God starts with ONE. He always has. Whether it was Adam, Abraham, Moses, or Jesus, God launches movements beginning with just one. The journey toward becoming a disciple making church begins the same way…with just one. Are you willing to be that ONE for your church?
Eighty-four years ago The Navigators started the same way, from just ONE. Dawson Trotman, was a lumberyard worker who came to be known as the “father of modern-day disciple making.” He began by walking alongside Les Spencer, passing on practices to help him in his own spiritual journey. One-to-one, life-to-life—the first generation.
A man of action, Dawson was the first to use disciple as a verb. He also observed, “The greatest amount of wasted time is the time not getting started.” But how do we start? Really there are three options:
1. Be the ONE. Like Dawson, Jesus, and many others start by praying for one person to invest in. Then invite that person to a discipling relationship. Perhaps the least common way to start, this path requires a lot of initiative and perseverance.
2. Partner with ONE other. When the Wright brothers wanted to develop powered flight, they worked together to figure out how to do it. Through the process of trial and error, combined with grit, they accomplished something even the most highly educated and trained had not been able to do. There is power in partnership and commitment to figure something out together. Getting started with another is very doable if you’re connected with someone of like heart.
3. Learn from someONE with experience. The most typical path to becoming a disciple maker is to learn from an individual who makes disciple makers. I have observed that this is not only the most typical path, it’s also the path that’s most likely to lead to reproducing generations of disciples.
Which path is God leading you toward? Whether you are being called to be ONE, partner with ONE other, or seek to learn from someONE with experience, do it now!
Allow God to work in and through you to build a chain of disciples that will reach into eternity!
—
If you enjoyed this blog, you might also enjoy the podcast I host with my friend, Pastor Tony Miltenberger. Subscribe to The Practitioners’ Podcast and get weekly disciple making insights wherever you get podcasts!