a practical disciple-making guide informed by John Mark Comer's Book: Practicing The Way
by Raimer Rojas (English & Español)
Discipleship • SERIES: Through the Lens of Jesus Christ • Holistic Discipleship
So many were drawn to Jesus — captivated by His miracles and stirred by His words. But when He invited them to follow Him, everything changed. His invitation was not casual; it was costly. It meant leaving comfort, rethinking identity, and bringing every part of life under His loving reign. It was a call to an entirely new way of life centered on Him. Today, the name "disciple" is used freely, but too often it is disconnected from a life that truly reflects Jesus. Yet His call was — and still is — radical, specific, and life-changing.
I remember when this burden first gripped me. In 1995, after a personal encounter with God shattered many of my assumptions, I began to see the shallow waters we often call "discipleship." Night after night, I wrestled in prayer with one burning question: How do we awaken the Church to the kind of disciple-making Jesus actually called for — discipleship that reshapes the heart, reorders the life, and increasingly reflects His image?
Decades later, that burden remains. More recently, while seeking a clear way to organize the larger work of discipleship, I encountered John Mark Comer's book, Practicing the Way. His three broad categories for apprenticeship to Jesus provided a simple framework for describing this lifelong journey:
Be with Jesus → Become like Jesus → Do as He Did
I have since adapted and expanded this framework through my own study, experience, and reflection, including several changes and additions to the subcategories. I have also emphasized a larger biblical aim that captures where all three pursuits are moving: Live as Jesus Lived. Together, they offer a practical way to understand the transformation Jesus intends and the life He invites us to share with Him—both now and forever.
"Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did." — 1 John 2:6 NIV
Jesus is not merely the subject of discipleship or an example to imitate. He is its living center — our Teacher and King, the source of our life, and the One whose Spirit transforms us. To follow Jesus is to apprentice under Him: to know Him, trust Him, learn His way, and increasingly bring our whole lives under His loving reign.
God is forming us to become mature participants in His purposes — a calling that begins here on earth and extends into eternity with Him. His intention is greater than improving our personal character or equipping us to accomplish religious activities. He is preparing a people who increasingly reflect His heart, embody His love, and participate faithfully in what He is doing. And this calling extends beyond our present lifetime. The life we have received in Christ is eternal. Scripture promises that we will be made like Him and share in His everlasting kingdom (1 John 3:2; Revelation 22:3–5).
What begins now through grace finds its ultimate fulfillment in life with Him forever. This involves three lifelong pursuits:
Be with Jesus (Deep Communion) — Live in relationship with Him as our source of life, learning to recognize His presence, trust His leadership, and remain dependent upon Him.
Become like Jesus (Deep Transformation) — Allow His Spirit to renew our minds, reorder our loves, and develop the character, wisdom, and maturity needed to increasingly live as He lived.
Do as Jesus Did (Living on Mission) — Participate in God's purposes through Christlike love and faithful action, helping others encounter Jesus, mature in Him, and grow into responsible participants themselves.
These are not stages we complete in sequence. They are lifelong, interdependent pursuits that continually shape and strengthen one another.
We do not wait until we become like Jesus before beginning to do what He did. Jesus entrusted His first disciples with real responsibility while they were still immature, using their experiences, successes, and failures as opportunities for further formation. Participation begins early; capacity grows with maturity.
As we walk with Jesus, we develop the character, love, and wisdom needed to carry responsibility faithfully. Yet maturity is not simply becoming more capable of doing ministry. The goal is not greater productivity for Jesus, but becoming increasingly like Him in the way we love, live, and care for others.
Greater responsibility grows out of that love, rather than ambition or a desire for influence. This transformation is God's gracious work through the Holy Spirit. Yet grace does not make us passive. We respond through trust, surrender, and obedience, intentionally practicing the way Jesus taught us to live.
Live in continual connection with Jesus, learning to recognize His presence, remain in His love, and depend upon Him throughout everyday life.
Behold Jesus (Seeing Him Clearly) — Fix your attention on Jesus through Scripture, prayer, and worship. Learn to see Him clearly so that your understanding of God and reality is increasingly shaped by who He truly is (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Abide in Jesus (Staying Connected) — Remain in Him like a branch connected to a vine, receiving your life from Him and learning to walk with Him throughout ordinary life (John 15:4–5).
Rest in Jesus (Trusting Him Fully) — Trust His love, surrender control, and learn to rely upon Him rather than attempting to carry life on your own (Matthew 11:28–30).
Our first calling as disciples is to live in communion with Jesus. As we behold Him, abide in Him, and rest in His care, He increasingly reshapes how we perceive reality, what we trust, and how we respond. Behold sets our focus. Abide sets our pace. Rest sets us free.
This communion is more than preparation for ministry. It is the beginning of an eternal relationship with Jesus. We are learning now to live with the One we will enjoy forever, allowing His life to shape how we love, carry responsibility, and participate in His purposes.
Discover and Practice: What is Jesus showing me about Himself, and where is He inviting me to trust and walk with Him more deeply?
Explore Further: Be with Jesus — Deep Communion
Yield to the Holy Spirit as He renews how you see, reorders what you love, and forms the character and maturity needed to increasingly live like Jesus.
Renew the Mind (Have the Mind of Christ) — Allow God's truth to correct distorted ways of thinking and teach you to perceive life through the lens of Christ (Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 2:16).
Transform the Heart (Reorder Your Loves) — Allow the Spirit to reorder your desires and purify your motives so that love for God and neighbor increasingly governs your inner life (Mark 12:29–31).
