A study of disciple making program for the growth of the elim christian reformed church in garden grove, california

In this section, the disciple making program for church growth will be dealt with in detail. Through this program the problems as presented in chapter I will be solved, and the hypotheses of this project will be supported. Making disciples is a number one task of the church as in the New Testament times (Davenport 1978, 56). The making disciples, the writer believes, must be a key to the solution of the problems and to the growth of the church because it is done in obedience to the Lord, Jesus Christ (McGavran and Arn 1977, 80).

Someone sees four major areas in which church growth takes place: numerical growth, organic growth, conceptual growth, and incarnational growth (Wagner 1981, 14). C. Peter Wagner sees that the comprehensive growth that church growth people have in mind is a four-part growth: growing up, growing together, growing out, and growing more (Wagner 1988, 120-122). This is a very good analysis of a part of

church growth.

Another has made an attempt at the etymological approach on the church growth through the New Testament: auxano (increase, growth), oikodomeo (to build up), and teleios (mature) (Richards and Hoeldtke 1980, 45-46). But the writer, in this project, is to deal with the three parts of church growth according to his experience of ministry: numerical increase (quantitative growth), maturity in a Christian life (qualitative or spiritual growth), and increase of giving in the church (financial growth).

One has emphasized that numerical growth is the most crucial task (McQuilkin 1974, 19), another that God wants quality, not just quantity (Barna 1988, 17). C. Peter

Wagner says that a hyper-concern for numbers is indeed a "numbers game," and that quality growth in the New Testament church since the book of Acts has been strongly emphasized in the discipline of Christian thought (Wagner 1988, 119). Of course, numbers mattered to the early church (Act. 2:41, 47; Zunkel 1987, 120), but in a sound church growth both are inseparably related to each other (Chaney and Lewis 1977, 18). Nelson Annan says:

Quantity and quality don't have to be mutural

exclusive. God doesn't want us to choose between the

two; he wants us to strive for both. Because growth is

both spiritual and numerical, our churches must grow

in both quality and quantity. (Annan 1987, 16)

Robert E. Maner says:
What we should concentrate on is not growth but quality ministry...however having stated thegweed for quality, we should not be satisfied for our church to remain the same size year after year. If we have done the best we can to provide quality, but growth still does not occur, other steps will be required. Growth should occur as the results of quality ministry. (Maner

1982, 13-14)

John M.L. Young, former president of Japan Christian Theological Seminary has concluded that quantitative growth is God's will, but spiritual maturity should go after that (Conn, trans. Kim 1986, 135), while George Barna insisted that quantity is a consequence of quality (Barna 1990, 17). Robert E. Maner also insisted that growth should occur as a result of a quality ministry (Maner 1982, 14, 15).

In conclusion, quantitative and qualitative growth must both go on continuously to the establishment of more and more mature congregations (Acts 16:5; Tippett 1978, 26). But the writer's view of the relationship between the two is this: that no one can say which growth must have the priority in theoretical order. In other words, quantitative growth sometimes goes after qualitative growth, and sometimes qualitative growth goes after quantitative growth. Growth in maturity may be mostly established through making disciples while growth in number may be mostly attained through evangelism or revival meeting movements.

The growth of the church through making disciples may be recommended for church growth because it can result in both quantitative and qualitative growth. In other words, the church can be stabilized in quantity and quality through the disciple making training.

Making disciples is not only Jesus' command (Matt. 28:19-20; Alexander, Syanzalu, and Holland 1981, 34) and His demand (Green 1972, 82) but also a primary work of the church (Green 1972, 81; Alexander, Syanzalu, and Hollan 1981, 34). Disciplemaking, then, is at the heart of the message of the gospel (Fryling 1989, 8). Disciple making is the fundamental scriptural vision for churches (Logan 1989, 30). Jesus has commaned His disciples to make disciples:

Therefore go and make disciple 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. (Matt. 28:19-20 NIV)

Because this Great Commission is not only Jesus' but also ours, it may be called a great "Co-mission" (Lindgren and Shawchuck, trans. by Pak 1986, 14).

