Reproducing Leaders

Our goal is to catalyze a discipleship movement. To do this, we must make disciples who will make disciples.

Making Disciples

If we want to make leaders who will make disciples of other people, let’s make sure that we understand what we mean when we say we are making disciples. Let’s read Matthew 28:18-20:

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Let’s consider this then:

• What does Jesus mean when he says that he wants his disciples to make disciples?
• What does that, therefore, mean that we must do?

Discipling a Few to Disciple Many

In week 2, we discussed the 1-3-9 multiplication principle, so if you have already started discipling your first 3, you are on your way to developing leaders already.

To reach multiplication, you must have reproduction. It is not enough to simply disciple 3 people. You must teach them also to disciple 3 people. We want to continue to follow the command that Jesus gave to obey all of his commands. One of his commands was to make disciples, so we must teach our disciples to do the same thing!

Steps to Reproduction

To reproduce what you are doing, you must teach and show your disciples, but you must also help them do what you are teaching. To accomplish this, we use a tool called MAWL to help us remember that there are multiple steps to making disciples and reproducing leaders. Here are the steps:

• M – Model
• A – Assist
• W – Watch
• L – Leave

Once again, Zume Training has a great lesson to help us learn the MAWL tool. Let’s go there now to learn from this lesson:

The Search Party team has created a checklist that you can use with your disciples. Each person will have different needs so there are plenty of blanks for you to enter your own items, but we have included some disciple-making basics on this list. Feel free to make a copy of this document and begin to use it as your own!

Leadership Development – Coaching Checklist

Levels of Leadership

Within the context of the development of a discipleship and church planting movement, what are the types of leaders that we are wanting to develop? Here is a video to help provide additional definition and detail on the types of leaders and their activities that we are hoping to reproduce:

Level 1 – Gospel Seed Sower:  This is someone who has shown a willingness to share their testimony or share the Gospel message of God’s grace and forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus with a non-believer.

Level 2 – Church Planter:  Someone who is willing to gather a group of believers to start a church.  They will teach others the basics of living in Christian community and moving forward together as a group in that single church.

Level 3 – Church Multiplier:  This person is willing to teach people within their church to plant other churches.  They will teach Jesus’s commands to share their faith, make disciples, and show them how to gather people to create churches, teaching those people that they are teaching to go on and do the same with others.

Level 4 – Church Network Catalyst:  A Catalyst takes the next step yet by going into new locations and start a process to train others to start networks of churches.  They will then continue to follow up and coach others and teach them to teach others to start networks.

Level 5 – Strategy Coordinator for an Area:  This person will work with others at the various levels of leadership to help coordinate the strategies of the work in the area.  They may help train or they may teach others to train, but their most important function is to help others strategically plan to go to new places or strengthen current locations based on their understanding of what God is doing among people across an entire area.

Questions to Ask Ourselves

• Have we found our 3 people yet? Who are they?
• What do you need to teach them to obey everything that Jesus commanded?
• Have you not only taught and modeled to them but walked through the MAWL process with them so that that can continue without you?
• Who are your Level 1 leaders? Level 2? Level 3 and beyond? What needs to happen to go to the next step?