Breakthrough

DISCIPLESHIP

Sponsored by:

And:

Facilitated by: Chris

Donavan
Global Evangelism &
Church Planting Assistant
Atlanta Metro
LUKE 6:40 “A disciple is
not above his teacher,
but everyone who is
perfectly trained will be
like his teacher…”
 Background of
Breakthrough
Discipleship
 Matt. 28:18-20
 Quote from inspired writings
 My experiences
 Recent concept via a graphic
illustration
“And Jesus came and spoke to them,
saying, “All authority has been given
to Me in heaven and on earth. Go
therefore and make disciples of all
the nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, teaching
them to observe all things that I
have commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, even to the end of
the age. Amen.” MATT. 28:18-20
 “Christ's method alone will give
true success in reaching the
people. The Savior mingled with
men as one who desired their
good. He showed His sympathy for
them, ministered to their needs,
and won their confidence. Then
He bade them, ‘Follow Me’”.
MH p.143
Notice the process
of MH
 Mingled with lost people
 Showed His sympathy
 Ministered to their needs
 Won their confidence
 Invited them to follow
MY EXPERIENCES
 Foundational realities
 All called to be disciples
 DISCIPLESHIP comes from ancient Greece
and expresses the concept of a student who
attaches themselves to a teacher
 All disciples are called to disciple
others into a love relationship w/ Jesus
 Disciple making is not easy, but a totally
awesome experience!
 Discipleship is a process that has universal
principles that can be applied to every
personality or situation
Disciples
hip =

 EVANGELIST: reaches…
 1000 per day, for 30 yrs.
What is the total?
 About 11 million!
 DISCIPLESHIP: reaches…
 1 per year, for 30 yrs. What
is the total?
 OVER
1
Characteristics of disciples
 Dedicated to Jesus
 Infused by His Spirit
 Seeking the honor of One
 Cultivating relationships with lost
people
 Initiating servant ministry
 Providing safety for spiritual
dialogue
 Leading friends to follow Jesus
 Engaging in ministry through
spiritual gifts
 Sent disciples who disciple others
DEDICATED to Jesus
 1 John 5:11-13
 God wants us to be secure in His love!
 It takes time developing a love
relationship to be fully surrendered
to Jesus!
 If you wash your soul with the water of
God’s word (Eph. 5:26) use S.O.A.P.
 Scripture
 Observation
 Application
 Prayer
John 17:3 “And this is
eternal life, that they
may know You, the only
true God, and Jesus
Christ whom You have
sent”.
Evidence of a
dedicated disciple
 Matt. 10:24,25
 Teachable and persecuted
 Luke 14:26,27, 33
 Full commitment
 Bear the cross of Jesus
 John 8:31,32
 Personal love relationship with Jesus
 John 13:34
 Loves others as Jesus would
 John 15:8
 Bear fruit (make disciples)
INFUSED by His Spirit
 John 16
 The Holy Spirit is given to change
us into Christ likeness
 We identify Him in this work as
THE COMFORTER
 He provides us with truth,
conviction, understanding and
experiencing true holiness; OTHERS
CENTERED
 What else does He do?
 Acts 1:8
SEEKING the honor of One
“He shall pray to God, and He will
delight in him, He shall see His face
with joy, For He restores to man His
righteousness” Job 33:26
“O my soul; And all that is within me,
bless His holy name!” Ps 103:1
 Our greatest joy will be to
please God!
SEEKING the honor of One
“For God is
working in
you, giving
you the desire
and the power
to do what
pleases him”
Phil. 2:13 (NLT)
CULTIVATING relationships
with lost people
 Remember:
 Jesus mingled
 Matt. 1:23
 John 1:14
 This is for the purpose of
reaching them~
 NOT INFLUENCING YOU INTO
WRONG ACTIVITY OR HABITS!
CULTIVATING relationships
with lost people
 Discover their interests and
build on commonalities
 Engage in their activities
with them (with common
sense!)
 Invite them to do something
with you
 This can be a connection group
with people from your church
 Show them you care about them
as a person
Connection Groups
 Centered around an
activity
 Social
 Recreational
 Service
 Spiritual
Connection Groups
 Quarterly rotation
 Once or more a week for four
weeks
 You can stop, or continue at the
end of the quarter
 Criteria
 Prayer
 Testimony
 Short Bible study, or worship
Our goal in building
friendships
88% of new members into
the Seventh-day Adventist
Church in North America
had their first contact
through a friend.
Receptivity Scale
|________________________________
_ __________________|
-10 +10
Concerns people have
 Entering into other people’s
worlds can be a bit risky
 Is it possible to stumble and fall?
 What safeguards should we have
before doing so? (be prepared)
 Prayer (God must be telling us to
go)
 Be in the Word
 Go with your discipleship partner!
 Remember your purpose (build the
relationship for a divine reason)
INITIATING servant ministry
 DEFINED AS: Demonstrating the
love of God by offering to do some
act of humble service with no
strings attached
 Focuses your attention on sowing
(which is what Jesus said to do
Matt. 13) in a way that is fun and
fulfilling
INITIATING servant ministry
 “From His earliest years He was
possessed of one purpose; He lived
to bless others.” DA p.70
 This is sometimes referred to as indirectly
communicating the gospel; where you share God’s love
by living it!
 “Preach the gospel at all times~
If necessary, use words” --Saint
Francis of Assisi
 Like a spotlight of God’s love!
“Preach the gospel at all times~
If necessary, use words”
Saint Francis of Assisi
www.servantevangelism.com

