Our church has an average attendance of just under 100. While that might seem small to some, our heart has always been focused on making disciples, not just putting "behinds in seats and dollars in plates." Discipleship is the mission Jesus gave us, and we’ve made it a priority to find creative ways to fulfill that calling.
There are lots of ways to promote discipleship in your church. One of the most effective things we’ve done is launching a church-wide discipleship campaign using resources from NewStart Discipleship. I've run 4 of these campaigns over the years. I'll explain 3 of them in this post. If you prefer to hear this post in video here it is:
You can't just plead for more time from busy people. But you do need to align your entire church around the basics of discipleship, particularly during times you're already doing something. Here's how we did it and the impact it had.
Why a Discipleship Campaign?
Sometimes, the fastest way to build momentum is to bring everyone on board at the same time. Instead of relying on one-on-one discipleship or small classes here and there, we decided to saturate the whole church with discipleship content over several weeks.
This strategy helped us quickly multiply disciple-makers by making sure everyone—new believers, long-time members, and leaders—understood the basics of discipleship and spoke the same "discipleship language."
What We Did
When we launched this campaign, we utilized at least three tools from NewStart Discipleship, and here’s how it worked:
1. We Printed Copies for Everyone.
We printed copies of the discipleship material for every member and handed them out for free. By removing the cost barrier, we made it easy for everyone to participate. (With NewStart Discipleship materials, you have an unlimited printing license included, so that made it easier also!)
2. Aligned Sermons with the Material
During the campaign, I preached sermons that aligned with the weekly discipleship material. This helped reinforce the concepts in a way that was engaging and easy to understand. People heard it on Sunday and then had a tangible resource to study during the week.
3. Promoted It During Services
We made a point to promote the campaign every week. I mentioned it in sermons, announcements, and even during informal conversations. Repetition was key to keeping it top of mind. We also included promotions on social media and our church texting list.
4. Encouraged Connection Groups to Join In
We asked our Connection Groups to use the material during their weekly discussions. This brought a relational and practical aspect to the campaign. People weren’t just hearing about discipleship; they were talking about it and applying it together.
3 Specific Discipleship Campaigns We Ran
#1: The NewStart Discipleship Journal
The key here was to introduce people to the journal so that they could someday disciple someone else—because they’d been through it themselves. We tell our people, "We don’t want you to be a travel agent, sending people where you’ve never been. We want you to be a tour guide saying, 'Right this way! Let me show you what I know.'"
I wanted to be able to get with a person from our church and say, "Bob, this is Bill... Bill just became a Christian. I want you guys to exchange phone numbers, and Bob, I want you to mentor Bill. He needs someone to walk with him, and since you’ve already been through the NewStart Discipleship Journal, I thought you’d be the perfect person."
You can download a free demo copy of the NewStart Journal here:
#2: The Obedience Challenge
Our whole church read through the Gospels in 90 days, and I preached from some passage they were about to read that week. We focused on the commands of Jesus in the Gospels and had people do the 90 days of daily videos explaining the 48 commands of Jesus.
Again, the goal here was to get people familiar with it so that they could take someone else through it! Our goal is to take what seems like a complicated process (disciple-making) and make it so clear and simple that anyone could do it.
#3: 40 Days of Holiness
We used the Pursuing Holiness Workbook and challenged our people to go through the book and do the teaching videos and the meditation questions. I preached through the book of 1 Thessalonians, and we all talked about the concepts of sanctification and Paul's prayer that God would "Sanctify you through and through" (1 Thes. 5:23-24).
I wanted our whole church to be familiar with this truth. Again, it creates great alignment for people to be all doing something together!
The Impact
This alignment across sermons, groups, and personal study created a real synergy. The result? Our congregation began to grow together in their understanding of what it means to follow Jesus and help others do the same. People were inspired to take steps of faith, and our leaders felt equipped to lead others in discipleship.
What surprised us most was how campaigns like this brought clarity and unity. When everyone is hearing the same messages and engaging with the same content, it’s easier to sense the importance of something... it seems to cut through the busyness and clutter of our minds.
Will I do another one in the future?
Absolutely. I plan to do several, actually. I've got these in mind:
Rooted: Basic Spiritual Disciplines
How to Study the Bible For Yourself
Winning Victory over Pornography
Lent / Advent Campaign
What You Can Do
If you’re in a small church like ours, consider running a discipleship campaign.
It doesn’t take a big budget or a mega-church staff to do this. All it takes is a heart for discipleship and a willingness to bring everyone on the journey together.
Use someone else's materials
Of course, it doesn't hurt anything to have all the stuff created for you in advance... that's where NewStart Discipleship comes in. I've created so much of the stuff you'd need already. Including:
The workbooks
The sermons (even including handouts and PowerPoints)
Video trailers and bumpers
Social media graphics (for some of them)
It's the closest thing you'll find to a "just add congregation" recipe. If you're interested, you can check out all the material that's included here.
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