Making Disciples vs. Growing Churches

13 posted on August 13, 2010

POSTED IN: Blog Posts, Church, Church Planting

We moved down to Indianapolis to plant a church that will be launching in January but getting people to go to our church isn’t our highest priority. Crazy thing for a church planter to say, isn’t it? People start car dealerships to sell cars, they start restaurants to sell food and we start churches so people will go to them, right?

In the traditional understanding of the church today in Western culture, the church is a physical building, a place where people go to “do church” – whatever that means. It’s most commonly held on Sunday mornings and it’s “what you do” if you’re a Christian or fulfilling spiritual obligations.

We’ve taken this institution of the church and have dressed it up to make it attractive as we can to unbelievers. We use edgy marketing techniques to get people there and incorporate cool creative service styles and current music to keep them once they’ve come (none of which I have a problem with by the way). Most every week the pastoral staff or creative team sits down to evaluate the service and plan future messages. We ask tough questions about how effective our greeters were in making people feel welcome, how smooth the transitions were during the service and how many people made professions of faith. I wonder though, how often in these meetings do churches ask what I believe is the critical question, “How are we doing at making disciples?”

You see, nowhere in the Bible do you see Jesus telling his disciples to start churches. He does, however, give them a mandate to “go into all the world and MAKE DISCIPLES.” (Matthew 28:19) Disciple-making is our ultimate benchmark of success as a church – not attendance, offering, or even salvations for that matter (there’s a big difference between a person who has made a profession of faith and a disciple).

When our first priority becomes getting people to go to church instead of making disciples we are missing the heart of what Jesus called us to do. Where along the way did we lose sight of our true calling? We’ve become great at starting churches that people want to go to. We have it down to a science. There are books and conferences for ways to enhance our creativity and pump up our services. Don’t get me wrong, I love creative service planning more than anyone and I want to see many people come through the doors of our church but I DON’T WANT THEM TO STAY THERE. I want them to move from Sunday morning worshipper to full-on disciples of Jesus, walking close enough to be covered in the his dust (if you haven’t already check out the amazing Nooma video called “Dust” about discipleship).

Disciples aren’t made on Sunday mornings. They can’t be manufactured through well-crafted programs. They are grown through intentional relationships with people who pour their lives into someone else and then teach them to do the same.

I love the church and I’m passionate about seeing it impact our culture but it’s a means to the end, not the end in itself. I’m planting a church in order to make disciples, not attenders. I’m excited about planting this church but I’m committed to growing disciples.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 13th, 2010 at 10:25 am and is filed under Blog Posts, Church, Church Planting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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August 13, 2010

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1 Salamun said:

Go get ‘em cowboy.
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August 13, 2010

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2 Ryan Detzel said:

To be honest, and this is coming from an experienced church planter who has said the very same thing…I think it’s extremely common to say that we’re not interested in human numbers. That’s what hip/young disciple makers say.

The real challenge is sticking to your guns when you can’t rub two nickles together for gas money to “go and make disciples”. The time will come, and it will come quickly, where you want to give away bibles. Where you want to provide help to the poor. Where you want to purchase something that God is calling you to purchase and when you see the lack of money there, you will make the transition to a multiplication attitude. An attitude that says, more people = more money. Then you will move to the point of justification by saying more people = more impact for the Kingdom…but we all know it can quickly become about the numbers.

Fight that.

Fight the desire for more and hold ferociously to the call for true discipleship…and don’t be afraid if God blesses that and things begin to multiply. This is one of the hardest things for pastors and apostles (who I believe are typically church planters…apostles that is). It’s worth it.
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August 13, 2010

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3 Brad Ruggles said:

Dude, that is GREAT advice. Thanks so much for sharing that.
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August 13, 2010

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4 Lisa said:

AMEN! and AMEN! and AMEN! Thanks, Brad, for making the main thing the main thing! so many churches say that but truly don’t follow through with that and are more interested in numbers and getting in those people who are not churched. it is very easy to forget about those who are already believers and need to either become disciples or become a better disciple! I love your heart! I’m praying for you!
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August 30, 2010

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5 Shawn said:

Excellent prognosis, Brad!
Making disciples is our primary mission. Everything else is relegated to second place. But, if we are serious about making disciples, everything else will naturally happen.