The Values of Making Disciples

Why then is the discipling ministry valuable in the Christian life? What are the benefits of the discipling ministry as a lay ministry? It is very important.

First, discipling must benefit the individual disciplee. It results in spiritual growth of the member of the discipling course by facilating communication with God through worship service time which includes prayer and praise. The constant, personal suggestion given to him by a discipler can only increase the rate of this process of spiritual growth (Hadidian 1979, 10). He also becomes mature emotionally, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13). The words of God which he has learned will stop and correct his wrong behavioral patterns. The Scripture says:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for

teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (II Thim. 3:16-17 NIV)

Another value is that he has been chosen by God (Habecker 1989, 49) and become a discipler to make his disciples for church growth. This is very important for the church to grow. The writer has focused on this point for church growth. This is a disciple making movement: of going one by one and making disciples.

Second, the value of the discipler can be considered. Whenever a discipler has brought the people and made them his disciples according to the command of Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:19-20), he receives some personal benefit and blessing in turn (Hadidian 1979, 14). Through the discipling the discipler will share his Lord's happiness after it's done. The Scripture says:

His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I

will put you in charge of many things. Come and share

your master's happiness. (Matt. 25:21)

Of course, the discipler can be purified himself during training because the disicpler must not only teach others but himself. Paul emphasizes it, "You, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself" (Rom. 2:21), and "No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize" (1 Cor. 9:27). Though the discipler teachs other people, yet both of them may teach one another in faith (Baxter 1989, 51).

Discipling develops the ministerial skills of the discipler in teaching, counseling, discussing, and guiding someone into a ministry (Hadidian 1979, 15).

Third, the value of discipling to the church can be considered. The discipling ministry is essential to strengthen the church body in several aspects: fellowship, evangelism, service to the church, giving to the church and

so on. It makes church members retain not only their fervor for the church but the harmony between its departments as well as its members. Another value is very important to the future of the church. The continuous discipling can guarantee the next generations. Allen Hadidian says:

The result of discipling is that God's work will

continue in future generations. If we do not disiciple

there is no guarantee that a ministry will continue.

That is what 2 Timothy 2:2 is all about: "Timothy, there should not be a break in the cadence of God's work. You find men who are faithful and to whom you can pass the baton." (Hadidian 1979, 16)
Helps of the Holy Spirit in Making Disciples
Because making disciples has many values for church growth, the churches may use the program. Of course, its success or failure must totally depend upon the grace of God. Nevertheless, He does not disregard human efforts because He is willing to use human instrumentality in processing church growth. Of course, man cannot do that for himself. Humans are only instruments used by God. Without God's help, humans can do nothing.

The Holy Spirit must help the church to make disciples for church growth because He is the Spirit of the truth and desires the church to grow. "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you" (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit is very influential in the process of discipling someone (Hadidian 1979, 73). The Holy Spirit plays several important roles.

First, the Holy Spirit causes growth in believers and the church (Hadidian 1979, 73). He is not only the causer of regeneration (John 3:5) but of growth in believers (1 Cor. 3:6). Making disciples is, therefore, of no use

unless the Holy Spirit helps to engage it.

Second, the Holy Spirit inspires the church to awake and grow through God's word of life. For example, the work of the Holy Spirit in the valley (Ezek. 38:1-10), the work of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), and the Great Awakening movement (Latourette 1970, 214).

