Taken from a WayForward training in 2025.
WayForward seeks to be a top disciple-making organization.
There are several ways we go about achieving this goal but one primary way is by implementing best practices of disciple-making in multi-family by learning from our peers. WayForward will be represented at the 2025 National Disciple-Making Forum in Houston, TX next week where we will not only get to present our best practices of disciple making that actually work but also learn from our brothers and sisters in North America doing the same.
One important shift in this ecosystem of Christ followers is metrics of success and shared language of definitions. No longer are believers simply seeing attendance to a Sunday church service as successful. Participation is very different than attendance. A keen mind will quickly realize the importance of corresponding behavior to an identity claim. For example, I claim to be a runner (identity). But if someone asked me when was the last time I ran, and I said I jogged once to cross the street or I attend a running race and only watch, I cannot claim the identity of a runner myself with that kind behavior. Identity, in this example, means an active and ongoing participatory behavior with the claim. Likewise, to claim to be a Christian (Christ follower, disciple, etc.) means active and ongoing participation with that identity. For that reason, many groups in the Christian world have altered definitions to be extremely clear about what we are talking about. Consider the following definitions from discipleship.org.
- Discipleship – is simply the state of being a disciple. Unfortunately, in the North American church, discipleship is typically seen as an educational process designed to orient new believers to the biblical and everyday practices of our churches – and so we often prefer disciple making.
- Disciple – someone who is following Jesus, being changed by Jesus, and is committed to the mission of Jesus (Matt. 4:19).
- Disciple making – is entering into relationships to intentionally help people follow Jesus, be changed by Jesus, and join the mission of Jesus (Matt. 28:18-20).
- Disciple maker – a disciple of Jesus who enters into relationships with people to intentionally help them follow Jesus, be changed by Jesus, and join the mission of Jesus.
- A Disciple Making Culture – The beliefs, habits, and narrative of a church (or org) constantly repeated with congruence and intentionality, that make it clear to almost everyone, all the time, including newcomers, that disciple making is what everyone does in this church (or org).
The gospel we preach and believe dictates the kind of disciples we are and the kind of disciples we make. Following Jesus means being a disciple of him and making disciple-makers as well. That is success at WayForward and why we unyieldingly want to form obedience-based disciple-makers of Jesus in local community and be a disciple-making culture.
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