Your comment, “They are grown through intentional relationships with people who pour their lives into someone else and then teach them to do the same” is what I preach. I even came up with a name for this process–”The Affiliative Model of Making Disciples.” We need to ensure that the process of making disciples is repeated to our future generations.
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August 30, 2010

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6 The Importance of Making Disciples « living dangerously said:

[...] Posted on August 30, 2010 by Shawn Outstanding article written by Brad Ruggles called, “Making Disciples vs. Growing Churches.” I agree with Brad’s basic premise: we are called to make disciples, not get people to [...]
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September 12, 2010

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7 Spencer Barfuss said:

Hey Brad, thanks for your post. I’ve recently been turned on to church planting, and what discipleship should look like here in the U.S. I’d love to hear HOW you guys are going about it.

I’m currently at a new church plant that meets at a middle school. God has opened up some doors for ministry in various places, like the Montrose Street Reach, where many homeless, homosexual, and transvestite people come to get food and clothing, and also hear the word of God. By God’s grace, we’ve also been able to do some other cool things, in spite of not having many people in our community.

On the other hand, I feel like we do look like your typical Sunday church. I’m in the worship band, and sometimes, it just doesn’t feel like worship. I know that worship is not about a feeling, but I guess it just doesn’t feel authentic. There’s no discipleship that I know of going on during the week, and I’m not sure that our pastor has a vision for disciple-making.

Anyways, if you have a chance, I’d love to talk to you more about it on Skype. Have a great night…
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September 13, 2010

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8 Bill Allison said:

I am so encouraged by your post Brad. I’m gonna share it. Blessings.
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September 13, 2010

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9 Rennie Garda said:

Brad, WOW..you are singing the cries of our hearts as a ministry and as individuals who are begging God for His directing and redirecting us over and over back to His heart for His bride and His messengers….US Disciplmakers not just Disciples.
Thanks Brad, Rennie Garda Cadre Ministries
John 14:12
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February 13, 2011

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10 Guy Lyons said:

Jesus said that as we go, proclaim the good news of His kingdom and make disciples. He didn’t say plant churches. The mandate is to make disciples, real ones like Jesus did it through relationships where one servant learns by serving alongside the other. It is not academic. Jesus is only recorded to have used the word “ecclesia” 3 times and not one of them was close to a mandate. In in one He said “… I will build my church” We make disciples and He builds His church. We plant seeds or water and He makes it grow… simple.
This may sound like a silly beef to have but here it is anyway… Plants have roots. We plant immobile living organisms. The Body of Christ is an organism who is mobile. We are the body of Christ, His “plural” body here on earth left behind after He left in His “singular” body. Bodies are birthed not planted.
If we must persist in emphasizing creating churches rather than making disciples, let’s at least start calling it “church birthing”. I’d prefer simply keeping to what is clearly written in scripture and go and make disciples and let God build His church.

Grace,
Guy

PS Thanks for the post. It’s encouraging. And whatever you do, listen to the advice/warning of Ryan Detzel. God got really upset for guys counting people back in the old days, there must be something in that…
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July 2, 2011

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11 bims said:

.) There are some interesting points in time in this article but I don’t know if I see all of them center to heart. There is some validity but I will take hold opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we want more! Added to FeedBurner as well
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July 4, 2011

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12 pomza said:

.) Nice post. I learn something more challenging on different blogs everyday. It will always be stimulating to read content from other writers and practice a little something from their store. I’d prefer to use some with the content on my blog whether you don’t mind. Natually I’ll give you a link on your web blog. Thanks for sharing.
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July 4, 2011

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.) I’m impressed, I must say. Really rarely do I encounter a blog that’s both educative and entertaining, and let me tell you, you have hit the nail on the head. Your idea is outstanding; the issue is something that not enough people are speaking intelligently about. I am very happy that I stumbled across this in my search for something relating to this.
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September 20, 2011

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14 Justeen said:

Finally! Someone who understands. I have a shelter run out of my home for youth. I am constantly asked at church why I don’t get any of the youth (ages 15-21) to come to the church. I keep explaining that my job is to give them a meal and show them Jesus Christ so that they can take Him with them wherever they go, whether it be school, another city, country, etc. My church just doesn’t understand this as they are counting on numbers and money. Jesus always provides a way to supply what we need to minister the gospel outside the church….always!
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January 28, 2012

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