Third, the Holy Spirit takes care of the isolated believers that separate from their discipler due to geographical and commercial problems. "It is comforting to know that when the discipler cannot be with the new Christians, he can rely on the Holy Spirit to cause them to grow in their walk with Christ" (Hadidian 1979, 73). Of course, contact should be maintained through letters, phone calls, and visits whenever possible (Hadidian 1979, 74), but the most effective ministry to them is the communication with the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:14, 26).
Approaches to Making Disciples
Several approaches to the disciple making program may be planned according to the situation of the church. The church can plan one or more discipleship groups according to the size of the church. Tom Sine has classified the disciples into four kinds of groups. (1) Personal discipling called the intimate, person-to-person approach. Jesus' call to follow is always a personal call. (2) Household discipling presents the gospel to a whole family. (3) Small group discipling is like a Bible study, lay witness, or less conventional group. (4) Church discipling is a program like one of the formal, church education programs (Tom Sine 1985, 72-75).

Basically, making disciples for church growth may start with small groups because it plans not only to win the people outside the church but to make them spiritually grow. If it consists of too large a size group, it is difficult for them to qualitatively grow. If it consists of too small a size, it is difficult for the church to quantitatively grow.

Bill Hull has pointed out that the greatest weakness of the large group is that it only serves to tell people what they should believe and why without the personal touch, the fine-tuning; that one-on-one contact which provides a great deal of fine-tuning, but it takes too long and is an insufficient use of a person's time (Hull 1988, 173). He insists that a small group is the most effective method because: (1) it is Jesus' example, (2) it provides the proper ministry flow, and (3) it provides a controlled environment (Hull 1988, 174-175).

Henstenes said, "We need Christian small groups because they help us to become what we are meant to be-those set free by the love of Christ, who seek to share his love with others" (Hestenes 1976, 10). She also insisted that small groups could meet some of the most important needs: spiritual growth, friendship, strength, love, and service to others (Hestenes 1976, 10).

In order for there to be both quantitative and qualitative growth, therefore, the disciple making class must be planned to be convenient and effective for the discipler to carry out. Jesus did not focus on the number of the disciples but their quality. Of course, it is a fact that He aimed for a large number of the people to be saved at a time, while He sometimes aimed at personal contact for caring ministry.

In disicipling ministry, He chose a small number. Discipleship training, therefore, is the strategy of an effective unit for church growth (Ok 1987, 3). Jesus also preached the words of God to crowds of people for evangelism and counseled with one or two in caring ministry, but He chose a small group consisting of 12 disciples in His disciple making ministry. This became the basis for His ministry to the world.

Understanding the Disciple
The term "disciple", derived from mathetes" in Greek (Berry and Strong III 1984, 34; Bruce 1979, 164) and discipulus" in Latin (Colunga et Turrado 1977, 971), means a learner, pupil, scholar, student, follower, and disciple (Liddell and Scott 1975, 483; Lewis 1979, 248; Pentecost 1971, 14). It always means the pupil of someone, in contrast to the master or teacher (Orr 1978, 851).

The term "disciple" itself (Mathetes) signifies a taught or trained one (Morgan 1961, 13), and has been used in several ways. First of all, the term had been used among the Greeks, rarely mentioned in the Old Testament (1 Chron. 25:8; Isa. 8:16, 50:4), yet a prominent feature of later Judaism (Tenney and Barabas 1975, 129). It has the teacher-pupil relationship which was a common feature of the ancient world (Douglas 1968, 312).

In the Old Testament talmid (I Chron. 25:8) becomes "scholar" in the KJV, "pupil" in the RSV (Green 1981, 1121; Buttrick 1962, 845). In Isa. 8:16, however, the closely related limid is rendered "disciple" in both versions (Green 1962, 845), and in the New Testament talmidim meant disciples of the rabbis whose studies resulted in the Talmud. Yet the Talmud itself speaks of five talmidim of Jesus (Green 1962, 845). The term "disciple," however, most often was used to denote the relationship between Jesus and His followers.

It was also used for the other's followers, for example the followers of Moses (Jn. 9:28), of John the Baptist (Matt. 9:14), of Pharisees (Matt.22:6), and of even Paul the Apostle (Acts 9:25). But the word disciple was also used more narrowly, referring to some or all of Jesus' disicples (Matt. 10:1; 11:1; Luke 9:54; John 6:8), a synonym for the Twelve as if a proper noun.

