If I want to be a disciple-maker, I must move far beyond the traditional role of a small group leader, where the priority is often on planning a weekly meeting—filling the two hours with good Christian activities or discussion prompts—without a clear vision for multiplication. True disciple-making requires leading with intention: being guided by a mission, empowered by core values, and practicing rhythms that equip everyone to become a disciple-maker themselves. This is not about merely teaching or running a program; it is about forming disciples who can reproduce, live the gospel intentionally, and embrace a holistic, life-on-life approach to following Jesus.
Model first: Live the rhythms you want others to imitate (be with Jesus, become like Him, do what He did). REFLECTION: Am I personally walking in the rhythms I’m inviting others to follow?
Humility & dependence: Leading from weakness, transparency, and dependence on the Spirit. REFLECTION: Am I being open and transparent, and am I actively depending on the Holy Spirit in my life and leadership?
Relational closeness: Inviting disciples into your life, not just your lessons. REFLECTION: Am I connecting with group members outside of the gathering—following up, encouraging, and supporting them personally?
Prayerful foundation: Asking the Spirit to form them beyond your own capacity. REFLECTION: Am I consistently praying for the people in my group throughout the week?
Trust and safety: Create a culture where honesty, failure, and growth are normal. REFLECTION: Am I creating an environment where people feel safe to be real, share struggles, and grow through failure?
Accountability in grace: Gentle correction paired with encouragement and hope. REFLECTION: Do I correct with kindness and point people to grace, or do I lean too much on criticism or avoidance?
Belonging before becoming: Invite disciples into family/community before they have it all together. REFLECTION: Am I welcoming people into community even before they “measure up” spiritually?
Shared life rhythms: Eating together, serving together, praying together, not just meeting for study. REFLECTION: Am I making space to share real life with my group outside of formal meetings?
Interactive learning: Dialogue, discovery, and discussion instead of one-way lectures. REFLECTION: Am I inviting participation and discovery, or am I just downloading information?
Experiential practice: Learning by doing—prayer, serving, evangelism, hospitality, Scripture meditation. REFLECTION: Am I giving opportunities to practice faith, not just talk about it?
Simple & reproducible tools: Handholds disciples can pass on easily (e.g., Discovery Bible Study, 3/3rds groups). REFLECTION: Are the tools I use simple enough for disciples to replicate with others?
Story over lecture: Using narrative, testimony, and parables to anchor truths. REFLECTION: Am I sharing stories and testimonies that make truth relatable and memorable?
Multi-sensory engagement: Speaking, writing, storytelling, movement, drawing—helping different learners connect. REFLECTION: Am I teaching in ways that connect with different learning styles?
Jesus-centered: All teaching is rooted in His person, His ways, and His mission. We follow Jesus—the perfect image of God and the perfect model of what God wants, how He wants it, and why. “Jesus is our message, our model, and our mission.” REFLECTION: Am I keeping Jesus at the center, not just ideas or principles?
Identity before activity: Helping disciples internalize who they are in Christ before what they do. REFLECTION: Am I reminding disciples of their identity before pushing them toward activity?
Aligning the four dimensions: Discipleship is not just about teaching truth but weaving together the whole person—right belief (orthodoxy) → right affections (orthopathos) → right motives (orthoprothesis) → right practices (orthopraxis). The HOW of discipleship brings these into harmony so that truth becomes love, motive, and action. Discipleship is truth believed, love felt, motives aligned, and life obeyed. REFLECTION: Am I guiding disciples to connect what they believe, what they love, why they live, and how they act into a unified whole?
Clear next steps: Every lesson lands with something doable (actionable), not just thinkable. This is the obedience piece ("This week, I will..."). REFLECTION: Do I consistently ask, “How will I obey what God is speaking this week?”
Gospel fluency: Training disciples to apply the gospel to daily life, not just to “get saved.” This about appropriating truth in my life with intention and purpose. "Am I holding myself accountable to this Gospel I say I believe?" REFLECTION: Am I applying the gospel to my everyday choices, and holding myself accountable to live it out?
Teach to reproduce: Frame everything as something they can pass on to someone else. REFLECTION: Am I training disciples with the expectation that they will share it with others?
Model, Assist, Watch, Launch (MAWL): Gradually release responsibility (MAWL principle). REFLECTION: Am I intentionally handing off leadership in stages, or holding on too tightly?
Simplicity for scale: Keep practices repeatable without specialized resources. REFLECTION: Am I overcomplicating discipleship, or keeping it simple enough to multiply?
Vision-casting multiplication: Regularly remind them the goal isn’t just their growth, but their disciples’ disciples. REFLECTION: Am I regularly reminding the group that discipleship is meant to reproduce?
Celebrate reproduction: Highlight when disciples take steps to disciple others. REFLECTION: Am I celebrating and affirming even small steps of multiplication?
Scripture engagement: Reading, meditating, and applying together. REFLECTION: Am I consistently engaging God’s Word in a way that shapes my life?
Prayer rhythms: Both corporate and personal, listening and interceding. REFLECTION: Do I model prayer as both a personal habit and a shared rhythm?
Worship and gratitude: Training hearts to love God, not just serve Him. REFLECTION: Am I cultivating gratitude and joy in God, or just busyness for Him?
Confession and repentance: Normalizing ongoing transformation. REFLECTION: Am I honest about my struggles and practicing real repentance?
Mission together: Serving the lost, poor, and broken side by side. REFLECTION: Am I actively serving in mission with my disciples, not just telling them to?
Cultural translation: Presenting practices in ways that fit their context. REFLECTION: Am I shaping discipleship practices in ways that connect with their culture?
Individualized approach: Meeting people where they are spiritually and emotionally. REFLECTION: Am I attentive to the unique needs of each disciple, or just running a program?
Stage-based discipleship: Guiding spiritual infants differently than mature co-laborers. REFLECTION: Am I adjusting my approach based on someone’s stage of growth?
Adaptive methods: Willing to adjust if something isn’t connecting or reproducing. REFLECTION: Am I flexible enough to change my methods when they aren’t bearing fruit?
In the end, the “HOW” of making reproducing disciples is holistic. It starts with who you are, shapes how you lead, and extends into every interaction, lesson, and rhythm of life. Disciple-making is not just a role or a set of activities—it is a posture, a way of living, and a mission that multiplies. When we model, empower, and equip others to follow Jesus, to embody truth in love, and to reproduce themselves in others, we are not merely running a group—we are advancing the kingdom through life-on-life transformation. The goal is clear: disciples who grow, live, obey, and pass it on.