship
Structured teaching sessions (Sunday school, Bible classes).
Example: Jesus often taught in a structured setting (Luke 4:16-21).
✅ Strengths: Clear curriculum, great for new believers.
❌ Weaknesses: Can become too knowledge-focused without application.
4. Life-on-Life Discipleship
Discipleship happens through daily activities.
Example: Jesus lived daily life with His disciples (Mark 3:14).
✅ Strengths: Integrates faith into real life.
❌ Weaknesses: Requires significant commitment from leaders.
5. Digital Discipleship
Online mentoring, Bible studies, and video courses.
Example: Paul discipled churches through letters!
✅ Strengths: Reaches more people, great for busy schedules.
❌ Weaknesses: Can lack personal connection.
6. Family-Based Discipleship
Parents are trained to disciple their children.
Example: “Teach them diligently to your children” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).
✅ Strengths: Strengthens faith at home.
❌ Weaknesses: Requires parents to be equipped and willing.
7. Mission-Oriented Discipleship
Learning through serving and outreach.
Example: Jesus sent His disciples out to minister (Luke 10:1-20).
✅ Strengths: Applies faith in real-world settings.
❌ Weaknesses: Can lack structured teaching.
8. Programmatic Discipleship
A structured system with clear setps (ex: churches that focus on events to attend).
✅ Strengths: Clear progression, scalable.
❌ Weaknesses: Can lack a relational focus and fail to develop spiritual disciplines.
9. Peer Discipleship
Believers in the same stage disciple each other in groups or partnerships.
Example: David and Jonathan’s spiritual friendship (1 Samuel 18:1-4).
✅ Strengths: Encourages mutual accountability.
❌ Weaknesses: Can lack strong leadership.
Step 3: Appoint a Discipleship Champion
You can’t do discipleship alone! Every church needs a Discipleship Champion—a staff member or key volunteer who drives the vision forward.
This person should:
Be passionate about discipleship.
Have a clear personal discipleship plan.
Be able to train and inspire others.
Without a champion, discipleship will always stay on the back burner. For more info, here's an important article on recruiting a 2nd Disciple-Maker in your church.
Step 3: Integrate Discipleship Into Your Church Culture
A discipleship process only works if it becomes part of your church’s DNA. Here’s how to make discipleship a normal part of church life:
✅ Preach About It Regularly
Discipleship isn’t just a side ministry—it’s the main mission of the church. Regularly teach about spiritual growth, obedience, and mentoring. For more, try these sermon ideas on discipleship, and discipleship sermon illlustrations.
✅ Use Your Worship Service to Promote It
During announcements, testimonies, and sermon applications, reinforce the importance of discipleship. Here's a list of ideas that will help to promote discipleship in your worship service.
✅ Train Leaders & Mentors
Recruit spiritually mature members to mentor new believers. You don’t have to do it alone!
✅ Create a table for discipleship resources
I've got an entire post on creating a discipleship resource table. Showcase your discipleship process and help people see that it is a visible priority for your church!
✅ Make Next Steps Obvious
Every member should know exactly what step to take next in their discipleship journey. Offer clear invitations to discipleship:
“If you’re a new believer, grab a NewStart Discipleship Journal.”
“If you’ve been following Jesus for a while, join our Obedience Challenge.”
Step 4: Track Progress & Keep It Simple
Discipleship isn’t just about starting—it’s about finishing. Here’s how to help people stay on track:
1️⃣ Keep it Simple
If your discipleship process is too complicated, people won’t follow it. Simple beats complex.
2️⃣ Provide Clear Checkpoints
Encourage people to complete each phase before moving forward.
3️⃣ Celebrate Spiritual Growth
Highlight testimonies, baptisms, and new disciple-makers in your church. People will follow what you celebrate!
Final Thoughts
Discipleship doesn’t happen by accident. A strong discipleship process gives people a clear path to follow so they can grow in faith and make new disciples.
💡 Want a ready-to-use discipleship plan for your church? NewStart Discipleship provides simple, step-by-step tools to help small church pastors create disciples who make disciples.
➡️ Get started today! Learn more about NewStart Discipleship!