Train the Body (Practice Christlike Living) — Practice obedience and develop habits that help you faithfully embody what God is forming within you (1 Timothy 4:7–8).
Christlike transformation reaches deeper than outward behavior. God renews how we see, reshapes what we love, and teaches us to live in increasing alignment with His truth (See Holistic Discipleship).
Renewed Mind → Reordered Loves → Purified Motives → Faithful Action
We cannot manufacture this transformation through determination alone. Practices do not transform us; God transforms us as we intentionally engage with Him through them. As Christ's character develops within us, we become increasingly capable of loving others wisely, responding faithfully under pressure, and carrying responsibility for their good.
God is not merely making us better versions of ourselves. He is preparing us for the fullness of life with Him, progressively forming us into Christ's likeness — a transformation He will ultimately complete.
Discover and Practice: What is Jesus helping me see differently, what is He forming within me, and how is He inviting me to put that growth into practice?
Explore Further: Become like Jesus — Deep Transformation
Participate in God's purposes with the heart and character of Jesus, helping others encounter Him, flourish under His reign, and grow into mature participants themselves.
Understanding the fullness of the gospel shapes how we understand the scope of doing as Jesus did. The gospel is not merely the message through which we begin a relationship with Jesus. It is the good news of His saving work and kingdom — a reality that continues to shape our entire life with Him and offers the hope of everlasting life in His renewed creation. Jesus calls people not only to receive forgiveness and reconciliation with God, but to follow Him into a new way of life under His loving reign.
The gospel does not end at conversion. We do not move beyond it as we mature; we grow deeper into its transforming reality (Galatians 3:1–3). God intends us to become mature participants in His purposes. Our mission is therefore not simply to bring people to an initial decision for Christ, but to help them grow into a life of increasingly faithful participation with Him. And the horizon is greater still. We are inviting people into eternal life with Jesus — a relationship and calling that will not end with this present age.
Three practices help us express this calling:
Make Space for the Gospel (Hospitality) — Open your life to others, creating relationships where people can encounter Jesus, experience His love, and receive care throughout their journey of growth (Luke 14:12–14).
Proclaim the Gospel (Sharing and Teaching the Good News) — Help people discover who Jesus is, trust His saving work, and increasingly understand and live according to the truth of His kingdom (Mark 1:14–15; Colossians 1:28–29).
Demonstrate the Gospel (Embodied Love and Spirit-Empowered Ministry) — Make God's kingdom visible through Christlike character, compassionate service, mercy, justice, healing, and Spirit-empowered action (Luke 4:18–19; Matthew 9:35–36).
These are not merely methods of evangelism. They are lifelong expressions of Christlike love that serve the whole journey of discipleship — from encountering Jesus to growing in maturity and helping others do the same. They also bear witness to the coming kingdom, when God's people will dwell with Him and share in His everlasting reign.
Discover and Practice: Where is Jesus inviting me to participate in His purposes, and how can I respond in ways that genuinely serve the good and growth of others?
Explore Further: Do as Jesus Did — Living on Mission
These three pursuits are simple enough to remember and deep enough to explore for a lifetime. They provide a practical foundation for personal discipleship, mentoring relationships, and communities learning to follow Jesus together. Again and again, we can ask:
Be with Jesus — How is He inviting me nearer?
Become like Jesus — What is He forming or realigning within me?
Do as Jesus Did — How is He inviting me to participate in His purposes?
Rather than simply giving others answers, we help them look toward Jesus, understand His Word, recognize His Spirit's work, and respond faithfully for themselves.
As we grow, three markers help us recognize the direction of His transforming work:
Christlike Character — Who am I becoming? Are my thoughts, desires, motives, and actions increasingly reflecting Jesus?
Christlike Love — How am I relating? Am I becoming more capable of loving others with His patience, humility, and compassion?
Christlike Maturity That Reproduces — What am I able to carry? Am I growing in wisdom and responsibility to participate faithfully in God's purposes, helping others flourish, mature in Christ, and learn to care for others?
These are not measures of religious achievement or ways of earning God's approval. They are markers of direction and maturity — evidence that His life is increasingly taking shape within us. We are not merely preparing people to become more effective Christians during their earthly lives. We are helping one another grow into the life for which God created and redeemed us — a life that begins now and reaches its fulfillment in eternity with Him.
To apprentice under Jesus is to bring our whole lives under His loving reign. It is not a program to complete or a collection of spiritual techniques, but a lifelong relationship of learning from Him and increasingly living His way. We remain with Jesus as our source of life. His Spirit forms His character and love within us. And as we participate in His purposes, we continue growing in the wisdom, faithfulness, and responsibility needed to care for others well. Throughout it all, Jesus remains our source, center, teacher, and sustaining life.
God is forming us to become mature participants in His purposes — a calling that begins here on earth and extends into eternity with Him. We are learning to live as Jesus lived, so that His life increasingly takes shape in us and, through us, helps others grow into that same life. This is the journey of discipleship. This is apprenticeship to Jesus. This is the Jesus Way.
Deeper Dives Into These Three Driving Goals:
DBS Set: Practicing The Way DBS Set - A set of Discovery Bible Study passages to help you deepen in being with Jesus, becoming like Jesus and Doing as Jesus did.
COURSE: Practicing The Way - An intro into Christian formation featuring eight sessions of teaching, guided conversation, and spiritual exercises designed to lay a foundation for lifelong apprenticeship to Jesus.