Oct 14, 2025
4 min read
The word disciple comes from the Greek mathētēs—a learner, student, or pupil. But in the New Testament, a disciple wasn’t just someone who sat under teaching. They were someone who learned and then lived what they were taught.
A convert says, “I believe this,” and marks a moment of decision.
A disciple says, “I’ll follow Him,” and marks a lifetime of transformation.
Jesus made it plain in John 8:31:
“You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.” All disciples are converts, but not all converts become disciples. Some stop at belief and never move on to obedience, mission, and growth. But Jesus didn’t say, “Go and make converts.” He said, “Go and make disciples.”
If we’re honest, many churches today function more like cruise ships than carriers.
On a cruise ship, a small crew serves a large number of passengers. The focus is comfort, entertainment, and satisfaction. Passengers come aboard to be fed, entertained, and made comfortable. The questions people ask are:
“How good is the food?”
“How inspiring was the music?”
“Did I enjoy the experience?”
But the Church Jesus envisioned looks a lot more like an aircraft carrier. It’s not built for comfort—it’s built for mission. Every crew member has a role to play, and the goal isn’t just to stay on board; it’s to launch. The church is a place to refuel, rearm, and redeploy. The success of an aircraft carrier isn’t measured by how many attend, but rather by how many are sent.
A disciple-making church trains, equips, and releases followers of Jesus to impact the world. Sunday isn’t the destination—it’s the launchpad.
Paul captured this vision in 2 Timothy 2:2:
“The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” That’s four generations of discipleship in one verse: Paul → Timothy → Reliable People → Others.
Notice Paul didn’t say, “Deliver these lessons.” He said, “Entrust them.” That’s life-on-life, not content-on-content. True discipleship happens in relationships, not rows. So how can you better steward the relationships around you so that true discipleship takes place?
In Luke 6:40, Jesus said,
“The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.”
Discipleship isn’t about collecting information—it’s about becoming like the Teacher. Too often, we’ve reduced faith to belief without obedience. But Jesus was clear:
“Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.” (John 14:23)
The Bible never separates salvation from obedience. We’ve been so eager to avoid legalism that we’ve accidentally created a version of faith that doesn’t require following. But real disciples don’t just know what Jesus said—they dowhat Jesus did.
Discipleship is slow. It’s costly. It’s deeply personal.
But it’s the only way the Great Commission will ever be fulfilled.
When the church embraces its true mission—not to entertain, but to equip; not to gather, but to send—we’ll see the kind of multiplication Jesus envisioned. Because in the end, the measure of a church’s success isn’t how full the seats are, but how many disciples are out changing the world.
