4 Questions to Ask When Making Disciples
The following post is written by an East-West stateside missionary.
At a conference, I learned some statistics about the spiritual climate in America, which have provided the motivation for greater local outreach.
Did you know that 60-percent of Americans today are “un-invitable” to church—meaning that they would not accept an invitation to go to church if asked? In contrast, 90-percent of Americans would have accepted the same invitation in the 1950s.
This is plain enough; most churches do not hold revivals as they used to.
One person told me that they used to put a sign out in front of the church inviting people to a revival, and that the parking lot would fill up simply from that. Today there is no shortage of advertisements making invitations to church, but the statistics show that this is not enough.
There are numerous conversations that could be had regarding the reason for the change. Putting that aside for now, what should our response be?
What is refreshing is that we are not bound to simply inviting others to church. In fact, it’s biblical to share the good news of Jesus with others and invite them to a relationship with Him, rather than simply inviting others to church and hoping that they believe.
That’s not to say the old model was not ineffective. Many people came to know the Lord through revivals. However, the spiritual climate today seems to require that different steps be taken towards advancing the Kingdom here in the United States.
This task can seem daunting, but there are tools that can help us reach our neighbors and friends for Christ—many of whom are likely in the 60-percent category.
One tool is called the “411.” It answers these four main questions in an hour’s time:
- Why should I make disciples?
- Who should I make disciples with?
- What do I say?
- When do I make disciples?
I believe that these questions left unanswered may inhibit us from sharing our faith. Having a simple way to share our faith and the reasons to do so will help alleviate the fears that can keep us from being obedient.
If you need resources to help you make disciples, I’d highly encourage you to check out the simple tools I’ve linked to below. They may make an eternal difference for the people you know.