You have invested months in your disciple. You have gotten to know and trust each other. You have walked through life experiences together. You have have seen your disciple grow in his/her relationship with God and his/her understanding of being a disciple.
Now what? Before you release your disciple hoping that he/she will disciple others, lead him/her to pray, identify the individual God wants him/her to disciple, and to begin discipling that individual. Do not, do not, do not release your disciple without doing so.
When should you lead your disciple to begin discipling another? I would suggest 3-6 months before releasing your disciple. Why? So you can encourage your disciple in his/her efforts and see how it’s going for those closing 3-6 months.
Take 10-15 minutes during your time with your disciple to ask:
- What are you doing with your disciple?
- What is going well?
- What would you do differently?
Multiplication is a critical step in discipleship that frequently breaks down. Life gets busy, doubts appear, and seeking someone to disciple fails. Instead of allowing that to happen, lead your disciple to do so while you are discipling him/her. Let your disciple build some great experiences and he/she will be even more likely to do so after you release your disciple.
Tell me about your experiences. Leave a comment. Encourage others. Make disciples who make disciples!