What is or is not a disciple? In the biblical concept the meaning of disciple is very simple. A disciple is a believer who confesses Jesus as the Christ. In the sense that he follows Christ, the disciple is a Christian. The basic meaning of disciple in the New Testament is a born-again Christian (Wagner 1983, 110). He is a new creature who has been born again by the Spirit of God (Wagner 1987, 52). The disciple cannot be defined in the dimension of maturity. "Disciples are not perfect, but they keep pressing ahead to be changed into his likeness, and their lives are marked by a confident faith" (Jacobsen 1987, 62). Nevertheless, it must be recognized that there is a difference between Christianity and discipleship because there is a vast difference between being saved and being a disciple (Pentecost 1971, 16). Strictly speaking, it is emphasized that Christianity is the status of the children of God, otherwise the discipleship is the status of the servants of God, but Gary W. Kuhne defined a disciple as follows.

A disciple is a Christian who is growing in conformity to Christ, is achieving fruit in evangelism, and is working in follow-up to conserve his fruit. (Kuhne 1978, 13)

In other words, eligibility to be called a disciple should be given to those who must not only confess Jesus as the Christ but also respond to and follow His calling.

The disciple should be considered in two religous attitudes toward the ministry: passive and active. In the passive attitude, the disciple should be an imitator of Christ (1 Thess. 1:6) or an example of all people (1 Cor. 11:1; Phil. 3:17), especially of his followers (1 Thess. 1:6), and a model of lay minister in his Christian life (Schaller 1989, 41). John C. Maxwell has suggested a perfect example given by Christ. It is the healthy attitude qualities that Jesus possessed: selflessness, security, and submission (Phil. 2:3-8; Maxwell 1988, 13).

In the active attitude, the disciple, as it were, discipler, in a comprehensive sense should be a good teacher, trainer, and leader (Matt. 28:19-20), basically the imitator of Christ, the greatest leader (Ford 1991, 27). In discipleship these are basic roles, namely teaching (teachership), training (trainership), and leading (leadership). The disciple, therefore, should be trained in these skills through the process of making disciples.

How can one be a disciple? Harris W. Lee thinks there are many kinds of leaders: "born leaders" and "learned leaders" (Lee 1989, 35). Warren Bennis insisted that leaders were born, not made, summoned to their calling, so called the "Great Man" theory of leadership (Bennis and Nanus 1985, 5), but Walter A. Henrichsen insists that the disicples are not born in large quantity but made by the Holy Spirit (Henrichsen, trans. Korea NavPress 1980, 108). In a sense, the dsciples are made through a process of teaching, training, and leading. Through these programs the disciple is made a church leader. Whoever is a Christian and is willing to give himself to the discipline for church work can become a church leader (Milhouse 1947, 44). In spite of being made, church leaders are God's gift to His church (Luecke 1990, 161; Eph. 4:11; Rom. 12:8; 1 Cor. 12:28).

What then is an ideal leader? "A good leader not only will become aware of his image but will know his peculiar strenghs and attempt to increase his effective use of them for the good of the group," said Ted W. Engstrom (Engstrom 1976, 88). In other words, the effective leader is sensitive to both the task and the process dynamic for management (Bolman and Deal 1984, 81). He may be one of the following: good leader who learns to be a good follower (Gerig 1981, 63), true leader who is able to serve people (White 1986, 87-88), strong leader who is a particular kind of power holder (Burns 1979, 18), empowered by God (2 Sam. 5:10; Brown 1986, 40), great leader able to deal with problem people (Miller 1988, 102), and ultimate leader being applicable only to Jesus Christ (Ford 1991, 57).

The disciple of Christ, therefore, should be such an ideal leader as to lead the people for the spread of the kingdom of God, and the church leader needs to produce leaders who will reproduce leaders (Gangel 1989, 309). The ideal disciple is the one that follows the example of Christ like Paul the Apostle. Paul said, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ (1 Cor. 11:1).

