Jesus, in His three years of ministry, spent a reasonable amount of time ministering to the crowds but always made sure that He never left out time to train, equip and empower twelve disciples. From the way Jesus did ministry, we see that discipleship is vital to seeing God's kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
Many churches and ministries today put heavy emphasis on discipleship because discipleship works. However, most would jump on the bandwagon that is discipleship without ever asking the question- "Why does discipleship matter to God and why is it so important to the Christian faith?"
The reason why discipleship matters goes beyond just the results. We see throughout scripture that God loves discipleship and puts strong emphasis and gives high regard to it. Here are some ways we know we value discipleship just as much as Jesus does.
We propagate the gospel. More than just proclaiming the gospel of reconciliation, Jesus, Peter, Paul and many of the pioneers of the early church also spent a considerable amount of time discipling those who would also proclaim the gospel to more and more places.
The reason why Jesus has been proclaimed through the world today is because of the Holy Spirit empowering disciples to preach the good news. While primarily through the Spirit's power, God uses disciples as the channel by which His power is displayed.
We participate in the great commission. Matthew 28:19 says, "and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." A person's final command is always one of the most important. Before leaving earth to return to the Father, Jesus commanded His followers one last time to value discipleship. Jesus commands us to do the same today.
We value relationships. We serve a God who is a relational being. God made us so that we may fellowship with Him and God sent His one and only Son to be the atoning sacrifice to bridge that gap between God and man. God values relationship and calls us to value our relationship with fellow believers and with the lost as well. We do this through discipleship.
We develop leaders. 2 Timothy 2:2 says, "and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." There is a call and need for more vocational and volunteer leaders in the church today and discipleship helps us answer that call and need by helping believers in their walk with Christ leading to maturity and purpose.
