Some Thoughts on Discipleship 4

We've already looked at Neil Cole and Wayne Jacobsen. Now Roger Thoman at the House Church Blog posts more of his collection of ...

Thoughts on Discipleship Pathways

David Garrison

Garrison, author of Church Planting Movements, has seen simple discipleship chains provide the key to the rapid multiplication of disciples and churches. (Simple churches themselves are also generally present in rapid church planting movements).

Garrison suggests that six basic lessons provide a discipleship foundation for new believers. One of the six lessons is on how to be the church and start simple churches. In this way, new believers also immediately become new church starters.

The key, however, is the way that this basic teaching is passed on. Person A teaches Person B a basic lesson. He then asks Person B to teach the lesson back to Person A so that Person A knows that he has grasped it. Then, Person B takes the lesson and teaches it, in the same manner to Person C, Person D, Person E, Person F, and Person G. Yep. Five more people are taught the lesson and they are taught how to pass the lesson along to five more people each. So, everything a person receives he must pass along before a next lesson is given.

Of course, discipleship in this model does not have to be limited to just six basic lessons, but you can see the focus: every person learns to become an immediate discipler as well as a disciple.