This document discusses strategies for growing disciples through intentional relationships. It emphasizes that discipleship requires relationship, content sharing over time rather than just instruction. Growing disciples happens as life influences life through facing difficulties together. Effective disciple making involves committing to God, community and mission. Small groups, classes and programs can support this but are not the primary goal. The document provides examples of developing a discipleship culture through layers of engagement from individual spiritual growth to multiplying small groups.

1. The Acts 16:5 Initiative Barnabas Leadership Groups

2. Engaging
Discipleship

3. The Twentieth Century is
the name of a train that
no longer runs!
Poet David Lehman
<> 39

4. This Is Generation Flux
(The Fast Company 1/9/12)

5. Flux is not merely
“change.” Flux is
continuous change.

6. Some things are not in flux!
The Love of the God who
Sustains us
The love of the people of
God who encourage us
Our love for those to
Whom God sends us

7. Yet many things are in flux!
DJ Patil explains, "There are
sometimes when you can predict
weather well for the next 15 days.
Other times, you can only really
forecast a couple of days. Sometimes
you can't predict the next two hours."
The business [and ministry] climate, it
turns out, is a lot like the weather.
We've entered a next two-hours era.

10. In times of rapid change,
what you know can
mislead you!
Michael Marquardt

11. This will require an openness to imagination
and experimentation. We know that we may
surrender some things we are used to while
trying things that may not work!
Its time for us to be a learning community
that blesses the aspects of our faith and
our congregation’s activities that we value
while embracing Gods new future for us.
May grace and mutual forbearance be ours!

12. Incline -
transformaitonal
Recline
traditional
Decline

14. “Americans are stupefyingly dumb about
what they are supposed to believe.”
Historian R. Laurence Moore
Religious Literacy – What Every American Needs to Know and
Doesn’t. Stephen Prothero

15. 1. Fewer than half of us can identify Genesis as the first book of
the Bible.
2. Only one third know that Jesus delivered the Sermon on the
Mount.
3. A majority of Americans believe that the Bible says that Jesus
was born in Jerusalem.
4. When asked whether the New Testament Book of Acts is in
the Old Testament, one quarter of Americans say yes. More
than a third say they don’t know.
5. Most Americans don’t know that Jonah is a book in the Bible.
6. 20% of Americans believed that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife.
7. 60% of Americans can't name five of the Ten Commandments
8. Only 50% can name one of the four gospels
9. 50% of high school seniors think Sodom and Gomorrah were
married.
10.75% believe the Bible teaches "God helps those who help
themselves.”

17. What’s happening
with Discipleship today?
How well is the whole church
growing disciples? Your church?
How do you go about doing it?

18. Discipleship is
all about spiritual growth

19. Q: Why focus on Discipleship?
A: You hear the Word of Jesus
and
You know the Heart of Jesus

20. The Word of Jesus: make disciples

21. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority
in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Matthew 28:18

22. 19
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20
and teaching
them to obey everything that I have commanded
you. And remember, I am with you always, to the
end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20

23. The heart of Jesus: People Eyes

24. ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to
bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release
to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the
oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’
Jesus’ eyes saw the true needs of the people in front of him:
Bartimaeus
Widow of Nain
Canaanite woman’s daughter
Woman at the well
The Centurian’s Son
Wedding in Cana
Lepers
Receive People eyes – in your own head
– seeing through the eyes of Jesus for people

25. “
My little children, for whom I am
again in the pain of childbirth until
Christ is formed in you.”
Galatians 4:19
Odino

26. Receive People EyesReceive People Eyes
see through the eyes of Jesus forsee through the eyes of Jesus for
peoplepeople

27. What does it mean to grow disciples?

28. “Jesus comes right to your seat and says, “I have
a word for you. I know your whole life story. I
know every skeleton in your closet. I know every
moment of sin, shame, dishonesty and degraded
love that has darkened your past. Right now I
know your shallow faith, your feeble prayer life,
your inconsistent discipleship and my word is
this, ‘I dare you to trust that I love you just as you
are and not as you should be because you’re
never going to be as you should be.’”
Brennan Manning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQi_IDV2bgM

29. WHAT DOES IT MEAN
TO GROW DISCIPLES?
NOT

30. Three ingredients for growing disciples:
Relationship
Content
Time

31. GROWING DISCIPLES
“At heart, growing disciples is a relational
experience, not an instructional or
classroom experience. It is the influence of
life on life in the midst of the difficulties of
life, an influence that helps us get to know
Jesus and one another, helps us face our
personal darkness and helps us grow in our
reflection of the image of Christ.”
E. Stanley Ott

32. growing disciples
“Growing disciples is
reproducing in others
what the Spirit of God
is producing in you
and enabling them to
reproduce it in a third
generation.”
– Chuck Miller
© 2004 E. Stanley Ott

33. growing disciples
“Discipling is an intentional
relationship in which we walk
alongside other disciples in
order to encourage, equip,
and challenge one another in
love to grow toward maturity
in Christ. This includes
equipping the disciple to
teach others as well.”
- Greg Ogden
© 2004 E. Stanley Ott

34. Growing
disciples
with the
end in
mind

38. The “end” in mind is not:
Sunday School classes
Bible classes
seminars
small groups
mentoring
spiritual direction
These are MEANS not ends!

