Your church can have the best coffee in town, the most dynamic worship experience, and a preaching style that would make Billy Graham proud. But if you’re not creating disciples who make other disciples, you’re running a spiritual coffee shop, not building a movement.
Harsh? Maybe. True? Absolutely.
I’ve consulted with hundreds of church plants across the country, and I keep seeing the same pattern: launch strong, grow quickly, plateau painfully. When I dig into what’s happening, the answer is almost always the same – they’ve mastered attracting people but missed the mark on reproducing disciples.
The Sobering Reality
Jesus didn’t say, “Go therefore and create awesome Sunday experiences.” He said, “Go make disciples.”
Think about it: If your people can’t reproduce what they’ve received, what exactly have they received?
- A nice weekend activity?
- Some inspirational thoughts?
- A spiritual pep talk?
None of these things multiply. They consume and eventually expire.
This Isn’t Optional
Let me be crystal clear: reproduction isn’t an advanced feature of discipleship. It’s not discipleship 2.0. It’s the baseline.
In the natural world, we don’t consider an organism fully mature until it can reproduce. A tree that grows tall but never produces seeds that grow into other trees isn’t fulfilling its purpose. Why do we apply a different standard to discipleship?
If it doesn’t reproduce, it’s incomplete. Period.
The Simple Test
Here’s a test I challenge every church planter to take. Ask yourself:
“If I disappeared tomorrow, how many people in my church could effectively disciple someone else without my direct involvement?”
The answer to that question tells you more about your church’s future than your current attendance numbers ever will.
When I ask this question, I often see that deer-in-headlights look. And that’s when we have our come-to-Jesus moment.
Start With What You Have
Now before you spiral into church planter depression (we’ve all been there), remember this: You don’t need perfect systems to start. You need intentional action.
Jesus started with 12 ordinary, deeply flawed men. He didn’t wait until He had everything figured out or until His disciples were fully mature. He involved them in the process early.
Stop waiting for the perfect discipleship program and start with who you have.
Here’s what you can do today:
- Identify your most faithful people (not necessarily the most talented)
- Pour disproportionately into them (even if it means less time for other things)
- Set the clear expectation that they will disciple others (not optional)
- Create simple, reproducible practices (if it’s complicated, it won’t multiply)
- Celebrate reproduction over attendance (what you celebrate gets repeated)
The Uncomfortable Truth
Many church planters secretly fear that if they focus too much on discipleship, they’ll lose momentum or their church won’t grow as quickly.
Let me shoot straight with you: You might actually grow slower initially when you prioritize discipleship over attendance. But you’re playing a different game altogether. You’re not building for next Sunday; you’re building for the next generation.
The church that grows to 500 in two years but creates no reproducing disciples will eventually hit a ceiling and decline. The church that grows to 200 in the same timeframe but has 50 people actively discipling others will eventually overtake them and continue multiplying long after the first church has faded.
Stop Making Excuses
I’ve heard every excuse in the book:
- “My people aren’t ready yet.”
- “We need to get more systems in place first.”
- “Our context is different.”
- “We’re still trying to reach the lost.”
Let’s call these what they are: justifications for avoiding the hard work of intentional discipleship.
Jesus didn’t wait until His disciples were “ready.” He sent them out while they were still confused about many things. The growth happened in the doing, not in the classroom.
Building Something That Lasts
If you want to build something that lasts – something that extends beyond your leadership, beyond your church walls, and into future generations – you must create a culture where disciples naturally reproduce.
Not as an advanced feature. Not as an optional program. Not someday when you’re “big enough.”
Starting today. With the people you have. No matter how messy it feels.
Because real disciples reproduce. Period.
Everything else is just playing church.
Question: What will you do differently this week to move your people toward becoming disciples who make disciples?
For more articles on church planting: Church Plant USA – DOVE USA