“The strongest
argument in favor
of the gospel is a
loving and lovable
Christian”. MH
p.469-470
PROVIDING safety for
spiritual dialogue
 2 Cor. 5:17-19
 This next step must be done! And takes…
 Tact
 Grace
 Care
 Patience
 REMEMBER: Jesus mingled, showed
sympathy, met their needs, won their
confidence--- then invited them to follow
Him!
Principles for spiritual dialogue
 People don’t care what you know…
UNTIL THEY KNOW YOU CARE!
 Start with general things
 Move to more specific topics, and be
sure to listen
 Discuss philosophical views in order to
listen and understand people
 Then dialogue about spiritual interests
(building trust)
LEAD friends to follow Jesus
 You want to point people to
Jesus! (not the church)
 Share your testimony
 Reason for what you have become is
because of Jesus
 Reason for everything you do, should
be because of your love 4 Jesus!
(not the church)
 He is the WORD (the Bible should be
your reference point not the church)
 John 12:32
LEADING friends to follow
Jesus
 It’s possible to make the wrong
disciples
 “"How terrible for you, teachers of
the law and Pharisees! You are
hypocrites! You travel across land
and sea to find one person who
will change to your ways. When
you find that person, you make
him more fit for hell than you
are .” Matt. 23:15 (NCV)
LEAD friends to follow Jesus

 When they are

ready
 Study the Bible
with them
 Come Alive With
Jesus are my
favorite lessons

www.adventsource.com
ENGAGING in ministry through
spiritual gifts
 1 Cor. 12,13 (God wants us to enjoy
serving Him!)
 It takes time fully understand what our
gifts are
 Help these new disciples discover their
SHAPE for ministry
 S = Spiritual gifts
 H = Heart (passion)
 A = Abilities
 P = Personality
 E = Experiences
 ENGAGING in ministry
through spiritual gifts
http://www.churchgrowth.org/analysis/intro.php
SENT disciples who disciple
others
 You want to challenge & release
these new followers to begin
discipling others very soon!
 Remember: God is calling them to
partner with Him (2 Corinthians 6:1)
 From follower, to
 Finding lost sheep, to
 Fisher of men
 Go with them to help them reach
their friends, and family
 Matt. 28:19-20 He Is With Us!
SENT disciples who disciple
others
Breakthrough Discipleship is…
 Dedicated to Jesus
 Infused by His Spirit
 Seeking the honor of One
 Cultivating relationships with lost people
 Initiating servant ministry
 Providing safety for spiritual dialogue
 Leading friends to follow Jesus
 Engaging in ministry through spiritual gifts
 Sent disciples who disciple others