39. Now when they saw the boldness of
Peter and John and realized that
they were uneducated and ordinary
men, they were amazed and
recognized them as companions of
Jesus. Acts 4:13

40. God
Church World

41. Doxological
Koinonial Missional
The 3-D Image of Jesus

42. Dimension One: A Growing Commitment to the
Triune God. (doxological)
The Great Commandment: "You shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, and with all
your soul, and with all your strength, and with
all your mind.” Luke 10:27a
Dimension Two: A Growing Commitment to the
Body of Christ (communal/koinonia)
The New Commandment: "That you love one
another even as I have loved you.” John
14:35
Dimension Three: A Growing Commitment to the
work of Christ in the world (missional)
The Great Commission: "Go into all the world
and make disciples…” Matthew 28:19-20
The Great Commandment: "And thy neighbor
as thyself.” Luke 10:27b

44. A Profile of a Disciple
Doxological - Know, love and Experience the God who loves us
Faith in Jesus
Weekly worship (Experiencing God)
Daily devotional life
The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)
Koinonial - Equip and care for the people God gives us
Private meals with friends and strangers
Participate in a face-to-face group (Equipping the People
Commit a percent of my income to God’s work of God)
Serve my church with specific ministry
Missional - Engage the World to which God sends us
Complete my work with excellence
Offer the compassion of Jesus (show up) (Engaging our world)
Bear witness to Jesus (speak up)
Stand up for what is right. (stand up)

45. Develop a Culture and a Strategy
for Making Disciples

46. Layers of Disciple-Making:
1. Growing one’s self
2. Growing others interpersonally – life on life
3. By means of shaping programs with the
Defining Practices (witness, prayer, care…)
4.By means of small groups
5. By means of ministry teams
6. By means of teaching (classes/seminars)
7. By means of discipleship communities
8. By means of the “transforming moment”

47. Growing yourself as a disciple.

48. The “Reveal” study of Willow Creek
http://www.revealnow.com

49. Growing as disciples with others:
Face-to-face personal lifestyle
(spontaneous and intentional)
One-with-one intentional dyads
One-with-two intentional triads
(or quads)
One with a small group (<15)

50. “Nebby” questions:
What strategy do you personally
use for growing disciples? With
whom?
What strategy does your
congregation use for growing
disciples? With whom?
(what people groups?)

51. Witness
Prayer
Care
Word
With-me
Send
© 2004 E. Stanley Ott
The 3-D Lifestyle
Give

52. WORD
SHARE
PRAYER
Send to ministry and mission
© 2004 E. Stanley Ott
4-7 weeks 90 Days of Prayer Discipleship Essentials (Ogden)
WSP Destiny series Unbinding Your Soul (Reese)
Increasing Level of Commitment

53. Multiplying Triads
(The Principle of Multiplication)

55. Call a ministry team together
WSP - Prayer Covenant - Breaks bread
Decide on population groups
Adults (men, women, mixed)
Youth – two adults leads triad = five
Who are the potential leaders and triad
members (early adopters)?
Recruitment, training, deploying (Be in or lead a triad yourself)
Follow through – maintaining momentum
between booklets within a group and
sustaining multiplication of new groups.
Launching a Triad-based system of
growing disciples

58. Just wanted to tell you that I have started several groups
using the Discipleship Essentials books. It took me a while to
decide to pull the trigger on something with such a
commitment attached to it. But I have 3 groups I am leading.
Two have 3 other guys in it (which feels like the perfect size)
and the other has 2. I can't tell you how excited I am about
this and they are. In one of the groups, the guys are almost
giddy with their excitement about this sharing and growth
opportunity. In all of them it appears to be, after 3-6 weeks
(some groups started earlier than others), one of the most
important things I am doing. I am certainly gaining a great
deal from this method of making disciples with a deep
conviction and commitment. And they are very moved by the
experience so far. I am also excited about the possibilities
for the next permutation, when they start to lead others.
Bob Bohl Central Presbyterian Church, Athens, GA

59. The Acts 16:5 InitiativeThe Acts 16:5 Initiative
Develop a Defining VisionDevelop a Defining Vision

60. © 20013 E. Stanley Ott

61. www.VitalChurchesInstitute.com

62. The Acts 16:5 Initiative Barnabas Leadership Groups