Disciple Maker Research Paper

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Introduction
A disciple-maker’s message is an important tool in the disciple-making process. Disciple-making is not an accident. It does not just happen. Christians should not go into discipleship thinking that the Holy Spirit will lead impromptu all of the time. The Gospel message is powerful and God has placed that powerful message in the hands of dedicated men and women who nurture the minds and hearts of young believers. As disciple-makers entrusted with such a powerful message, we should attempt to do everything within our means to see that it is presented in the most useful, appropriate and sufficient manner. This essay will address the sources and forms of a disciple-maker’s message. The four sources discussed will be traditions, observations, participation and inspiration.
Tradition
Mitchell refers to this as “the living words of the community” (Mitchell 2010, 281). The primary source for a disciple-maker’s message must be the Bible. God’s Word is what Mitchell is referring to as tradition. A disciple-maker’s message must always be rooted in God’s Word. A disciple must know that they must always refer to the Bible for instruction throughout life. Jesus took biblical truths from God’s Word and put them into stories called parables. Message-maker’s have options in the packaging of the truth. It can be presented verbatim from Scripture or through applicable stories. Regardless of the presentation, it must be founded solely in tradition (God’s Word). In 2 Peter 1, he invokes the recipients to have “knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,…” four times. He reminds them that this knowledge does not come from “cunningly devised fables” but from eyewitnesses (2 Peter 1:16, NKJV). The knowledge that Peter refers to is the complete...

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...on, this study has revealed that there must be a healthy dose of all four sources to a disciple-maker’s message. The two foundational sources must be inspiration and tradition. We lean on God’s Word for the content, but the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the message. The Spirit directs one to the message and the Word fills that message. Observation will help one’s eyes be opened by the Spirit to the situations that arise in people’s lives that need to be addressed. Not all messages will need observation or participation. However, most teachers will implement one or both. As previously mentioned, a disciple-maker must preach what he practices. Only through a deep understanding of God’s Word, led by the Spirit and observing others can one preach effectively. Implementation of these sources will lay a foundation by which teachers can convey God’s message effectively.

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