Question: What is the God-given purpose of the local church? Answer: Relational discipleship. DiscipleShift walks you through five key "shifts" that churches must make to refocus on the fundamental biblical mission of discipleship. These intentional changes will attract the world and empower your church members to be salt and light in their communities. Over the last thirty years, many influential church leaders and church planters in America have adopted various models for reaching unchurched people. While many of these approaches have merit, something is still missing, something even more fundamental to the mission of the church: discipleship. Making disciples—helping people to trust and follow Jesus—is the church's God-given mandate. Devoted disciples attract people outside the church because of the change others see in their Christ-like lives. And discipleship empowers Christians to be more like Christ as they intentionally develop relationships with non-believers. Through biblical and professional insights, Jim Putman and Bobby Harrington discuss the transformational effectiveness of making disciples and just how to do so, in practical terms. You’ll learn: The specific roles of a disciple-making pastor. The components of person-to-person discipleship. How each ministry in your church leads to discipleship. How to implement discipleship in your church. Disciple-making leaders will not produce perfect churches, but they will create effective churches.

Help churches make the shift from attracting members to making disciples.

For far too long, the church has tried to make disciples using a one-size-fits-all approach. Some churches advocate 1-on-1 discipling, others try getting everyone into a small group, while still others training through mission trips or service projects. Yet others focus all their efforts on attracting people to a large group gathering to hear biblical teaching and preaching. But does one size really fit everyone? Based on careful biblical study and years of experience making disciples in the local church, Bobby Harrington and Alex Absalom have identified five key relationships where discipleship happens in our lives. In each relational context we need to understand how discipleship occurs and we need to set appropriate expectations for each context. Discipleship That Fits shows you the five key ways discipleship occurs. It looks at how Jesus made disciples and how disciples were formed in the early church. Each of the contexts is necessary at different times and in different ways as a person grows toward maturity in Christ: Public Relationships: The church gathering corporately for worship Social Relationships: Networks of smaller relationships where we engage in mission and live out our faith in community Personal Relationships: Small groups of six to sixteen people where we challenge and encourage one another on a regular basis Transparent Relationships: Close relationships of three to four where we share intimate details of our lives for accountability The Divine Relationship: Our relationship with Jesus Christ where we grow through the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit Filled with examples and stories, Alex and Bobby show you how to develop discipleship practices in each relational context by sharing how Jesus did it, how the early church practiced it, and how churches are discipling people today.

Those in the church and ministry are familiar with the Great Commission – the call to go forth and make disciples. However, for many, it isn’t that easy in a world increasingly influenced by doubters and distractions. Many Christian leaders may talk about it, but few really do it. Making disciples isn’t a complicated program, but a simple plan that comes only from Jesus. Now a diverse group of pastors, representing urban and rural communities, secular and Christian areas, as well as diverse multicultural backgrounds, and all known for successfully making new disciples, have gathered these sermons to encourage others to be disciple makers too. Discover: How Jesus practiced the Great Commission before He ever preached it Why discipleship begins with a whole-life understanding of worship When disciple-making gets confused with church growth efforts These and countless other insights will help guide you in a faithful, deliberate effort to fulfill the Great Commission – no matter where you live or what communities in which you minister. Included in the book are: The sermon texts and their outline formats. 12 study guides, one for each sermon, that can be used in small group or one-on-one settings in the week following the preaching of the sermon. A final appendix providing a self-evaluation tool that helps each person being discipled to evaluate the progress they are making in their walk with Christ.

Dozens of brief yet powerful chapters about what it really means to live out the Great Commission in practical terms, written by two men with more than sixty years of combined discipleship experience.

Dann Spader is a disciple-maker who has spent his adult life exploring what it means to take someone from being a seeker to making disciples themselves. Over 750,000 people in 80 countries have been trained to make disciples through organizations he has led. Through studying the life of Christ and His disciple-making methods, Dann developed 4 Chair Discipling, a simple picture for others to follow. Jesus’ last words on earth had a few very specific instructions: Go, make disciples, baptize, and teach. But what does that mean for us today? Well, it’s not easy. But it is simple. Teacher and leader Dann Spader explains disciple-making as a process of moving people through four chairs, from someone seeking to know more about Christ to someone who makes disciples themselves. Chair 1: Come and See (John 1:39) Chair 2: Follow Me (John 1:43) Chair 3: Become a Fisher of Men (Matthew 4:19) Chair 4: Go and Bear Fruit (John 15:16) In the process of His four-year ministry, Jesus realized that different people are at different stages of growth and development, and He works to challenge each of them to the next level. In 4 Chair Discipling, you’ll get a clear and simple picture of how to follow in Jesus’ footsteps and do the same thing.