Instructions: Begin by explaining that you will simply share four everyday words that describe the kinds of people that participate in churches, small groups, and Christian gatherings. Write "Four Kinds of Disciples" at the top of the page. From this point, the rest is taught from the bottom up. ATTENDER Write the word "Attender" at the bottom of the page and explain that this is a faithful person that shows up at Christian gatherings. An attender often serves in many ways and may give generously, but they don't share their faith, train disciples, or start new groups. Draw a little circle to the right, which depicts a place of gathering where they attend. Point out that an attender participates for some personal benefit and may grow internally, but there is no Kingdom growth. Write "no growth" near the little circle. WITNESS Above Attender, write the word "Witness" and explain that in addition to attending gatherings, a Witness is obedient to Jesus' command to proclaim the gospel to people who are far from God. Draw a little circle to the right to depict where they gather, but then draw a small question mark outside to the right which represents an unbeliever. The draw a dotted line from the circle to the question mark, which shows that a Witness goes out to reach spiritually lost people. But since a Witness does not train the people they reach, they simply bring them back to the church or gathering and "hand them off" to the pastor so they can be "fed" spiritually in the church service. Draw a dotted line back to the circle to show this. Under the little circle, write "growth by addition" which is of course better than no growth at all. But the problem is, they make converts, but not disciples. At this point, if you are speaking to a pastor, ask, "What percentage of the people of your church are Witnesses, and what percentage are Attenders?" You may hear crickets at this point, as this is a daunting question--but most pastors will reply that the vast majority of their congregation are Attenders. STARTER Moving upward, write the word "Starter" and explain that some disciples who share their faith don't bring people back and hand them off, but they take responsibility for their "spiritual children." They start to disciple them as they meet with them personally--and if possible, they start a new group by reaching others connected to that new believer (you may mention Lydia, Cornelius, or the Philippian Jailer as examples). Draw another little circle with the question mark to the right, but this time, draw a solid line to a new circle around the question mark. This shows that the Starter is going out to start a group with this new believer. Mention that they obey Jesus by teaching these new disciples. You can now draw a few more circles around the Starter circle because he can go and do this is several places, starting many new groups. But...the limitation is that the Starter doesn't teach these new disciples to go and make disciples, so there is no movement. Write, "growth stops at 2nd generation" to remind participants of this. TRAINER Finally, write the word "Trainer" at the top of this upside-down list. You can mention that this is another way of saying "disciple-maker" or "disciple-multiplier." A Trainer not only shares his faith, but invests in new disciples and teaches them how to go and make disciples. They truly fulfill Jesus' command to "make disciples...teaching them to obey all things" (Matt 28.19-20). Draw the same diagram you did with the Starter...but this time, you can draw additional lines and circles out in all directions. Trainers train trainers to train! Write "multiplication" beneath the diagram. Share 2 Timothy 2.2 and visually show the four generations mentioned in this verse. ----- This is a good time to let participants re-teach the Four Kinds of Disciples back to you or to each other. If you have time, teach three more everyday words to help participants understand the barriers that prevent disciples from moving "upward." The Confidence Barrier The reason most Attenders aren't Witnesses is because they are fearful or don't know what to share or who to share with. We must help them transcend the Confidence Barrier. → The Confidence Barrier says, "I can't do it." To help people transcend this barrier, we must help them answers four simple questions:
The Permission Barrier There may be many reasons why a Witness doesn't invest in their new believers, but one big reason is that they don't feel they are allowed to do so. This is the Permission Barrier. → The Permission Barrier says, "You can't do it." The Vision Barrier While there may be several reasons a Starter doesn't work like a Trainer is that it is usually a blind spot--thus, it is a Vision Barrier. → The Vision Barrier says, "God can't do it." ------ Take time to prayerfully consider where each participant lies in the Four Kinds of Disciples, and what barrier needs to be broken down in order to move forward. Or consider the same for those with whom each person is working. Copy this link to share Four Kinds of Disciples with someone else: | ||
Alphabetical Listing of Training Elements
One Doorstep to a Family 15-Second Testimony 411 Acts 2 Study Acts Pattern Study Allen, Roland - Strategic Points Allen, Roland - Substance of Paul’s Preaching Allen, Roland - The Teaching Are We Disciples of Jesus Christ Balance in the Five-Fold Ministry Banyan Trees and Banana Trees Big Vision Blind Spot Breaking the Rules Church Identity Triangle Church Planting Model Comparison Church Planting Movements (PDF) Coaching Plan Coleman, Robert - The Master's Plan Common Obstacles and Problems of Asian SCs Community Survey Comparing SC Training Models CPM Continuum Creation to Christ Story Creative Problem Solving Dead Sea and Sea of Galilee Designing a Training Plan Disciple-Making and Raising Children Discovery Bible Study - AIM for Believers Discovery Bible Study - AIM for Unbelievers Door-to-Door Preparation Ee-Taow, Part 1 Ee-Taow, Part 2 Eims, Leroy - Biblical Examples Eims, Leroy - Early Church Eims, Leroy - Two Examples Engel's Evangelistic Countdown Forces of Light and Darkness Four Kinds of Disciples Four Stages / Four Fields Four-Step Checklist for Just-in-Time Training Generational Growth Mapping God in My Home, Neighborhood, Workplace Gospel Bridges Gospel Encounters Record Gospel on the Hand Great Commission Partnership Hope in a Broken World Ibraham, Ishtak - Reaching Muslim People Inward & Outward Focus Iron-on-Iron Know - Be - Do Lessons from the Thessalonians Lockridge, SM - My King MAWL McGavran, Donald - Pattern of the Great Century McGavran, Donald - People Movements Models Multiplication Exercise New Life in Christ One Anothers One Mission Parable of the Cornfield Patterson, George - Spontaneous Multiplication Paul's Development - 5 Levels of Leadership Paul's Discipleship Model Paul's Three Journeys Pauline Case Study People in the Harvest (Four Soils) People List People Map (oikos or network) Person of Peace Positive Accountability Prayerwalking Problem Solving Exercise Profile of an Evangelist (SC) in a UPG Quotes & Verses Posters Reboot Richardson, Don - Concept Fulfillment Richardson, Don - Finding the Eye Opener Schindler's List—'I Could Have Done More' Schwartz, Glenn - Dependency Sending Narratives Study Seven Generations Seven Parts of a CPM Plan Simson, Wolfgang - Fathering Simson, Wolfgang - Fivefold Ministry Simson, Wolfgang - House Churches Small Group Sizes Smith, Steve - The T4T Story Stott, John - The Bible in World Evangelization Strategy Coordinator - Old and New Paradigm Strategy Snapshot Summary of the Acts Church Planting Pattern Testimony (Personal Story) The Bold Parts The Complete Package for CPMs The Five-Fold Ministry in the Four Stages The Four Fields and the Great Commission The Great Commission of Abraham The Great Story The Left Side of the Graph The Lorax—'Plant the Seed' The Modeling Sequence in Luke The Peter Pathway The Romans Road The Traffic Light The Word on the Street Three Circles Three Great Commands and AIM Pattern THUMB - Religious Groups Training Faithful Trainers (TFT) Triangle and Square Vision-Casting Vignettes What Is a Strategy Coordinator? Witness Model Zone Witnessing to Catholics Your New Journey |
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“I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work you gave me to do.” - John 17.4