What Christian is not familiar with the famous parting words of our Master before He ascended back to His throne in heaven:

“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…” ~ Matthew 28:19

     Throughout the centuries of the Christian Church, this has been referred to as the Great Commission. Jesus is commissioning His original eleven disciples who then passed the mantle of Disciple-Making to the Apostolic Church. But do we really believe it? If we do, wouldn’t we be making disciples on a regular basis? Has the Church in America fallen into the trap of expecting the “full-time” workers and staff to be taking care of this business while it is enough for the rest to just show up for the programs and sing along?

The Apostle Paul sheds even more light on what Disciple-Making should look like in the Church when he writes to his young protégé, Timothy:

            “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus and what you have heard from me in the  presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” ~ 2 Timothy 2:1-2

Let us break this down to try to understand what the Apostle Paul is saying to Timothy. We know that Paul had a unique mentoring relationship with Timothy who was now overseeing and putting in order the churches that Paul and the team had planted. Timothy is being encouraged to find “faithful men” to teach/disciple who in turn will teach/disciple others.

Let me illustrate with a relay race in the 400 X 4. The lead runner runs his race and passes the baton to the second runner who does his best to pass the baton to the third runner who also does his very best and passes the baton to the finisher who brings the baton home. The baton is the Gospel/Disciple-Making. This is how the early church grew in numbers even under the rule of the Roman Empire.

Apostle Paul → Timothy → Faithful Men → Others

     My question to you is where are you in the relay race of Disciple-Making? Are you in this relay race called Disciple-Making or are you cheering others from the sidelines?
Why not ask the Lord to direct you to someone who needs Christ and the Good News and then give yourself away in Disciple-Making.
Of course, you must know Him first and it certainly helps to know His Word of Truth. Therefore, pay attention to the preaching of the Word and give yourself to reading and meditating on the Word of God regularly. Be part of a local church that teaches the Bible!

Let’s get to work!

Pastor Greg