Understanding Discipleship

Charles Mylander classified the transformation of a person into three stages: exposure stage, commitment stage, and discipleship stage (Mylander 1979, 64). Discipleship must be in itself assigned by only God even if comes through a pastor or a leader with discipleship. Basically, it must have been rooted in the Bible. In the Old Testament the disciple might be considered as prophet (1 King 19:16; 2 King 2:6) and priest (Num. 3:10; Ps. 109:8; Act. 1:20). In the New Testament it was especially Jesus' disciples. He called the disciples in the metaphorical expression, "fishers of men." He said "Come and follow me", and "I will make you fishers of men" (Matt. 4:19).

In a word, discipleship means adherence to Christ (Bonhoeffer 1963, 63). True discipleship means that the disciple has the same goals and objectives as his Master (McGavran with Arn 1974, 103). In this case discipleship

has two meanings: relationship of Lord-servant (Matt.
16:16) and commitment to disciples (Matt. 28:19-20; Act.
1:8). Dr. Richard R. De Ridder wrote:

The person of Jesus is central. Discipleship

involved acceptance of his authority, inwardly by

believing in him and outwardly by obeying him...There

can be nothing in the life of the dicsciple that is

apart from the Lord and his life. The disciple is drawn

into fellowship with all they have and are. (De Ridder

1985, 186)

The way of discipleship is not very easy to grasp when there is no map (Aeschliman 1991, 124). Discipleship has an inevitalbe place in the Christian church not only in both the periods of the Old Testament and of the New Testament but also today. In the light of the key verse in the Bible (Matt. 28:19-20), discipleship is necessary for all ages (Spence and Exell 1978, 15:644).

The principle of discipleship is crucial to

understanding church growth (Jenson and Stevens 1981, 157). In Matthew 28:19-20, the present imperative verb "Go" takes the form of participial construction in the original, namely "having gone." In this case the verb can be interpreted as having both continuous and imperative force (Hendriksen 1975, 999). Discipleship has always been commanded for church growth.

Discipleship is not a communication of knowledge but a communication of life and spirit (John 6:63). Disciples must be, therefore, made of not only a communication of knowledge of the Scriptures but also a communication of life and spirit. Juan Carlos Ortiz wrote:

In a discipleship relationship I do not teach the other person to know what I know, rather I teach him to become what I am. Discipleship, then, is not a communication of knowlwdge, but a communication of life and spirit. Making a disciple is different from winning a soul. Paul made disciples by living a life that taught other how to live. (Ortiz 1975, 67)

What are the signs of faithfulness in discipleship? The signs of faithfulness in disciples who seek to follow Christ are salt and yeast within the people of the congregation. Congregations are made vital through the Christian life and action of the faithful, just as believers are built up in faith through the life of the congregation (The United Methodist Council of Bishops 1990, 123-124). Therefore, faithful disciples can be recognized by their fruit. Jesus said:

By their fruit you will recognize them...every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. (Matt. 7:16-18; Luke 6:43-44)

What, then, are the fruits of faithful disciples? In a word, they are the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22). All these fruits should be born as a result of a life with Christ. The United Methodist Council of Bishops defined the signs of faithfulness in discipleship as follows: (1) faithful participation in the life of a congregation, (2) daily readings of Scriptures, (3) living a life of prayer, (4) fasting, (5) living simply, (6) stewarding the gifts of life, (7) doing good to others, (8) advocating peace and justice, (9) sharing the faith, and (10) giving God the glory (The United Methodist Council of Bishops 1990, 125-131). These also may be integrated into the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

What are the qualifications of discipleship? There are two aspects in the qualifications of discipleship: supernatural and natural. One is a divine call; the other is the result of human effort. First of all, the man who has been called by God qualifies as Jesus' disciple (Rom. 1:1; Act. 9:15-16). The divine call is the first condition of the qualifications in discipleship (Eph. 4:11-12).

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