Disciple Maker

Theologically, we believe that God is the one who births people spiritually. So strictly speaking, none of us are spiritual parents in this way. But this concept and term is helpful in reminding us that those who grow and mature will usually do so under the guidance of someone else, spiritual parents. This term, spiritual parent, Helps to reinforce the idea of spiritual reproduction or disciple making. Each person who is spiritually mature should be discipling another person. If they are not then we can question if they are truly spiritually mature. Spiritually mature people make disciples, they have spiritual children. If they are capable but are not disciple making or parenting then they are young adults at best. Parents are responsible for raising children, helping them grow from infants to children to young adults, and then finally to be parents themselves. Timothy 2:1-2 describes people who are strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. They are reliable disciples who have grown and matured to the point where they are now qualified to reach others. They are kingdom centered and God-dependent. Yet they are not perfect. What makes a spiritual parent is that they are intentional about building their own, ongoing relationship with Jesus, and as a result they are in relationships for the purpose of discipleship.People who are in this stage may say things like:

I wonder if God is leading me to invest in Bill and help him mature in his faith?

I want to help this guy at work. He asked me to explain the bible to him. Please pray for me when I spend time with him.

We get to baptize someone from our neighborhood today.

The most important discipleship is with my children. Will you hold me accountable to lead devotions with my kids on a daily basis?

The key concept for the spiritual parent is a mindfulness of the needs of the less mature disciples. They need close peer relationships with other spiritual parents who are involved in disciple making for encouragements. Peer accountability and ongoing training.

Stages of Discipleship-disciple maker

Taken from the book Discipleshift